IT Operations Team Lead - Baltics & Finland

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

Type: Permanent, full-time position

Language Requirement: English (Fluent)

Reporting to: IT Regional Infrastructure Manager

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and motivated IT Operations Team Leader to join us in Vilnius. In this role, you will lead a team of IT professionals responsible for delivering and supporting IT infrastructure services across the Baltics and Finland.

You will play a key role in ensuring the stability, performance, and security of our IT environment while driving continuous improvement, operational excellence, and innovation. This position offers an exciting opportunity to combine people leadership with hands-on technical expertise in a dynamic international environment, supporting both local and regional business operations.

Principal Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Team Leadership

Manage and develop a high-performing IT Infrastructure team.

Assign tasks, set priorities, and monitor team performance.

Foster a collaborative and supportive team culture.

Provide technical guidance and mentorship to team members.

Lead and support a geographically dispersed team serving business operations across the Baltics and Finland.

Build strong relationships with local business leaders and key stakeholders across the region.

Infrastructure Management

Oversee the day-to-day operations of the IT infrastructure, including servers, networks, storage, and telecommunications systems.

Ensure high availability, performance, and security of IT systems.

Develop and implement IT infrastructure standards and best practices.

Monitor system performance and identify potential issues proactively.

Ensure consistent delivery of infrastructure services and support standards across the Baltics and Finland.

Act as the primary escalation point for infrastructure-related matters within the region.

Project Management

Lead and participate in IT infrastructure projects, from planning to implementation.

Manage project timelines, budgets, and resources effectively.

Coordinate with other departments and stakeholders to ensure project success.

Support regional infrastructure transformation and modernisation initiatives across the Baltics and Finland.

Incident Management

Provide leadership during IT incidents and outages.

Coordinate incident response and recovery efforts.

Implement measures to prevent recurrence of incidents.

Promote a culture of continuous service improvement.

Capacity Planning

Analyse IT infrastructure capacity and performance.

Develop capacity plans to meet future business needs.

Optimise resource utilisation to maximise efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Vendor Management

Manage relationships with IT infrastructure vendors and suppliers.

Negotiate contracts and service level agreements.

Ensure vendor performance meets expectations.

Regional Responsibility

Provide operational leadership for IT infrastructure services across the Baltics and Finland.

Work closely with business and functional stakeholders to ensure IT services meet regional business requirements.

Support standardisation initiatives while balancing local operational needs.

Drive collaboration between local IT teams, Shared Services functions, and global infrastructure teams.

Required Skills and Qualifications

Proven experience in IT infrastructure management and team leadership.

Strong technical knowledge of servers, networks, storage, and virtualisation technologies.

Experience with IT service management frameworks (ITIL).

Excellent problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.

Strong project management and organisational abilities.

Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.

Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Desired Skills and Qualifications

Experience with cloud computing platforms such as AWS and/or Microsoft Azure.

Relevant certifications in IT technologies such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or ITIL.

Experience working in a Shared Services environment

Experience working across multiple countries and cultures in an international business environment.

About us

• DS Smith is a leading provider of sustainable fiber-based packaging worldwide, which is supported by recycling and papermaking operations. We play a central role in the value chain across sectors including e-commerce, fast moving consumer goods and industrials. Through our purpose of ‘Redefining Packaging for a Changing World’ and our Now and Next sustainability strategy, DS Smith is committed to leading the transition to the circular economy. We are delivering more and more circular solutions for our customers and wider society – replacing problem plastics, taking carbon out of supply chains and providing innovative recycling solutions. DS Smith is headquartered in London and a member of the FTSE 100, operating in 34 countries employing around 30,000 people.
• We are focusing on realizing the potential of our people every day, and you will get close to endless opportunities for independent prioritization of your day-to-day work in a good work environment with colleagues of all ages and nationalities. Like all other DS Smith colleagues, we are proud of the opportunity to make a sustainable difference in a market-leading company.

Fair recruitment in DS Smith

Don’t meet every single requirement? At DS Smith, we are committed to recruiting across a wide range of candidates. We are thriving for being a diverse workplace where everyone can realize their potential. We see equality and diversity as a strength. Thus, we hope that you will apply for the position even if you do not necessarily meet all the requirements.

Benefits

Competitive salary and benefits package.

Opportunities for professional development and career growth.

An international and collaborative working environment.

The opportunity to make a tangible impact on the performance and development of IT operations across the region.

Travel

Approximately 25-30% travel is required for this role, including regular travel across Lithuania, Estonia and Finland, as well as occasional travel to other locations within the region.

A valid driving licence is required.

• Salary
• For this position we offer an annual salary range between 64 800 € - 72 000 €.
• You will be included in our bonus scheme, with a maximum bonus of 10%.

• Application
• If you have questions regarding the process or trouble applying, please reach out to us at north.emea.careers@dssmith.com

We hope to receive your application as soon as possible. Please observe that we do not accept applications by email.

After having submitted your application, you may be expected to perform work psychological tests as well as respond to screening questions, as part of our objective, unbiased, and largely digital process.

Please apply with your CV in English.

We look forward to receiving your application!