Service Assurance Lead

MARKS&SPENCER; Salford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Summary

The Service Assurance Lead is a senior role responsible for managing a team of Service Assurance Managers to deliver Service Management assurance across assigned product, platform, and infrastructure Tribes.

Embedded within D&T Tribes, the team ensures Service Management practices are fully integrated and IT services meet required Service Levels for M&S Business operations. Acting as ambassadors for Service Management, they promote ITIL4, DevOps, and SecOps frameworks to balance delivery speed with standardisation and risk reduction.

The role involves proactive monitoring of performance, identifying trends, and collaborating with Tribe leaders to address risks and implement improvement initiatives. Regular engagement with Tribe leadership and stakeholders ensures alignment, sponsorship, and measurable improvements in Tribe performance and maturity.

What's in it for you

Being a part of M&S is exactly that - playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We're an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever-evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.

Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special:

• After completing your probationary period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

What you'll do

• Manage a team of Service Assurance Managers across Tribes, ensuring effective training, coaching, and onboarding.
• Drive continuous enhancement of Service Management by monitoring KPIs and compliance while addressing risks.
• Act as the primary liaison for business stakeholders and Tribe leadership to promote best practices and secure support.
• Oversee escalation and resolution of Major Incidents and lead investigations to identify and mitigate risks.
• Provide regular performance reports and collaborate on continuous improvement initiatives across the Service Management community.

Who you are

• Retail experience is a distinct advantage. Proven ability to lead and motivate teams of Senior and Service Assurance Managers, driving high performance and collaboration.
• Skilled in building strong relationships with senior business stakeholders, Tribe leadership, and key partners to secure alignment and support for Service Management practices.
• Deep understanding of ITIL4, DevOps, SecOps, and IT infrastructure, coupled with strong analytical skills for monitoring service quality, performance metrics, SLAs, and risk management.
• Adept at planning and communicating process improvements while effectively resolving conflicts and managing challenging conversations.
• Capable of preparing clear, concise performance reports and leveraging tools such as ServiceNow/Helix, Jira, and Power BI to drive insights.
• Excels in fast-paced environments by quickly analysing complex issues and implementing effective solutions.

Everyone's welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.