Deputy IT Manager

40 hours per week

Complimentary Arena Tickets

Free Ice Skating for staff, their family and friends

Onsite Car Parking

 

Do you love the world of live events?  Are you ready for a role where no two days are the same!

The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham is the biggest entertainment venue in the East Midlands. Showcasing the biggest names in music, comedy, and sport and with a seating capacity of up to 10,000, we are one of the most versatile entertainment venues in the UK.

The National Ice Centre (NIC) sits within the same complex. Made famous by Olympic legends and Dancing on Ice stars, Torvill & Dean, the National Ice Centre is Nottingham’s hub for all things ice skating and ice hockey.   We are the home of the Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey team and host around 30 games a year.

2025 is a bumper year for our venue with us welcoming Peter Kay, Kylie, Strictly Come Dancing, Craig David, Mo Gilligan, Olly Murs, Diana Ross and the 50^th Anniversary Tour of Torvill & Dean to name a few. 

 

The Deputy IT Manager will support the Head of IT in ensuring the secure and effective operation of IT services across venues and corporate functions. This is a hands-on, technical role, requiring direct, practical involvement with infrastructure, security, and daily operational challenges in a fast-paced, live-event environment where flexibility, responsiveness and resilience are key. The successful candidate will be responsible for assisting with the day-to-day management of core IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, endpoints and both on-premise and cloud-based systems. They will act as an escalation point for complex technical issues, lead elements of incident response and resolution activities, and support the wider team in keeping services available, secure and well-documented.

Working closely with the Head of IT, the Deputy IT Manager will take a lead role in infrastructure maintenance, IT security initiatives, service improvements and the delivery of IT projects. This includes coordinating technical workstreams, managing timelines, and ensuring successful implementation of changes, upgrades and deployments across the organisation. They will also play a key role in supporting GDPR and data protection compliance, working alongside the Data Protection Officer to help embed policies and controls into day-to-day IT operations – ensuring that systems and practices meet current regulatory and risk requirements.

Responsibilities also include contributing to business continuity and disaster recovery planning. This role includes line management responsibilities for some of the team, providing mentoring and direction, contributing to a collaborative, high-performance culture. Due to the nature of the organisation, the successful candidate must be comfortable working flexible hours, including evenings and weekends to support live events and time-critical services where uptime and stability are paramount. The Deputy IT Manager will also support the exploration and adoption of emerging technologies, including AI and automation, to enhance operational efficiency, system visibility and service delivery.

 

Key Duties

• Maintain and improve the company’s day-to-day operation of IT infrastructure including        networks,

servers, cloud services, endpoints and on-premises systems.

• Act as an escalation point for advanced technical issues, ensuring timely resolution and appropriate

root cause analysis.

• Ensure system performance, resilience and availability are maintained across all critical business

services and venues.

• Lead or support out-of-hours technical support during live events or business-critical periods.

• Implement and maintain IT security controls including patching, access management, antivirus,

firewalls, and endpoint protection.

• Monitor and remediate systems for vulnerabilities or threats ensuring timely mitigation.

• Take ownership of Cyber Essentials and other relevant standards.

• Conduct security audits, risk assessments, and policy reviews, ensuring documentation is accurate and

up to date.

• Maintain accurate documentation across infrastructure, configuration, access, incident logs, and

recovery procedures.

• Promote best practices in IT service delivery, change control, and incident response within the team.

• Monitor service KPIs and contribute to continual improvement of support and infrastructure

performance.

• Provide line management, mentoring and performance feedback to junior IT team members.

• Foster a culture of ownership, service focus, and proactive problem solving.

• Support team development through knowledge sharing and coaching.

• Coordinate or lead technical workstreams within IT projects, ensuring milestones are met and risks

managed.

• Collaborate with stakeholders and vendors to plan and implement infrastructure upgrades, migrations

or system rollouts.

• Assist in post-project reviews and documentation of lessons learned.

• Identify opportunities for automation or efficiency improvements across IT operations.

• Explore emerging technologies, including AI tools, to streamline processes like monitoring, alerts, or

routine admin.

• Pilot new tools and evaluate potential operational benefits before wider adoption.

 

What we are looking for:

• Established experience working in a Deputy IT manager role

• ITIL Foundation or Practitioner

• Security certifications (CISSP)

• Awareness of AI/ML technologies and how they might be applied in IT operations

• Full UK driving licence is desirable but not essential.

 

Flexibility is key due to the needs of our business, you may need to work late nights, weekends or bank holidays to support the business and events.

 

Sound like you?  Then apply below.