Cloud Transformation and Strategy Operations Manager

Ameriprise; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services firm in Westminster seeks an Operations Leader responsible for overseeing IT service delivery and enhancing operational excellence. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in IT service management, excellent leadership skills, and the ability to align technology with business needs. This role is crucial for driving strategic IT initiatives and fostering a high-performing operations team. Flexible working arrangements may be available.

Benefits

Career growth opportunities

Inclusive workplace

Qualifications

• Extensive progressive IT experience in service management and operations.
• Proven track record in managing major incidents in enterprise environments.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL practices and ITSM frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and integrate IT service delivery and operational excellence.
• Serve as strategic liaison between IT and business units.
• Lead a team of operations engineers fostering innovation and efficiency.

Skills

IT service delivery

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology or related field

ITIL Foundation certification

Tools

ServiceNow

Jira Service Management

Ansible

PowerShell

Job description

In your role you will be part of the Technology Operations Center (TOC) leadership team, ensuring continuous monitoring, rapid incident response, and effective coordination of major incidents. You will also champion IT Service Management (ITSM) practices, driving process improvement and service reliability through Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) frameworks. Additionally, you will act as a key Business Relationship Manager (BRM) for the Columbia Threadneedle UK organisation, serving as a trusted advisor to regional business units and driving strategic alignment between IT capabilities and business needs. How youll spend your time... We are seeking a strategic and results-driven Operations Leader to oversee and integrate our IT service delivery, operational excellence, and business relationship management. This role combines leadership of IT operations, ITIL-based service management, and stakeholder engagement to ensure high-performing, customer-focused technology services that align with organizational objectives.

Lead ITSM Strategy & Governance: 50%

• Develop, implement, and maintain an enterprise-wide ITSM strategy aligned with organizational goals.
• Define and enforce ITIL-based policies, processes, and procedures.
• Oversee core ITIL functions such as Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Request Fulfillment, and Configuration Management.
• Establish KPIs and metrics to monitor and report on service performance, availability, and customer satisfaction.

Business Relationship Management: 25%

• Serve as the strategic liaison between IT and business units to align technology initiatives with business goals.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and expectation management.
• Support the delivery of IT services, resolving issues and driving continuous service improvement.

Technology Operations Center Leader and Major Incident Coordinator: 15%

• Manage the performance of IT infrastructure services delivered by external vendors, ensuring service-level agreements (SLAs) are met.
• Liaison with Business Continuity teams in EMEA and lead Disaster Recovery Exercises in compliance with global standards.
• Act as the point of escalation for critical issues from business partners, driving prompt and effective resolution.
• Oversee governance of IT operations, ensuring that outsourced services are aligned with enterprise goals and maintaining compliance with regulatory and business standards.

Team Leadership and Cross-functional Collaboration: 10%

• Lead a team of operations engineers and analysts, fostering innovation, efficiency, and collaboration.
• Partner closely with application and product teams, across a global 24 by 7 operations including India and US, ensuring infrastructure capabilities effectively support evolving business requirements.
• Guide the team in adopting best practices for infrastructure resilience and security while enabling digital transformation initiatives.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelors degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field (Masters preferred or equivalent experience).
• Extensive progressive IT experience, including established experience in service management, operations, or infrastructure support, and proven experience in a leadership or managerial role.
• Proven track record in IT service delivery, ITSM process implementation, and managing major incidents in large-scale enterprise environments.
• ITIL Foundation certification (Intermediate or Expert preferred).
• Experience in business analysis, stakeholder management, and bridging technical and non-technical teams.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL practices, ITSM frameworks, and service management platforms.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Skilled in translating business needs into technical solutions and driving cross-functional collaboration.
• Proficient in data analysis, performance reporting, change management, and continuous improvement.
• If you also had this, it would be great…
• ITSM tools: ServiceNow, BMC Remedy, Jira Service Management, Freshservice.
• CMDB and IT performance monitoring platforms.
• Automation tools and scripting (e.g., Ansible, PowerShell).

Working at Columbia Threadneedle Investments youll find growth and career opportunities across all of our businesses.

We're intentionally built to help you succeed. Our reach is expansive with a global team of 2,500 people working together. Our expertise is diverse with more than 650 investment professionals sharing global perspectives across all major asset classes and markets. Our clients have access to a broad array of investment strategies, and we have the capability to create bespoke solutions matched to clients specific requirements. Columbia Threadneedle is a people business and we recognise that our success is due to our talented people, who bring diversity of thought, complementary skills and capabilities. We are committed to providing an inclusive workplace that supports the diversity of our employees and reflects our broader communities and client-base. We appreciate that work-life balance is an important factor for many when considering their next move so please discuss any flexible working requirements directly with your recruiter.