Project Manager - Data Centre

Senior Project Manager

Location: London (Canary Wharf)

Type: Contract

Industry: Financial Services/Banking

Overview:

A leading Financial Services client is seeking a Senior Project Manager to lead the downstream execution of a new co-location (Co-Lo) data centre initiative. This role focuses on managing and coordinating the build and migration activities, ensuring adherence to standards, and engaging multi-disciplinary teams across infrastructure, development, governance, and customer-facing business units.

Key Responsibilities:

Data Centre Build and Vendor Management

• Define and validate cage/space specifications to ensure they meet the client’s standards.
• Work closely with the Co-Lo vendor and their build teams to ensure all requirements are met and aligned with specifications.
• Maintain clear and regular communication with the financial client’s Data Centre team for validation and updates.

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Collaborate with application, service, and infrastructure teams, including networks, to review and finalize requirements.
• Manage and coordinate cross-functional teams spanning infrastructure, development, architecture, governance, and customer-facing business units.
• Act as the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment and buy-in for project plans.
• Proactively engage stakeholders, facilitate clear communication, and minimize project disruptions.

Planning and Migration Execution

• Develop and oversee detailed project plans, covering both the data centre build and application/service migration processes.
• Directly interface with customer account teams and customers to secure buy-in, address technical queries, and manage expectations.
• Lead and support migration activities, including:
• Weekend and evening work for pre-migration tests.
• Execution of Network Integration Tests (NITs), Disaster Recovery (DR) tests, and migration dress rehearsals.
• Managing both physical (lift-and-shift) and logical migrations.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Proven experience in managing data centre builds and migration projects within a complex environment.
• Expertise in engaging with Co-Lo vendors and ensuring compliance with defined standards and specifications.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills to manage multi-stakeholder teams effectively (“herding cats”).
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage stakeholders and foster collaboration across diverse teams.
• Demonstrated ability to create, execute, and manage detailed project and migration plans.
• Flexibility to work during weekends and evenings for critical migration phases.

Why Join?

• Opportunity to lead a high-impact project for a global financial client.
• Work in a dynamic, collaborative environment with diverse teams across infrastructure and business units.
• Competitive compensation and a chance to work on cutting-edge data centre solutions.

How to Apply:

If you are a detail-oriented, proactive project manager with a track record in data centre builds and migrations, we encourage you to apply. Please submit your CV to barry.ansell@harringtonstarr.com or click the link provided.