Service Assurance Manager

Hargreaves Lansdown PLC; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

25 days holiday

Flexible hybrid working

Private medical insurance

Pension up to 11% employer contrib.

Income protection

Life insurance

Health care plans

Wellbeing resources

Volunteer days

Job summary

Hargreaves Lansdown PLC is seeking a Service Assurance Manager to lead the Service Assurance team and govern IT service management across heritage systems, cloud services, and third‑party platforms. You will drive major incident leadership, risk governance, and continuous improvement to ensure safe, compliant operations.

The role requires strong ITSM expertise, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration with Risk and Audit.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in IT Service Management / Service Assurance within business-critical, regulated environments.
• Strong working knowledge of Incident & Problem, Change & Release, and Service Asset & Configuration Management processes.
• Demonstrated Major Incident leadership, including stakeholder coordination and post-incident learning.
• Experience operating across dual estates (heritage systems and cloud-native platforms).
• Ability to work effectively with third-party suppliers, including SaaS and data platform providers.
• Strong collaboration skills with operations, engineering, security, Risk and Audit teams.
• Experience leading and developing specialist service management teams.
• Clear, confident communicator able to engage technical and senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Service Assurance team, setting clear priorities, standards, and performance expectations.
• Manage IT service management processes (Incident & Problem, Change & Release, Knowledge, and SACM) across IT Service Operations.
• Participate in on‑call and out‑of‑hours cover, providing business‑facing coordination and communications during Major Incidents and ensuring post‑incident learning is embedded.
• Ensure consistent application of service management processes across heritage, cloud‑native and SaaS platforms.
• Drive effective Problem Management, reducing repeat incidents and operational risk.
• Oversee Service Asset & Configuration Management, ensuring accurate configuration data to support incident, change, and risk decisions.
• Partner with Cloud Operations and Application Support Managers to ensure clear separation of process ownership and operational execution.
• Work closely with TechX, Platform Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, Product Engineering, Security, Service Delivery Management, Risk and Audit to align service management, controls, and assurance activities.
• Drive continuous improvement of service assurance capability, controls, and reporting to improve stability, predictability, and transparency.

Skills

ITSM

Major Incident leadership

Stakeholder coordination

Cloud & heritage estates

SaaS partnerships

Job description

About the role

The Service Assurance Manager leads the Service Assurance team and is accountable for the effective governance of IT service management across HL’s dual technology estate, spanning heritage systems, cloud services, and integrated third party platforms. The role ensures consistent execution of service management processes, strong major incident leadership, and effective engagement with Risk and Audit to provide confidence that services are operated safely, compliantly, and within agreed risk appetite.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead and manage the Service Assurance team, setting clear priorities, standards, and performance expectations
• Manage IT service management processes (Incident & Problem, Change & Release, Knowledge, and SACM) across IT Service Operations
• Participate in on‑call and out‑of‑hours cover, providing business‑facing coordination and communications during Major Incidents and ensuring post‑incident learning is embedded
• Ensure consistent application of service management processes across heritage, cloud‑native and SaaS platforms
• Drive effective Problem Management, reducing repeat incidents and operational risk
• Oversee Service Asset & Configuration Management, ensuring accurate configuration data to support incident, change, and risk decisions
• Partner with Cloud Operations and Application Support Managers to ensure clear separation of process ownership and operational execution
• Work closely with TechX, Platform Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, Product Engineering, Security, Service Delivery Management, Risk and Audit to align service management, controls, and assurance activities
• Drive continuous improvement of service assurance capability, controls, and reporting to improve stability, predictability, and transparency

About you

• Proven experience in IT Service Management / Service Assurance within business‑critical, regulated environments
• Strong working knowledge of Incident & Problem, Change & Release, and Service Asset & Configuration Management processes
• Demonstrated Major Incident leadership, including stakeholder coordination and post‑incident learning
• Experience operating across dual estates (heritage systems and cloud‑native platforms)
• Ability to work effectively with third‑party suppliers, including SaaS and data platform providers
• Strong collaboration skills with operations, engineering, security, Risk and Audit teams
• Experience leading and developing specialist service management teams
• Clear, confident communicator able to engage technical and senior stakeholders

Interview process

2 stage interview process – Initial call | Competency & Scenario based questions.

Working Schedule

This role is based in Bristol head office, BS1 5HL. This role is permanent, full time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday. We have returned to the office 3 days a week.

Why us?

Here at HL, we’re the UK’s number 1 investment platform for private investors, based in Bristol. For more than 40 years we’ve helped investors save time, tax and money on their investments. To achieve our mission, we believe we have a workplace like no other, with constant learning, dynamic teams, and a great ethos. We're steered by core values that promote service, quality, innovation, and opportunity in everything we do.

What's on offer?

• Discretionary annual bonus* and annual pay review
• 25 days* holiday plus bank holidays and 1-day additional Christmas closure
• Option to purchase an additional 5 days holiday**
• Flexible working options available, including hybrid working
• Enhanced parental leave
• Pension scheme up to 11% employer contribution
• Income Protection and Life insurance (4 x salary core level of cover)
• Private medical insurance*
• Health care cash plans - including optical, dental, and outpatient care
• Health screening programme
• Help@hand - confidential support including mental health counselling and remote GP
• Wellhub - unlimited access to fitness providers and wellness coach sessions
• Variety of travel to work schemes with bike storage and shower facilities
• Inhouse barista and deli serving subsidised coffee and sandwiches
• Two paid volunteering days per year * dependant on role level
• ** only available to select during our annual benefits window, in November each year

Hargreaves Lansdown is an inclusive employer that values diversity in its workforce. We encourage applications from all individuals without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or age. This role may also be available on a flexible working or part time basis – please ask the Recruitment & Onboarding team for more information. Please note, we are unable to provide employment sponsorship to candidates.

Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK's number one platform for private investors. Our purpose is to empower people to save and invest with confidence, and today, we are trusted with more than £120 billion by over 1.7 million clients. We are based in the heart of Bristol now with over 2,000 colleagues. We believe we have a workplace like no other, with constant learning, dynamic teams and a great ethos. We're steered by our core values that promote service, quality, innovation, and opportunity in everything we do. For more information about careers at HL and to see all our vacancies, please visit our careers website.