Steven Stoddart

IT and Digital leader with over 20 years' experience leading IT operations, technology services, infrastructure, cyber security and digital transformation. Proven track record of leading teams, managing strategic suppliers and Managed Service Providers, delivering technology change, and driving continual service improvement. Experienced in ensuring IT services are secure, reliable, resilient and aligned to business objectives, with strong knowledge of infrastructure, cloud services, endpoint management, cybersecurity, user support, service management and business continuity.

Commercially focused, with a strong record of supplier management, contract optimisation and delivering measurable value.

Head of Digital Services at North Star Housing (2026-03 – Present)

Lead Digital Services across the organisation, ensuring technology, infrastructure and digital platforms are secure, reliable, resilient and aligned to business needs. Deliver the digital strategy and lead technology change that improves services, supports colleagues and enables organisational priorities. Provide leadership across digital services, advising senior leaders on governance, cyber security, risk management, service performance and business continuity.

Lead the Digital Services team, manage key supplier and IT service provider relationships, and oversee a technology budget of more than £500,000.

• Led a major infrastructure and service transformation programme, transitioning to a new Managed Service Provider, migrating services from a private data centre to Azure, and replacing Citrix with Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). Delivered £250,000 in contract savings while strengthening service performance, resilience and governance.
• Strengthened service governance and business continuity, leading annual DR/BCP testing with MSPs and introducing improved service and performance reporting for senior leaders.
• Governed cyber security, compliance and assurance activities, including Cyber Essentials certification, third-party penetration testing and IT General Control audits, working with external auditors and security partners to address risks and strengthen controls.
• Delivered value for money through supplier management, contract reviews and process automation.
• Governed Microsoft Entra ID, Active Directory, identity lifecycle processes, access controls and privileged access management, ensuring compliance with security and ITGC audit requirements.
• Expanded the use of Microsoft 365 and modern workplace technologies, leading migration from legacy file shares to OneDrive and SharePoint.

Digital Services Manager at North Star Housing (2024-05 – 2026-03)

Led the organisation's digital support, infrastructure and cyber security functions, ensuring reliable, secure and user-focused technology services. Managed key supplier relationships, oversaw the Digital Helpdesk and telephony platforms, and drove improvements across service delivery, user experience and digital adoption.

• Led a technology refresh programme, procuring and replacing over 100 laptops and 120 mobile devices, improving device performance, security and the experience for colleagues.
• Improved endpoint and infrastructure management through Microsoft Intune, Active Directory and Group Policy, implementing Windows Update Rings, compliance policies, Autopilot provisioning, PowerShell scripting and proactive remediations.
• Introduced improved service reporting and performance metrics for the Digital Helpdesk, increasing visibility of service delivery, supporting continual improvement and enabling more effective operational decision making.

Technical Operations Manager at G4S (2017-05 – 2024-05)

Led a team of eight 2nd Line IT Support Engineers delivering 24/7 operational support across infrastructure, end-user computing, incident management, change management and major incident communications. Governed out-of-hours cover and major incident escalation pathways. Managed service performance through KPIs and SLAs, driving continual service improvement and alignment with business objectives. Oversaw infrastructure monitoring, endpoint management, cyber security compliance and operational governance in partnership with Cyber Security teams, while managing supplier relationships, service reviews and operational performance.

Supported Cyber Essentials

Plus and ISO27001 audit activities, coordinating technical evidence, control reviews and remediation actions. Led workforce planning, team development, performance management and mentoring, building a high-performing and customer-focused support function.

• Provided leadership for multiple concurrent technology projects while maintaining business-as-usual service delivery.
• Successfully delivered the deployment of 1,600 laptops for a major new business contract, designing a CIS-aligned Windows 10 gold image that became the global standard across G4S and delivered licensing savings in excess of £400,000.
• Managed the end-to-end deployment programme, including recruitment and leadership of a dedicated build team, ensuring delivery within challenging timescales.

Interim Head of IT Operations UK&I and Service Desk Manager at G4S (2021-05 – 2022-02)

Led IT Operations and Service Desk functions across the UK, managing a team of 22 and ensuring service stability, operational performance and delivery against business priorities. Managed cross-functional teams and strategic suppliers, driving service improvements, operational efficiency and stronger service governance. Provided leadership during a period of organisational change, maintaining service quality, business continuity and customer satisfaction.

IT Support Engineer at G4S/CareUK (North East Offender Health) (2013-10 – 2017-05)

Supported healthcare and operational users across prison healthcare services, providing on-site IT support for clinical and business systems within a regulated environment.

IT Field Engineer, Remote Support Engineer and Service Desk positions at Multiple (SGBE, Logistics International PLC, A&O Services, Hewlett Packard) (2003 – 2013)

Earlier Career positions

BA (Hons) in Business Computing – University of Sunderland (1998 – 2002)

Cisco Network Academy Training program – University of Sunderland (2009 – 2010)

ITIL Foundation Course – BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT (2015 – 2015)

Google Associate Cloud Engineer Course – Google Get GCP certified program (2023 – 2023)