Linux Programme Manager

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HelloKindred are specialists in staffing marketing, creative and technology roles, offering a range of talent solutions that can be delivered on-site, remotely or hybrid.

Our vision is to make work accessible and people’s lives better. We do this by disrupting traditional employment barriers - connecting ambitious talent to flexible opportunities with trusted brands.

Anticipated Contract End Date/Length: October 11, 2027

Work Set Up: Hybrid (3 days per week in Sheffield office)

Clearance Required: BPSS

Our client in the Information Technology and Services industry is looking for an experienced Linux Programme Manager to lead the design, build, and operational launch of a RHEL server offering on IBM LinuxONE. The successful candidate will work across mainframe, Linux, network, storage, security, and service-management teams to define responsibilities and deliver a service application teams can consume.

The role requires strong technical project management experience combined with sufficient technical credibility across IBM LinuxONE, RHEL, infrastructure, and cross-platform delivery to challenge assumptions, resolve ownership gaps, and drive successful service launch and operational adoption.

Responsibilities

• Define the RHEL offering, including supported versions, server sizes, environments, availability tiers, and target workloads.
• Coordinate the architecture across platform capacity, virtualisation, networking, storage, security, and management tooling.
• Confirm workload readiness by validating application, middleware, and vendor support for Linux on IBM Z (s390x), without assuming x86 workloads can move unchanged.
• Establish the operating model and agree ownership for provisioning, patching, monitoring, backup, and support across each layer.
• Lead a pilot to prove provisioning, application compatibility, performance, recovery, and support processes.
• Deliver production readiness by securing operational sign-off, publishing the service catalogue, and managing initial onboarding.
• Lead the design, build, and operational launch of the RHEL server offering on IBM LinuxONE.
• Coordinate mainframe, Linux, network, storage, security, and service-management teams to define responsibilities and delivery requirements.
• Align mainframe platform practices with Linux engineering and application requirements.
• Manage infrastructure service-launch activities, including service catalogues, support models, SLAs, disaster recovery, operational acceptance, and onboarding.
• Own delivery plans, dependencies, risks, suppliers, budgets, and decisions across infrastructure teams.
• Challenge technical assumptions and resolve ownership gaps across platform and engineering teams.
• Produce and maintain an integrated delivery plan and RAID log.
• Establish and maintain agreed architecture and responsibility matrices.
• Develop capacity, licensing, and cost models.
• Define provisioning and lifecycle-management processes.
• Secure security, backup, and disaster-recovery acceptance evidence.
• Establish operational runbooks, support models, and service catalogues.
• Document pilot results and secure production go-live approval.

• Bring experience with IBM LinuxONE / IBM Z, including understanding of LPARs, IFL capacity, platform resilience, and virtualisation approaches such as z/VM or KVM.
• Demonstrate familiarity with enterprise RHEL environments, including provisioning, patching, hardening, monitoring, backup, automation, and production support.
• Possess cross-platform delivery experience aligning mainframe platform practices with Linux engineering and application requirements.
• Demonstrate experience delivering infrastructure service launches involving service catalogues, support models, SLAs, disaster recovery, operational acceptance, and onboarding.
• Bring strong technical project management experience with ownership of plans, dependencies, risks, suppliers, budgets, and decisions across infrastructure teams.
• Apply sufficient technical depth across IBM LinuxONE and RHEL to challenge assumptions, resolve ownership gaps, and coordinate technical delivery effectively.
• Demonstrate experience coordinating infrastructure architecture across platform capacity, virtualisation, networking, storage, security, and management tooling.
• Understand application, middleware, and vendor compatibility requirements for Linux on IBM Z (s390x), including the limitations of moving x86 workloads unchanged.
• Demonstrate experience establishing operating models and defining responsibilities across provisioning, patching, monitoring, backup, and support functions.
• Bring experience leading infrastructure pilots through provisioning, application compatibility, performance, recovery, support validation, and production readiness.
• Demonstrate the ability to coordinate multidisciplinary infrastructure teams and drive operational acceptance and service onboarding.
• Possess strong risk, dependency, supplier, budget, and decision-management capabilities within complex technology programmes.

Candidates must be legally authorized to live and work in the country where the position is based, without requiring employer sponsorship.

HelloKindred is committed to fair, transparent, and inclusive hiring practices. We assess candidates based on skills, experience, and role-related requirements.

We appreciate your interest in this opportunity. While we review every application carefully, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

HelloKindred is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.