Head of Service Management for CTO

Cornwallis Elt Ltd; England; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services institution in the UK is seeking a Head of Service Management to lead service management across a diverse technology portfolio. The ideal candidate has a strong record in service management and technology operations, with deep knowledge of ITSM processes, and is confident in engaging with senior stakeholders. This hybrid role based in Birmingham or Sheffield offers an opportunity to significantly influence service delivery in a digital-first transformation.

Qualifications

• Proven record in service management, technology operations, or SRE.
• Deep understanding of ITSM processes.
• Comfortable in ambiguity and able to drive change.

Responsibilities

• Lead service management across the CTO portfolio.
• Act as the point of accountability for operational service quality.
• Build partnerships with Product Management to ensure resilient platforms.

Skills

Service management

Technology operations

SRE

ITSM processes

Leadership

Job description

Overview

Head of Service Management for the CTO – Infrastructure, Cloud, Incident / Problem / Change Management, Operational Excellence, Resilience, Leadership, Stakeholder Influence.

Location: Birmingham or Sheffield - Hybrid

We’re looking for a credible and influential service-management leader on behalf of our client, one of the largest banking and financial services institutions, to join their technology organisation and shape how critical services are delivered across the enterprise.

As Head of Service Management for the CTO organisation, you’ll drive the adoption of consistent, enterprise-grade service-management practices across a diverse technology portfolio that spans infrastructure, platforms, developer tooling, data, and cloud services. This is a highly visible role with regular interaction at board and MD level, where you’ll need both technical depth and the presence to influence senior stakeholders in high-pressure environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead service management across the CTO portfolio, embedding standards for incident, problem, change, and service-level management.
• Act as the point of accountability for operational service quality, performance, and recovery.
• Build deep partnerships with Product Management to ensure platforms are resilient, production-ready, and continuously improving.
• Identify risks and opportunities to strengthen resilience, automate processes, and drive operational excellence.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, translating complex service health data into clear recommendations.

Essential Skills

• Proven record in service management, technology operations, or SRE, ideally in infrastructure, cloud, or developer platform domains.
• Deep understanding of ITSM processes and how to operationalise them across engineering teams.
• A self-initiating leader, comfortable in ambiguity, and able to drive change across a federated organisation.
• Strong technical fluency combined with the board-facing presence to manage senior, and sometimes challenging, conversations with MDs and CTO-level stakeholders.
• Experience in regulated or business-critical environment, financial services specially is a plus but not essential.

You’ll be at the centre of a digital-first transformation, helping shape how cutting-edge technology platforms deliver reliability, resilience, and speed at scale. This is an opportunity to make a tangible impact on how technology enables the future of financial services.