Service Assurance Lead

Xoserve; Metropolitan Borough of Solihull; On-site; GBP 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A key service provider in the UK gas market seeks three Service Assurance Leads to ensure outstanding performance across the sector. Candidates will drive continuous improvement, ensure compliance with regulatory standards, and engage actively with stakeholders for optimal service delivery. Strong experience in operational assurance and excellent communication skills are essential. Benefits include a competitive salary up to £55,000, bonuses, and generous leave policies.

Benefits

Competitive salary up to £55,000

Discretionary bonus up to 10%

12% pension contribution

28 days annual leave

Private Medical Insurance access

Qualifications

• Experience leading assurance in operational services and working with external providers.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills tailored to different audiences.
• Ability to manage stakeholder relationships and build trust.

Responsibilities

• Ensure service delivery meets regulatory standards and customer expectations.
• Audit data integrity and compliance in a heavily regulated environment.
• Engage proactively with stakeholders to maintain optimal service delivery.

Skills

Assurance of operational services

Customer engagement

Communication skills

Data quality management

Problem-solving

Education

ITIL certification

Experience in gas market (preferred)

Job description

We're looking for three Service Assurance Leads to join our Programmes & Service Delivery directorate and help ensure outstanding service performance across the UK gas market. You'll assure the services delivered by our outsourced partners, drive continuous improvement, and support industry change. Working closely with Service Managers and stakeholders, you'll make sure services meet regulatory and contractual standards, deliver value for money, and create an excellent customer experience. The Service Assurance Lead is responsible for covering the designated Service Line (as listed in the table below). This critical role will work with the relevant Service Manager for the specified area and the Xoserve service provider. The primary objective is to ensure that customers' expectations are met and delivered at value for money, supporting the organisation's drive towards achieving excellent, sector‑leading service delivery. The Lead will proactively engage with customers and assure the successful delivery of industry services and support industry change. This role acts as the essential industry link to ensure the services delivered are compliant to regulatory and contractual requirements, change meets customer requirements, and benefits are tracked and shared. One of these positions will have a specialist focus on data assurance, ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance within a highly regulated environment. This role will assess the impact of regulatory changes on core industry data flows and lead assurance activities to maintain high standards of data handling and security. Reporting to: The Service Manager for the designated service area, as shown in the table below,

Service Assurance, Performance, and Improvement

• Support the Service Manager to assure the delivery of a defined set of services delivered through outsourced service partner(s).
• Ensure performance of services is monitored with appropriate SLAs and performance measures in place for each service.
• Assure change applied to Xoserve systems is appropriate and fit for purpose.
• Seek continuous improvements, proactively identifying where efficiencies can be found or where added value can be found.
• Support the Service Manager in creating a roadmap describing the future of the service and ensure programmes are in place to ensure continuity of service over an extended period.

Change Management and Compliance

• Act as the industry link to ensure the services delivered are compliant to regulatory and contractual requirements.
• Conduct Impact Assessment of changes driven by the market that will affect the services.
• Ensure the requirements for changes to the services are understood and that benefits cases are described and communicated.
• Liaise with other service leads where services have a wider impact across more than one service area to assure and remedy issues and deliver changes in releases.
• Ensure consequential impacts on other services are considered when delivering/adopting changes.

Stakeholder Engagement and Customer Experience

• Build relationships with the customers of the portfolio of services to create an exceptional customer experience.
• Provide a point of contact for customers and suppliers for problem solving.
• Proactively engage customers and maintain the first point of contact for regulation change.
• Help customers to understand the impact of the service changes to their business, define problems and support the development of optimal solutions, working with the change team.
• Build collaborative working relationships with customers and providers to ensure Xoserve maintains customer trust to represent their needs.
• Understand the services and the market participants to whom they are provided/are provided on behalf of.

Value, Strategy, and Internal Collaboration

• Ensure that customers' expectations are met and delivered at value for money.
• Create compelling business cases to demonstrate benefits to both internal and external audiences.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with service providers to ensure the successful delivery of industry regulation change to create maximum value for customers.
• Ensure and promote engagement across the Programmes & Service Delivery directorate to work efficiently as one team and effectively as part of Xoserve in the industry.

Data Specific Responsibilities

• Assurance Experience: Experience leading the assurance of data quality, data integrity, and/or data availability within an operational service environment.
• Regulatory Data Impact: Experience assessing the impact of regulatory change on core industry data flows, data storage, and regulatory reporting requirements – ideally in the gas market, utilities sector or another highly regulated industry.
• Audit and Compliance: Experience ensuring that outsourced service provider processes comply with data handling and security standards as part of assuring the delivery of services.

Essential Experience and Qualifications

• Experience of leading the assurance of operational services, preferably both directly and as the recipient of services from a managed service provider.
• Prior experience in design of business services, aligned with customer requirements.
• Demonstrable technical knowledge and understanding, with an ability to translate technical requirements and specifications into easily understood business concepts and vice versa.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and inspiring cross‑functional, collaborative teams both internally and across organisational boundaries to build trust and deliver successful outcomes.
• Ability to communicate (written & verbal) and influence effectively, both internally and externally (including customer and service provider organisations), tailoring your style to cater for both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Self‑starter with demonstrable ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team.
• Confident and pragmatic approach to prioritisation with the ability to make timely decisions with sound judgement.
• Natural curiosity and confidence to question / challenge entrenched thinking in a constructive manner with a willingness and openness to receive a similar challenge in return.
• Innovative thinker and problem solver, able to identify ways forward despite the constraints under which the organisation needs to operate.
• Holding an ITIL certification or having practical experience with ITIL frameworks would be highly advantageous.
• Knowledge of IT Service Management processes and their execution would be ideal.
• Experience / knowledge of the UK gas market would be beneficial but is not essential as full onboarding training will be given.

About Xoserve

Xoserve is the Central Data Service Provider, that sits at the heart of Britain's complex gas market as a specialised contract management and assurance company. Xoserve maintains accountability for the delivery of the Data Services Contract for the industry, which is delivered by a key outsourced service provider.

Benefits

• A competitive annual salary up to £55,000 per annum (based on skills and experience).
• Discretionary individual bonus up to 10%.
• Generous Pension Scheme – up to 12% employer contribution.
• Generous Life Assurance provision – 4 x basic salary.
• 28 days annual leave plus 8 statutory days in addition.
• Income protection for employee after 12 months service.
• Enhanced annual leave entitlement, with opportunity to buy additional holiday each year.
• Enhanced family‑friendly policies.
• Commitment to provide learning & development opportunities.
• Access to contributory Private Medical Insurance for employee and family (Bupa).
• Health cashback plan for employee plus up to four dependent children (Medicash).
• 24/7 virtual GP plus remote access to Physiotherapy, Mental Health Support and Medical Second Opinion (Help@Hand).
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme (Octopus EV).
• Free confidential Employee Assistance Programme (LifeWorks).
• A wide range of wellbeing initiatives.
• Fantastic range of discounts on high street retailers, grocery stores, cinema tickets, holidays and more.
• Volunteering hours for our local communities.
• Financial support to help cover the cost of one annual professional membership subscription.