Job Title: Head of Digital Operations
Reports to
Chief Financial Officer. Works closely with the Managing Director, the General Manager, and the Senior Management Team.
Role overview
Mark Lohan Kitchens is hiring a senior IT leader to take ownership of the digital and operational backbone of the business through its next phase of growth. The role is the architectural owner across the systems landscape: Crow's Nest, the design-to-production platform, the finance system and supplier capture stack, scheduling, infrastructure, and the integration plumbing between them all.
The new hire inherits a clear picture of the current state, a 12 to 18 month roadmap, and a defined set of recommendations.
Key responsibilities
Programme governance and architectural ownership
● Hold the architectural picture of the digital backbone across all functions. Maintain the IT roadmap aligned to MLK's operational and growth plans.
● Set up how the transformation work is run. Clear owner for each workstream, monthly risk review, and a proper review process before any new technology spend is committed.
● Act as the single point of accountability for cross-functional technology decisions. Coordinate across Production, Commercial, Showroom, Finance and the outsourced IT partner.
● Lead the Phase 2 capital case with the CFO, including the review that comes before the finance system and DEXT replacement decision, which we are working toward within 12 months.
Crow's Nest and operational systems
● Take full ownership of the Crow's Nest implementation, optimisation, and ongoing management. The system is currently partly implemented and is the central CRM, quoting and scheduling system. The role completes the implementation and closes the integration gaps that are currently filled by spreadsheets and individual workarounds.
● Working understanding of SQL databases, sufficient to troubleshoot, hold performance discussions with vendors, and inform decisions on system changes affecting data structure.
● Identify and close outstanding implementation gaps, with particular focus on the Excel workarounds currently held by individuals (scheduling, snag, finance reconciliation).
● Act as the internal lead for Crow's Nest, coordinating with the vendor's team, with consultants where engaged, and with internal users.
Data governance
● Lead the migration of the Schedule of Values (SOV) line items from free-text to a coded product library. This is the largest single operational frustration and the upstream data foundation for finance reconciliation, margin reporting, and the future finance system replacement.
● Establish and maintain data governance standards across product codes, GL mapping, pricing structure, and margin data flows.
● Define and enforce data quality at the point of entry, particularly for designer estimates and SOV lines.
● Lead the design and implementation of the continuously available reporting layer above the operational backbone and finance system.
Design-to-production platform programme governance
● Lead the IMOS rollout for MLK. Hold the milestones, the escalation, and the executive sponsor relationship.
● The vendor (in3D) has proposed that day-to-day IMOS administration sits with an internal technical Champion, with this role taking the broader operational administration once in post. The split is subject to MLK leadership agreement and will be confirmed as part of the IMOS rollout plan.
● Manage the integration between IMOS and Crow's Nest. Make sure cost data flows cleanly, that the Biesse post-processor is fed directly from IMOS once it is in production, and that the Cabinet Vision redraw step gets retired as IMOS comes online.
● Coordinate with the vendor (in3D) on integration scope, configuration decisions, and module activation. Hold the day-to-day relationship; the strategic relationship sits with the CFO.
Financial systems integration
● Work closely with Finance to ensure accurate and reliable data flows between operational systems and the finance system.
● Support system-based controls, reporting, and reconciliation requirements.
● Identify and deliver opportunities to automate or improve financial and operational reporting through system improvements.
● Lead the review of the finance system and DEXT replacement in Phase 2 (months 7 to 12), working alongside the CFO.
IT infrastructure and hardware
● Overall responsibility for MLK's IT infrastructure: server, networks, end-user devices, showroom and production environments.
● Address the priorities identified in the Discovery: a documented disaster recovery plan with quarterly testing, server warm standby,
● Establish appropriate asset management, lifecycle planning, licensing, backup, and disaster recovery arrangements.
● Maintain system reliability and performance across all locations.
Cyber security and risk
● Work with external specialists and the outsourced IT partner to maintain appropriate cyber-security measures.
● Ensure access controls, data protection, and security best practices are applied across all systems.
● Coordinate cyber-security reviews, audits, and follow-up actions where required.
Outsourced IT provider management
● Act as the primary point of contact with the outsourced IT partner as MLK's MSP.
● Formalise the relationship with defined SLAs, response times, and a quarterly review cadence.
● Review and challenge recommendations to ensure solutions are cost-effective and appropriate.
● Escalate issues where required and ensure clear accountability between MLK and the MSP.
Vendor relationship management
● Multi-vendor relationship management beyond the outsourced IT partner: in3D, Crow's Nest, the finance system vendor, DEXT, Resource Guru, , future tooling.
● Maintain a vendor relationship register with contract terms, renewal dates, and SLAs.
SOP capture and operational documentation
● Document the manual workflows currently held in individual heads: finance reconciliation workarounds, weekly operational dashboards, schedule change handling, snag rollups, weekly margin assembly.
● Build the documented procedures that allow these workflows to be systematised, automated, or moved into the appropriate systems.
● Establish training discipline for new joiners on systems and procedures.
Leadership engagement and reporting
● Provide clear, practical updates to senior management on IT performance, risks, and projects.
● Prepare business cases for IT investment, including costs, benefits, and risks.
● Maintain a working partnership with the CFO, the Managing Director, the General Manager, and the operations leadership team.
Skills and experience
Essential
● Proven experience in an Head of Digital Operations, Head of Systems, or senior IT delivery role (8+ years).
● Strong track record delivering system implementations and integrations, ideally in a manufacturing or production environment.
● Experience managing outsourced IT providers (MSPs) and multi-vendor relationships.
● Working understanding of IT infrastructure, hardware, networking, backup, disaster recovery, and security.
● Strong project management and people skills. Comfortable running structured programme management: clear owners, monthly risk review, and a proper review process before technology decisions.
● Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical users. Comfortable presenting to senior leadership.
● Experience with manufacturing, production, or operational SME environments. The pace and constraints differ meaningfully from office or retail IT.
Desirable
● Experience with SQL-based systems, including database structure, performance considerations, backups, and data integrity. SQL querying or coding experience sufficient to support troubleshooting, reporting, or validation of system data.
● Experience with Crow's Nest, IMOS, Cabinet Vision, or similar CAD/CAM and manufacturing systems.
● Direct experience integrating operational systems with financial or accounting systems.
● Exposure to cyber-security frameworks and IT risk management.
● Experience working closely with Finance and senior leadership teams.
● Experience with data governance and product / SKU data structures.
● Familiarity with the operational realities of multi-site SMEs (factory + showroom + remote install).
Personal attributes
● Practical and solutions-focused. Comfortable taking ownership and accountability.
● Commercially aware with a strong cost-benefit mindset.
● Organised, detail-focused, and able to manage multiple priorities.
● Confident working with suppliers and challenging recommendations where appropriate.
● Comfortable being the single point of accountability for the digital backbone.
● Pragmatic about manufacturing realities. Comfortable on the factory floor as well as in the boardroom.
Pay: €62,476.73-€121,866.28 per year
Benefits:
- Bike to work scheme
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
