Sectors | Data centre operations and commercial
Data centre executive search from Dubai, for the leaders who run and fill a campus.
A campus that has been handed over needs someone to run it without an outage and someone to fill it. I run retained searches for country heads, operations directors, heads of critical facilities and the commercial, leasing and power procurement leaders, for operators, colocation firms and AI clouds.
Seats like these open quietly. If you lead data centre operations and commercial work and would consider a move, including into or out of the Gulf, talk to me in confidence.
Not ready to brief? Get a pay benchmark for your open seats
A benchmark of your open seats carries no fee. A full compensation study is a fixed-fee piece, credited against a search.
Last reviewed , the date of the market facts on this page.
Looking at your next move? See this page for leaders
Hiring for one of these seats? See this page for clients
The seats
- Country head and general manager (KSA, UAE, UK and Europe, US)
- VP and director of data centre operations, head of critical facilities
- Regional and multi-site operations directors
- Commercial, leasing and business development directors
- Head of energy and power procurement for campuses
- Head of hyperscale and key accounts
What is driving hiring, and the timelines
- Staffing is a top-three problem. In the Uptime Institute's 2025 staffing survey (864 respondents), hiring was among the top three challenges, and nearly two-thirds reported difficulty retaining staff, finding qualified people, or both (Uptime Institute).
- Gulf capacity is set to more than triple. About 900 MW was installed across the GCC in 2025, and capacity is expected to pass 3 GW by 2030 (Allianz Trade, GCC Semiconductors Report 2026).
- Europe keeps adding. EU IT capacity grows from 9.1 GW at the end of 2026 to 16.3 GW in 2030, and the UK stays Europe's largest market (BloombergNEF).
Where I find them
UK, Irish, Nordic and US hyperscale and colocation operators, plus the Gulf's own operators. For Saudi and UAE seats I map nationals alongside, because localisation rules apply to many of these firms.
What I don't do here
Shift engineers and technicians. I run the leadership seats.
Why clients use me here
- Searches filled across the GCC, Europe and North America
- Executive search in energy and EPC across the Middle East
- Retained mandates for multinational engineering groups, through their subsidiaries
- Recruitment teams built and trained
- Your search page, live from day one
- A shortlist in 10 working days, in writing
How a retained search runs
Map
Who has delivered this scope, where they sit, what they cost.
Shortlist
People who have agreed to be introduced, with a written assessment of each, within 10 working days on a retained or engaged search.
Start date
Offer, notice and relocation handled through to day one.
How retained search works, and when engaged search fits better
Questions clients ask
- Can you hire a country head before the first hall is live?
- Yes. That is the most common first search: the person who will run the site is often needed a year before handover.
Terms
Retained or engaged, with a fee on signing. Retained: three stages, on signing, on the shortlist and at the start date. Engaged: a fee on signing, credited in full against the final fee. Both exclusive, both with a shortlist within 10 working days. How the terms work
Brief me on a data centre operations and commercial seat
The more you tell me, the more useful my first reply. I'll come back within one working day.
Thank you.
I'll be in touch within one working day. If it's urgent, call me on +971 58 585 2790.
Other seats open? Get a pay benchmark for them while you wait.
Seats I search for in this family
- Country head and general manager (KSA, UAE, UK and Europe, US)
- VP and director of data centre operations, head of critical facilities
- Regional and multi-site operations directors
- Commercial, leasing and business development directors
- Head of energy and power procurement for campuses
- Head of hyperscale and key accounts
Most of these searches are confidential and never advertised. Published ones are on the careers page.
What they pay
| Seat | Published pay | Source |
|---|---|---|
| VP of data centre operations, US | Average total pay USD 285,000; top tenth above USD 450,000 | Published figure: dcgeeks |
| Data centre manager, UK | GBP 57,000 to 94,000 a year | Published figure: CV-Library |
| Data centre manager, UAE | Average base AED 248,280 a year | Published figure: PayScale |
Published figures from the sources named, not my own data. Base pay unless stated; Gulf packages usually add housing, transport and schooling. For your own seat, ask for a confidential market check.
How a confidential conversation works
- A call, not a form. What you run today, what you would move for, and what you would not.
- Nothing shared without your say-so. Your profile goes to a client only with your permission for that one role.
- The real package, in writing, before you interview: base, housing, schooling, bonus and relocation.
- The move handled: notice, visas and family questions, into or out of the Gulf.
- You never pay a fee.
Register and share your CV
I read every profile myself. If a data centre operations and commercial seat fits, I'll call you; if not, I'll keep you in mind, only with your permission.
Thank you. You're in the talent network.
I'll read your details myself. If there's a role that fits now, I'll call you, usually within a week. If not, I'll keep you in mind for the next one.
Want to know what your seat pays elsewhere? Ask for a confidential market check.
Confidential by default. Your profile is never shared with a client, or described in a way that could identify you, unless you have agreed to that specific role. You can ask what I hold about you, or ask me to delete it, at lloyd@millerandwoodall.com.
A site to run, or capacity to sell, with no name against it?
Tell me the seat and the date. Not ready to brief? Ask for a pay benchmark for your open seats.
Open to the right move?
Register in confidence, or ask what your seat pays elsewhere.