Head of Managed Services

Harvey Nash Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Harvey Nash Group in London seeks a seasoned Head of Managed Services to lead a global IT and security services function across the UK and offshore locations, owning service delivery, performance, customer experience and profitability.

You will lead multi-site teams including Service Desk, NOC and SOC, drive standardisation, automation and AI initiatives, and partner with Sales and Professional Services to grow the portfolio.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in an MSP or IT services organisation operating a recurring-revenue model.
• Proven experience leading large, multi-site managed services across onshore and offshore teams.
• Strong knowledge of managed IT, managed security services and ITIL-aligned service management.
• Experience overseeing Service Desk, infrastructure, cloud, application or security operations.
• Strong commercial expertise in budget ownership, profitability and cost-to-serve management.
• Track record of scaling operations through standardisation, automation and AI.
• Excellent client-facing and executive stakeholder management and service escalation skills.
• Proven people leadership and organisational change experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead global Service Desk, Field Engineering, NOC, SOC and internal IT support operations.
• Define and implement managed services strategy, operating models and service improvement initiatives.
• Own service performance, SLAs, risk, customer satisfaction and escalations.
• Drive profitability, margin improvement, cost optimisation, resource utilisation and capacity planning.
• Standardise service delivery, processes and governance across onshore and offshore teams.
• Lead automation, AI and tooling initiatives to improve productivity and quality.
• Develop the managed services portfolio and collaborate with Sales and Professional Services to support client retention and growth.
• Build high-performing teams and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Skills

Senior leadership

Managed services

Multi-site ops

ITIL

Budget ownership

Profitability

Automation

AI initiatives

Stakeholder mgmt

Leadership

Job description

Job title: Head of Managed Services

Location: London, UK (Hybrid- 3 days/week; Wednesdays are must)

Type: Full-time / Permanent

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Head of Managed Services to lead and scale a global managed IT and security services function across the UK and offshore locations. The role will own service delivery, operational performance, customer experience and commercial profitability, driving a consistent, scalable and commercially sustainable operating model.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead global Service Desk, Field Engineering, NOC, SOC and internal IT support operations.
• Define and implement managed services strategy, operating models and service improvement initiatives.
• Own service performance, SLAs, operational risk, customer satisfaction and executive escalations.
• Drive profitability, margin improvement, cost optimisation, resource utilisation and capacity planning.
• Standardise service delivery, processes and governance across onshore and offshore teams.
• Lead automation, AI and tooling initiatives to improve productivity, service quality and scalability.
• Develop the managed services portfolio and collaborate with Sales, Account Management and Professional Services to support client retention and growth.
• Build high-performing teams, strengthen leadership capability and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Essential Requirements

• Senior leadership experience within an MSP or IT services organisation operating a recurring-revenue model.
• Proven experience leading large, multi-site managed services operations across onshore and offshore teams.
• Strong knowledge of managed IT, managed security services and ITIL-aligned service management.
• Experience overseeing Service Desk, infrastructure, cloud, application or security operations.
• Strong commercial expertise in budget ownership, profitability, margin improvement and cost-to-serve management.
• Track record of scaling operations through standardisation, automation, AI and process optimisation.
• Excellent client-facing, executive stakeholder management and service escalation skills.
• Proven people leadership, organisational change and operational transformation experience.

Desirable

• Experience supporting regulated sectors such as financial services, private equity or legal.
• Knowledge of Microsoft cloud, modern workplace and cybersecurity technologies.
• Experience with managed services transformation, service portfolio development and ISO 27001 or ITIL 4.