IT Applications Service Manager

Gleeson Recruitment Group; West Midlands Combined Authority; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking an Associate Director to shape the management of critical business systems within a dynamic IT infrastructure. This role offers the opportunity to lead system operations, vendor management, and incident processes while engaging with C-level executives. You will drive change initiatives and ensure optimal performance across business-critical systems. With a focus on collaboration and customer outcomes, this position provides a clear pathway to senior leadership roles. Join a forward-thinking team that values inclusivity and offers a hybrid working model, competitive benefits, and a culture of continuous improvement.

Benefits

25 days' annual leave + bank holidays

Private medical insurance

Enhanced family leave policies

Birthday day off after one year

Employee discounts

Long service rewards

Qualifications

• Experience in Service Delivery or Applications Management roles.
• Proven track record managing third-party vendors and service providers.
• Strong experience overseeing incident and service management.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations and maintenance of critical business systems.
• Oversee major incident processes and service restoration.
• Manage third-party suppliers to deliver against SLAs.

Skills

Service Delivery

Applications Management

Vendor Management

Incident Management

Change Management

Stakeholder Management

Communication Skills

Project Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology

Tools

ERP Systems

WMS Systems

Job description

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Associate Director at Gleeson Recruitment Group - Cloud & IT Infrastructure

About the Role

This is a brand new role offering a rare opportunity to shape how critical business systems are managed and integrated across our client's infrastructure. As Business Applications Manager, you will oversee the performance, resilience, and evolution of key systems, working closely with our vendors, internal IT teams, and senior business stakeholders.

You'll have a highly visible position, sitting as part of the Service Leadership Team (SLT), and helping drive a collaborative, customer-focused service culture across a 24/7 operation.

Main Responsibilities

• System Management: Lead daily operations, maintenance, and upgrades of critical business systems, ensuring 99%+ availability and optimal performance.
• Incident Management: Oversee major and standard incident processes (not hands-on) including communications, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and service restoration.
• Vendor Management: Manage third-party suppliers and partners to deliver against SLAs, drive system enhancements, and lead regular service reviews.
• SLA Implementation: Define, embed, and continuously improve SLA frameworks to ensure business-aligned performance measurement and accountability
• Change Management: Drive system change initiatives to maximise adoption, minimise disruption, and support a culture of continuous improvement.
• Project Leadership: Lead system-related projects and workstreams, including upgrades, migrations, and new implementations, ensuring delivery to time, scope, and quality.
• Stakeholder Management: Engage and influence C-level executives and department heads, translating complex system needs into clear business value.
• Training & Enablement: Work with Learning & Development to design and deliver effective user training programmes.
• Governance and Reporting: Maintain documentation, deliver system performance reports, and ensure system security compliance ("Green" status) aligned to company standards.
• Collaboration: Work cross-functionally with Service Desk, Infrastructure, DevOps, Networks, Security, and business stakeholders to deliver aligned, high-quality services.
• Proactive Initiative Ownership: Identify service gaps, initiate improvement projects, and own their delivery through to business-wide adoption.

Skills & Experience

• Experience in Service Delivery, Applications Management, or Business Systems leadership roles.
• Proven track record managing third-party vendors and service providers.
• Experience designing and implementing SLAs across business-critical systems.
• Strong experience overseeing incident and service management in a complex environment (ideally involving ERP/WMS platforms).
• Demonstrated ability to drive change and lead initiatives in fast-paced, evolving business environments.
• Exceptional communication skills - able to present confidently to C-Level executives and non-technical stakeholders.
• Solid understanding of change management and training best practices.
• Proactive, resilient, and able to navigate complex IT architectures and legacy systems.
• Comfortable operating in a 24/7 distribution environment, including being part of a dedicated OOH (Out Of Hours) on rotation.
• Confident and collaborative by nature, with a strong focus on customer outcomes and accountability.
• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology (or equivalent experience).

Advantageous

• Experience with ERP, WMS, and automation systems.
• Experience in Infor M3, Consafe Astro and AutoStore

Core Values

Our Client live by three key principles:

• Collaboration: Building partnerships to drive shared success.
• Customer Focus: Delivering solutions that meet and exceed expectations.
• Accountability: Taking ownership and delivering consistent results.

We're looking for someone who embodies these values and is ready to make an immediate and lasting impact.

Why Join?

• Shape a brand-new leadership role with full CIO exposure and SLT membership.
• Clear progression pathway into senior IT leadership.
• Hybrid working model with flexibility.
• 25 days' annual leave + bank holidays, plus the option to buy/sell days.
• Private medical insurance and enhanced family leave policies.
• Birthday day off after one year.
• Fantastic employee discounts and long service rewards.
• A genuine people-first, performance-driven culture.
  

At Gleeson Recruitment Group, we embrace inclusivity and welcome applicants of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We are proud to be a disability confident employer.

By applying you will be registered as a candidate with Gleeson Recruitment Limited. Our Privacy Policy is available on our website and explains how we will use your data.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Information Technology

• Industries

  Technology, Information and Internet

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