Head of Service Delivery Management

Sword Group; Aberdeen City; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Personalised Career Development

Flexible working

Fantastic Benefits Package

Job summary

Sword Group is seeking a Head of Service Delivery Management in the UK to shape and mature our Service Delivery function. You will be the senior operational leader across the practice, defining governance, operating models and driving continual improvement for a portfolio of managed service customers.

You will build high-performing teams, manage customer relationships, and ensure service performance, risk controls and fast commercial response across accounts.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading Service Delivery or IT Operations in a complex customer-facing environment.
• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Experience establishing governance frameworks and service management best practices.
• Strong ITIL principles understanding.
• Experience managing senior customer relationships, service performance and escalations.
• Analytical and reporting capabilities with data-driven insights.
• Continuous improvement mindset driving operational maturity.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the Service Delivery operating model to be scalable and aligned to business needs.
• Establish, govern and modernise the Service Operations Manual and procedures.
• Define and manage the Service Delivery governance framework and reporting cadence.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team of Service Delivery Managers.
• Set expectations around ownership, performance, risk, and incident management.
• Provide senior operational leadership for service performance and major incidents.
• Ensure consistent application of frameworks and governance across accounts.
• Create meaningful reporting, KPIs and insights for decision-making.
• Drive continual service improvement across the Managed Services portfolio.
• Align Service Delivery with Service Desk and wider Managed Services functions.
• Document and control customer-specific requirements within the operating model.

Skills

Leadership

Governance

ITIL knowledge

Stakeholder management

Tools

Service Management frameworks

Job description

Sword is a leading provider of business technology solutions within the Energy, Public and Finance Sectors, driving real transformation change within our clients. We use proven technology, specialist teams and domain expertise to build solid technical foundations across platforms, data and business applications. We have a passion for using technology to solve business problems, working in partnership with our clients to help in achieving their goals.

As we continue to grow and evolve our Managed Services capability, we are looking for a Head of Service Delivery Management to lead, shape and mature our Service Delivery function. This is a strategic leadership role with responsibility for defining the operating model, developing Service Delivery capability, driving operational excellence and ensuring consistently outstanding outcomes for our customers.

As Head of Service Delivery Management, you will provide leadership across our Service Delivery practice, ensuring effective governance, operational control, customer engagement and service performance across a diverse portfolio of managed service customers.

You will act as the senior operational leader for Service Delivery, establishing best practice, developing high-performing teams and driving continual improvement across our Managed Services organisation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own and continuously evolve the Service Delivery operating model, ensuring it remains scalable, effective, and aligned to business and customer needs.
• Establish, maintain, and govern the Service Operations Manual, operational procedures, standards, controls, and ways of working.
• Define and manage the Service Delivery governance framework, including operational rhythms, reporting standards, forums, and Terms of Reference.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Service Delivery Managers, driving consistency and operational excellence.
• Set clear expectations around customer ownership, service performance, operational control, risk management, and service jeopardy management.
• Provide senior operational leadership for service performance, customer escalations, Major Incidents, risks, and business-critical service issues.
• Ensure Service Delivery Managers consistently apply agreed frameworks, processes, and governance standards across all accounts.
• Establish meaningful service reporting, management information, KPIs, and performance insights to support informed decision-making.
• Drive continual service improvement initiatives and increase Service Delivery maturity across the Managed Services portfolio.
• Build strong alignment between Service Delivery, Service Desk, Technical Services, Service Management, and wider Managed Services functions.
• Ensure customer-specific requirements and service variations are controlled, documented, and aligned with the wider operating model and service strategy.
• Champion operational excellence, accountability, and a customer-first culture across the Service Delivery function.

Requirements

• Proven experience leading Service Delivery, Managed Services or IT Operations functions within a complex customer-facing environment.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience developing, mentoring and coaching Service Delivery Managers.
• Demonstrable experience establishing governance frameworks, operational standards and service management best practices.
• Strong understanding of ITIL principles and service management methodologies.
• Experience managing senior customer relationships, service performance, escalations and commercial obligations.
• Strong analytical and reporting capabilities, with the ability to translate operational data into meaningful business insights and actions.
• A continuous improvement mindset, with a track record of driving operational maturity, service excellence and transformational change.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to build credibility at all levels of an organisation.

Benefits

At Sword, our core values and culture are based on caring about our people, investing in training and career development and building inclusive teams where we are all encouraged to contribute to achieve success.

We Offer Comprehensive Benefits Designed To Support Your Professional Development And Enhance Your Overall Quality Of Life. In Addition To a Competitive Salary, Here's What You Can Expect As Part Of Our Benefits Package:

Personalised Career Development: We create a development plan customised to your goals and aspirations, with a range of learning and development opportunities within a culture that encourages growth.

Flexible working: Flexible work arrangements to support your work-life balance. We can't promise to always be able to meet every request, however are keen to discuss your individual preferences to make it work where we can.

A Fantastic Benefits Package: This includes generous annual leave allowance, enhanced family friendly benefits, pension scheme, access to private health, well-being, and insurance schemes, an employee assistance programme, discounted cash plan and more.....

At Sword we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, ensuring that all applicants receive fair and equal consideration for employment, regardless of whether they meet every requirement.

If you don't tick all the boxes but feel you have some of the relevant skills and experience we're looking for, please do consider applying and highlight your transferable skills and experience.

We embrace diversity in all its forms, valuing individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Your perspective and potential are important to us.

If we can do anything to help make the hiring process more accessible, please let our talent acquisition team know when you apply so we can support any adjustments.