IT Manager

Role Overview: Role: Standalone UK IT Manager for Wilderness Group, supporting three travel/safari brands (Wilderness, Yellow Zebra, Jakarta) under a PE-backed group. Context: Wilderness Group has grown quickly via acquisition (Jakarta and Yellow Zebra) and operates safaris primarily in Africa; UK headcount is ~230 across sales, operations, marketing, finance, etc. Current state: No formal UK IT function; IT currently run out of South Africa plus an outdated third-party provider (Tip Top) and ad hoc office manager support. This is the first dedicated UK IT hire. Reporting lines: Functional reporting into the Wilderness IT team in South Africa (CTO and/or senior IT lead), with a local dotted line into Matt (UK Finance Director). Role mandate: Build and own the UK IT function day-to-day – assess current environment, introduce structure and process, drive cost efficiencies and security, and become the go-to IT contact across the three UK offices. Key Requirements: Experience level & type Standalone / small-team IT leadership experience, ideally as an IT Manager or very strong senior engineer stepping into ownership of IT for an SME/multi-site environment. Proven track record of coming into a relatively greenfield or unstructured IT landscape, assessing the environment, and defining/implementing improvements (process, tooling, vendors, security). Comfort acting as both hands-on support and strategic owner (designing processes, making tech/vendor recommendations, driving cost savings). Technical environment & skills Experience supporting a mixed Microsoft / Google environment preferred: Wilderness uses Microsoft stack (Teams, Office 365, likely Azure/AD etc.). Yellow Zebra & Jakarta use Google Workspace. Comfort with both Windows and Mac endpoints; environment is predominantly Windows but marketing and some teams use Macs. General SME infrastructure skills: endpoint build and provisioning, user account management, basic networking/Wi-Fi, printers, office moves/changes, etc. Ability to select, implement, and run an IT ticketing system from scratch, plus automation of common support flows (onboarding, provisioning, password resets, etc.). Vendor management skills: Review and rationalise current outsourced provider (Tip Top) and any other suppliers. Propose more cost-effective models (e.g., reducing external hours, leasing vs buying hardware, alternative support vendors). Security mindset: implement and/or validate endpoint and account security; Brooke currently has “no idea” what security is on devices, so candidate must be capable of introducing basic controls and working with the SA team on policies (including AI policy, etc.). Stakeholder & collaboration Able to liaise closely with the South African IT/tech leadership for alignment on group standards, architecture, and policies. Comfortable working with non-technical stakeholders (HR, Finance, office managers, sales leaders) and explaining decisions in plain language. Self-starter: minimal local IT guidance; must be able to independently assess the “lay of the land,” prioritise, and drive change. Soft skills & culture fit Personable, approachable “face of IT” across UK offices – someone people are happy to walk up to with issues. Clear, proactive communicator; able to manage expectations and communicate constraints and priorities. Enjoys a non-corporate, relaxed and flexible culture (travel industry vibe), but can still bring structure and discipline to IT. Comfortable being the only dedicated IT person in the UK and owning end-to-end outcomes. Nice-to-haves / Potential future Experience in travel, hospitality or similar multi-brand consumer environments is not required and not a priority. Any experience with marketing/digital tooling (e.g. HubSpot, which has just been rolled out) would be a bonus but not core. Location: Base: London, with responsibility for three UK offices: Yellow Zebra: Kingston (South West London). Jakarta: Old Street (East London). Wilderness: London Bridge. Hybrid: Standard pattern is 3 days in-office / 2 days remote, but company is very flexible on which days – driven by business need (e.g. large onboarding cohorts). Travel: Candidate must be willing and able to travel between the three London offices as needed; no separate travel expenses currently paid for intra-London commuting.