Vantage Data Centers
Senior Director, Product Transformation & Integration, Global
🇬🇧United KingdomRemote available2 days ago
SeniorFull TimeEN
Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.
The Product team at Vantage defines and stewards our global product platform: the customer outcomes we aim to deliver, the reference designs and standards that make delivery repeatable, and the closed-loop learning that turns each deployment into an upgrade for the next one. We do this in partnership with Engineering, Delivery, Operations, Sustainability, Sales, Site Selection, and Business Development, aligning priorities and trade-offs while preserving clear functional ownership for design execution, construction delivery, and site operations. Product’s role is to create clarity, consistency, and leverage at Vantage scale.
Pit Lane is the controlled, high-velocity operating zone where coordinated specialists follow standard work, clear decision rights, and disciplined cadence to deliver rapid turnarounds and repeatable, high-quality execution at scale. The operating model is intentionally structured as three tightly integrated systems with clear interfaces — Product Strategy (the “what and why”), Product Engineering (the “how”), and Product Operations (the “nervous system”) — connected to delivery through Product Deployment Leads in North America, EMEA, and APAC.
The Senior Director, Product Transformation & Integration, Global is a senior individual contributor in the Office of the Chief Product Officer, responsible for helping the Product organization land the Pit Lane operating model in practice and operate as one connected, integrated leadership system across its three constituent systems and Product Deployment.
This role exists to translate the CPO’s transformation intent into coordinated cross-system follow-through across the Product leadership team, while preserving accountability for Product Strategy, Product Engineering, Product Operations, and Product Deployment. It focuses on the integration, sequencing, and embedding work required to make Pit Lane stick: clearer interfaces between systems, fewer unresolved hand-offs, better preparation for leadership forums, and stronger follow-through on a small number of high-priority cross-system transformation initiatives.
This role is not the owner of Product Strategy, Product Engineering, Product Performance, Product Operations, or technical program execution. Its value lies in helping those systems work together more effectively as the operating model matures — especially where progress depends on judgement, sequencing, prioritization, and senior cross-functional coordination rather than line authority. This boundary matters because Product Performance and Operations already owns the formal operating cadence, portfolio enablement, analytics, decision forums, and TPM-enabled readiness, dependencies, and execution mechanisms.
CPO transformation priorities are translated into coordinated action with clearer ownership, stronger follow-through, and fewer manual interventions across the Product organization.
The three systems of the operating model — Product Strategy, Product Engineering, and Product Operations — plus Product Deployment in NA, EMEA, and APAC, operate as one connected leadership system, with clear interfaces and reliable hand-offs.
Pit Lane intent shows up in day-to-day leadership behaviour and operating practice: standard work, decision rights, intentional variants, structured deviations, and closed-loop learning are visibly in use, without duplicating formal governance or creating process for its own sake.
Leadership forums and transformation discussions are better prepared, more decision-ready, and more likely to produce closure rather than churn.
Cross-functional friction along the Product Management ↔ Product Deployment ↔ Project Delivery seam is surfaced earlier and resolved faster, without re-litigating decisions or accumulating bespoke per-project answers.
A focused set of high-priority transformation initiatives that span multiple Product systems and partner functions advances with pace, discipline, and continuity.
1) Operating-model transformation roadmap
Translate Pit Lane direction and the CPO’s priorities into a sequenced, practical roadmap of transformation moves the Product organization needs to make across Product Strategy and Management, Product Engineering and Industrialized Delivery, Product Performance and Operations, and Product Deployment.
Help the CPO sequence operating-model changes so they reinforce, rather than collide with, the in-flight portfolio (including FLEX and FORGE) and so we avoid the failure modes the operating model preview explicitly warns against — reorg churn, big-bang process rollouts without supporting templates, and process for its own sake.
Maintain a coherent senior view of major Pit Lane transitions — operating-model embedding, capability build-out by dial setting, governance maturation, leadership behaviour shifts — distinct from the formal portfolio reporting and measurement owned by Product Operations.
Prepare materials, discussion structure, and decision framing for senior Product transformation discussions, leadership offsites, executive reviews, and sensitive cross-functional conversations, including the operating model touchpoints with Engineering, Delivery, Operations, and the regions.
2) Cross-system integration and leadership follow-through
Integrate the three Product systems and Product Deployment Leads (NA, EMEA, APAC) so they operate as one connected leadership system, identifying where alignment is weak, follow-through is inconsistent, or issues are falling between system or regional boundaries.
Track a limited set of high-priority cross-system commitments on behalf of the CPO, ensuring transformation moves continue with pace and do not stall due to ambiguity, ownership gaps, or organizational friction.
Support leadership-team operating discipline by helping translate broad intent into concrete next steps, owners, deadlines, and decision asks — particularly where decisions cut across strategy, standards, performance, and deployment.
Strengthen interface clarity between the platform organization and Product Deployment along the Product Management ↔ Product Deployment ↔ Project Delivery seam, in support of federated execution within guardrails.
3) Friction diagnosis and cross-functional resolution
Identify recurring sources of friction across Product Strategy, Product Engineering, Product Operations, Product Deployment, and key partner functions (Engineering, Delivery, Operations, Sustainability, Sales, Site Selection, Procurement, Finance).
Work with the relevant leaders to clarify roles, hand-offs, escalation paths, and decision expectations where the system is not operating as intended — with a bias toward route-through-the-defined-path rather than solving locally in isolation.
Surface systemic issues early and frame them in a way that supports timely decisions: crisp problem statements, implications, options, and recommended next steps. This is consistent with the broader Product role architecture, which emphasizes decision-ready artefacts, clear trade-off framing, and mechanisms that increase speed without substituting for formal ownership.
4) High-priority transformation initiatives
Lead or co-lead a focused set of CPO-sponsored initiatives where success depends on integration across multiple Product systems or between Product and enterprise partners.
These typically include operating-model playbooks, interface and decision-rights clarifications, federated governance mechanisms, leadership operating disciplines, and adoption efforts that require senior judgement and sustained momentum but do not naturally belong to a single functional owner.
Ensure each initiative has clear scope, stakeholders, intended outcomes, exit criteria, and follow-through — without creating a shadow program management office, duplicating Technical Program Management, or competing with Product Performance and Operations’ ownership of formal portfolio mechanisms.
5) Executive partnership and sensitive topics
Act as a trusted senior partner to the CPO on transformation topics affecting Product effectiveness: leadership alignment, organization health, execution risk, capability sequencing, and cross-functional coordination as the operating model matures.
Handle highly sensitive and confidential topics with maturity and discretion, including organizational design, succession themes, leadership capability, operating friction, and executive stakeholder dynamics.
Support the CPO in engaging with partner functions — including Finance, Human Resources, Learning and Development, Procurement, and regional stakeholders — where Product alignment, planning, or operating clarity is needed during the transformation period.
6) Embedding and continuous improvement
Support the practical embedding of Pit Lane by helping leadership expectations and standard work become visible in routines, behaviours, and cross-system interactions across the Product organization.
Partner with functional leaders, Product Operations, and enterprise support teams to reinforce the federated model in practice — guardrails, intentional variants, structured deviations, and closed-loop learning — without duplicating ownership of enterprise learning frameworks or formal governance.
Use observation, feedback, and practical problem-solving to help the Product organization continuously improve how it works as a global system, including how project learnings are synthesized into platform improvements release after release.
It is not the owner of Product Strategy, platform roadmaps, standards, approved variants, or product decisions — those belong to the Senior Director, Product Management and the Product Strategy and Management system.
It is not the owner of Product Operations: portfolio governance, decision forums, portfolio analytics, or formal performance reporting are explicitly assigned to the VP, Product Operations and the Senior Director, Product Performance.
It does not replace Technical Program Management, design authority, or functional leadership accountability.
It is not an administrative Chief of Staff role.
It is not a Human Resources Business Partner role, and it does not own broader workforce planning, employee relations, performance processes, reward guidance, or enterprise leadership development frameworks.
It is not a construction project manager, scheduler, or engineering design authority.
10+ years in senior leadership, transformation, business operations, strategy execution, or adjacent roles in complex, matrixed, capital-intensive, or technical environments.
Demonstrated experience leading or supporting operating-model change in a federated or multi-system environment — landing change in practice, not just designing it on paper.
Demonstrated ability to operate effectively across multiple senior stakeholders and functions without formal line authority, using structure, judgement, and influence to improve outcomes.
Strong executive communication and decision hygiene: clear narratives, concise memos, structured options, practical recommendations, and disciplined follow-through.
Experience translating broad strategic intent into operating clarity, sequenced transformation moves, and measurable leadership action.
Strong organizational judgement and the maturity to handle sensitive, confidential matters with discretion.
Ability to create clarity and pace without over-bureaucratizing or duplicating formal governance.
Experience in data centers, mission-critical infrastructure, industrial systems, advanced manufacturing, or other complex delivery environments.
Experience supporting a senior executive or leadership team through operating-model change, organizational scaling, or cross-functional transformation, ideally in a platform or productized delivery context.
Familiarity with product operating models, federated execution environments, and the distinction between strategy ownership, performance ownership, operations ownership, and integration / enablement mechanisms.
Strong systems thinking across organizational interfaces, incentives, and operating rhythms; able to see where the system is not functioning as intended and why.
Excellent prioritization and follow-through in ambiguous, fast-moving environments; bias to closure rather than churn.
High-trust behaviour and executive maturity, including discretion on sensitive organizational and people topics.
Influence without authority; able to drive alignment through clarity, credibility, and lightweight mechanisms.
Ability to translate complexity into structure and movement: crisp problem statements, options, and decision-ready framing.
Pragmatic operator mindset: improves how the system works without trying to own the system, and prefers to use existing forums, standard work, and templates rather than inventing parallel mechanisms.
Pit Lane depends not only on strong strategy, sound standards, and trusted analytics, but on the ability of the Product organization to operate as one integrated leadership system across its three constituent systems and Product Deployment. The Senior Director, Product Transformation & Integration, Global helps close the gap between transformation intent and on-the-ground execution at the leadership level — so the wider Product organization can move faster, with less friction, stronger alignment, and a steady cadence of operating-model improvement deployment after deployment.
We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other’s strengths and respecting each other’s weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.
Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.
Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.
Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.
