Vacancy Notice 1700
INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 196 Member Countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities, and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime.
INTERPOL actively encourages applications from women and nationals of member countries that are currently unrepresented among our staff (please click on this link to access the list of countries). Candidates from these countries are particularly encouraged to apply.
INTERPOL’s recruitment process is merit-based hence all hiring decisions are made considering the applicant’s qualifications and the needs of the Organization.
Job Title: Head of department - Operations Centre
Reporting To: Chief IT Operations Officer (CITOO)
Location: Lyon
Type of contract: Fixed-term Contract
Duration (in months): 36.00*
Grade: 3
Number of post: 1
Level of Security screening: Enhanced
Deadline for application: 09/07/2026
Conditions applying for all candidates
Only professional experience for which candidates can provide official proof of employment will be considered. Candidates could be requested to provide copies of such official documents prior to interviews/test.
* Subsequent extension to this post will be subject to the terms of the Organization’s Staff Manual, to satisfactory performance and to availability of funds.
Tests/interviews in connection to this selection procedure will take place approximately 2/3 weeks after the deadline for applications. Applicants are kindly requested to plan their availability during this period accordingly, in case they are short-listed.
Selected candidates will be expected to report for duty approximately one to three months after receiving an offer of employment at the latest.
This selection exercise may be used to generate a reserve list of suitable candidates that may be used to address Organization's similar staffing needs in the future.
SUMMARY OF THE ASSIGNED DUTIES, INCLUDING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE POST
Within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Executive Directorate/Operations (OPS), and reporting to the Chief IT Operations Officer (CITOO), the incumbent is responsible for:
The Head of Department Operations Centre (OPC) executes the unified operational model for the delivery of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) services to INTERPOL’s global user base comprising internal staff and external law enforcement officers from INTERPOL’s Member Countries.
The OPC is the central point of execution for all service delivery, incident coordination and asset readiness ensuring that ICT services meet the operational needs of INTERPOL’s mission, with precision, reliability, and security.
The Head of Department OPC leads the 24/7 Operations Centre as the primary interface for all standard IT support requests from system access and application usage to asset deployment for both internal and external users. The role ensures seamless alignment between strategic direction set by the Chief Information Officer CIO, CITOO and frontline delivery across technical, logistical, and cultural contexts.
PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND ACTIVITIES
DUTY 1: Operational Management
Initiate, coordinate, and ensure the timely and effective execution of all 24/7 operational activities within the Operations Centre.
- Assume overall responsibility for the ICT’s Service Desk and Network Operations Centre (NOPC), ensuring integrated delivery of end-user support and real-time infrastructure monitoring.
- Establish unified workflows, escalation paths, and performance standards to guarantee seamless coordination between user support and network operations across all regions and time zones.
- Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of incident, problem, and request management from detection and triage through resolution and closure ensuring adherence to Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and ICT’s Service Management Frameworks.
- Manage real-time monitoring, alerting, and dashboarding systems to ensure visibility into the health, performance, and security posture of all critical ICT services.
- Guarantee 24/7 operational readiness of the OPC including staffing, shift scheduling, tool availability, communication channels, and escalation matrices with full coverage across all time zones and operational modes.
- Participate in cross-functional incident response teams during major outages, cyber incidents, or high-priority events including direct liaison with other ICT Teams.
- Ensure all incidents are logged, classified, prioritized, and escalated in accordance with agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and operational playbooks with timely communication to CITOO and affected stakeholders.
- Maintain and continuously improve operational dOPCumentation: Runbooks, Playbooks, Standard Operating PrOPCedures (SOPs), Escalation Matrices and Contact Lists.
- Deliver daily, weekly, and monthly operational reports to CITOO including incident trends, Mean Time To Recovery/Mean Time Between Failures (MTTR/MTBF)metrics, system availability, and capacity constraints to support transparency, audit readiness, and strategic decision-making.
- Collaborate directly with the Head of Platforms & Systems and Engineering Office to ensure operational feedback informs system design, patch cycles, and infrastructure changes.
DUTY 2: Strategy & Planning
- Develop and maintain the OPC Strategic Plan aligned with CITOO’s roadmap and INTERPOL’s overall ICT Strategy covering technology evolution, staffing models, automation, and prOPCess maturity.
- Define, monitor, and report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Objectives (SLOs) for the OPC including response times, resolution rates, false positive rates, and customer satisfaction.
- Participate in the execution of operational resilience exercises including tabletop simulations, disaster recovery drills, and cyber incident response scenarios involving OPC staff and other ICT Teams.
- Drive the digital transformation of the OPC evaluating and implementing advanced monitoring tools, AI-driven alert correlation, automation of routine tasks, and integration with ticketing and communication platforms.
- Ensure all OPC prOPCesses are compliant with ISO 27001 and INTERPOL’s ICT Governance Frameworks and participate in internal and external audits.
- Work with the Architecture and Engineering to ensure new systems and services are operationally ready for handover including validation of monitoring coverage, alert thresholds, and escalation paths prior to production deployment.
- Lead lifecycle planning for OPC tools, infrastructure and supplies including asset management, software licenses, mobile communication subscriptions, hardware refreshes, redundancy planning, and vendor management to ensure sustainability and cost efficiency
DUTY 3: Acquisition & Deployment
- Prepare RFPs, Statements of Work (SOW), and business cases for OPC-related technology investments including monitoring platforms, communication systems, collaboration tools, and automation solutions.
- Conduct cost-benefit and return-on-investment analyses for OPC modernization initiatives with clear alignment to operational resilience, efficiency gains, and risk reduction.
- Oversee the deployment, configuration, and testing of new OPC systems ensuring seamless integration with existing tools, security baselines, and access controls.
- Coordinate with PrOPCurement, Finance, and Legal to ensure all acquisitions comply with INTERPOL’s prOPCurement policies, data privacy requirements, and agreements.
- Ensure smooth transition from pilot to production for all new OPC technologies including staff training, dOPCumentation updates, SOP validation, and post-implementation reviews.
- Monitor the performance of all OPC tools and systems post-deployment and initiate corrective actions or upgrades based on operational feedback and KPI performance.
DUTY 4: Leadership
- Directly supervise, coach, and develop OPC staff ensuring alignment with INTERPOL’s values and performance expectations.
- Lead the performance management prOPCess to set clear goals, provide regular feedback, identify development needs, and implement individual growth plans.
- Ensure multi-skilling and redundancy across all OPC roles enabling flexible staffing, cross-training, and crisis resilience under any operational scenario.
- Foster a proactive, service-oriented, and security-conscious culture where ownership, urgency, and precision are core values.
- Represent the OPC in senior operational meetings including with CITOO, SOPC, and senior management and make recommendations on staffing, budget, and resource allOPCation to support operational excellence.
- Act on behalf of CITOO during critical incidents or high-level briefings when required ensuring accurate, timely, and authoritative communication.
DUTY 5: Relationship & Collaboration
- Maintain strong working relationships with the Head of Platforms & Systems, Head of Network & Data Centre, Head of Security Operations Centre (SOPC), and Service Delivery Management to ensure integrated incident response and service continuity.
- Serve as the primary point of contact between the OPC and National Central Bureaus (NCBs) during operational events ensuring clear, secure, and timely communication of system status, outages, and recovery progress.
- Coordinate with Regional Offices and INTERPOL’s Global NCB Network to understand operational challenges, adapt OPC support models, and deliver lOPCalized incident response guidance.
- Engage with Finance, Planning, and PrOPCurement teams to align OPC budgeting, forecasting, and acquisition planning with organizational priorities.
- Represent INTERPOL’s OPC in international forums, working groups, and bilateral engagements — sharing best practices and learning from global law enforcement partners.
- Ensure all communications internal and external are clear, accurate, multilingual (English/French/Spanish/Arabic), and aligned with INTERPOL’s neutral, professional, and secure communication protOPCols.
Perform any other duties as required by the hierarchy.
QUALIFICATIONS, COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS
Education and qualification required:
- At least five years’ University education in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
- ITIL Foundation certification is mandatory; ITIL Expert or Service Management certifications are highly desirable.
Experience required:
- Minimum 8 years’ experience in ICT operations, with at least 5 years in a leadership or managerial role within a 24/7 operational environment. Ten years of relevant experience are required if the post holder does not have the required level of education.
- Proven experience managing a large-scale, global Operations Centre ideally within a law enforcement, government, or international organization.
- Demonstrated expertise in incident management, service restoration, escalation protOPCols, and real-time monitoring of mission-critical systems.
- Strong background in ITIL-based service operations, with experience implementing and auditing operational prOPCesses.
- Experience leading teams under high-pressure, time-critical conditions including during cyberattacks, natural disasters, or major global events.
- Experience working international law enforcement partners is an advantage.
Languages:
- Fluency in English is required and proficiency in another language of the Organization (Arabic, French or Spanish) would be an asset.
Abilities required:
- Proven ability to lead, motivate, and develop technical teams in high-stakes environments.
- Deep understanding of 24/7 operations, SLAs, KPIs, and performance metrics.
- Ability to remain calm, make rapid decisions, and lead under pressure during major incidents.
- Exceptional ability to communicate technical information clearly to technical and non-technical audiences including senior management.
- Ability to translate operational needs into long-term plans, budgets, and technology investments.
- Strong interpersonal skills to build trust across departments, regions, and international partners.
- Solid understanding of network infrastructure, operating systems, cloud platforms, monitoring tools, ticketing systems and cybersecurity principles.
- Familiarity with project delivery frameworks and ability to lead small-to-medium operational projects.
