IT Service Manager

Allen Lane Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Southwark Council is seeking an IT Service Manager to own the service management framework for Digital and Resident Experience, ensuring services meet resident needs and supplier commitments. You will define standards, lead a team and drive continual service improvement across multiple teams in a politically aware environment.

You will lead the ITSM Lead, govern service performance, and collaborate with the Commercial function to secure outcomes that matter to residents.

Qualifications

• Significant experience owning or leading IT service management within a large organisation, ideally public sector or local government.
• Strong understanding of ITIL or an equivalent framework and incident/problem/change/configuration management.
• Track record defining service levels and holding services and suppliers to account.
• Experience leading service management improvement across multiple teams through influence rather than direct authority.
• Sound judgement and integrity in a politically aware environment, with a commitment to equality and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Ensure SLAs reflect resident-facing priorities and restoration speed.
• Build a team culture where expectations are clear and achievements are recognised.
• Own the IT service management framework for Digital and Resident Experience, including standards, policies and SLAs.
• Hold accountability for service performance across the division using reporting and corrective action.
• Own service governance, chair performance reviews and advise the Head of Operations on risk and improvement.
• Direct the ITSM Lead in operating the service management processes and platform and set priorities for continual service improvement.
• Own the service level and service management aspects of supplier performance, collaborating with Commercial to secure required outcomes.
• Line-manage and develop the ITSM Lead and build cross-service relationships without direct authority.

Skills

ITIL

Service Management

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Change management

Job description

Department: Digital and Resident Experience

Reports to: Head of Operations

Job Description: find out more here.

About us

This is a rare opportunity to shape how technology serves one of London's most ambitious boroughs. Southwark is building a brand new Digital and Resident Experience, and as IT Service Manager, you will be the single point of ownership for how service quality is defined, held to account and improved across it, setting the standards that the Service Desk, technical teams and suppliers work to.

You’ll join at a genuinely exciting time for the council, as we invest in our people and technology to better serve more than 300,000 residents across Southwark's diverse communities. You’ll build the service management framework from the ground up, manage and develop the ITSM Lead and Business Relationship Manager and use your credibility and influence to secure consistent practice across teams you don’t directly manage. If you’re a service management leader who wants to set the standard for how a council delivers technology to its residents, we’d love to hear from you.

About the role

The IT Service Manager is responsible for how well the council's technology services perform for staff and, through them, for residents. You’ll set the standards teams and suppliers work to and hold them to account.

In this role, you will:

• Make sure service levels and supplier commitments reflect what matters to residents, including how quickly resident-facing services are restored.
• Build a team culture where people know what's expected of them, get credit for good work and learn from mistakes.
• Own the IT service management framework for Digital and Resident Experience, defining the standards, policies and service levels within which the Service Desk, technical teams and suppliers operate.
• Hold accountability for service performance across the division, using service reporting to assess performance, hold services and suppliers to account, and direct corrective action where service levels are not being met.
• Own service governance and assurance, chairing service performance and review meetings and advising the Head of Operations on service performance, risk and improvement.
• Direct the ITSM Lead in operating the service management processes and the ITSM and Service Monitoring platform and own the framework and priorities for continual service improvement.
• Own the service level and service management dimension of supplier and managed-service performance, working with the Commercial function to secure the outcomes the council needs.
• Line manage and develop the ITSM Lead and build the cross-service relationships needed to embed consistent practice without direct line authority.

What we're looking for

We’re seeking a credible service management professional who brings:

• Significant experience of owning or leading IT service management practice and service performance within a large, complex organisation, ideally local government or the public sector.
• A strong understanding of ITIL or an equivalent service management framework, and of how incident, problem, change, request and configuration management interlock.
• A track record of defining service levels and standards, and of holding services and suppliers to account against them.
• Experience of leading service management improvement and embedding consistent practice across multiple teams, including through influence rather than direct authority.
• Sound judgement and integrity, with the resilience to operate effectively in a politically aware and complex environment.
• A genuine commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and to using technology to improve outcomes for Southwark's residents and communities.

Additional information

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you’ll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

For enquiries, please contact [e-mail]