Service Delivery Lead

Unum; Basingstoke; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare Cash Plan

Defined Contribution pension scheme

Life assurance

Private medical and income protection

Job summary

Unum UK is seeking an experienced Lead Service Delivery Manager to own end-to-end delivery and performance of a portfolio of essential IT services. The role requires strong leadership through influence, autonomy, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while driving service maturity and continuous improvement.

You will manage complex, multi-supplier environments, work with senior stakeholders, and drive improvements in service quality, cost optimisation, and customer experience.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in IT Service Delivery or Service Management roles.
• Strong supplier and contract management experience.
• Experience managing complex, multi-supplier service models.
• Solid understanding of ITIL principles and service management frameworks.
• Commercial awareness including budget management and cost optimisation.

Responsibilities

• Own the performance, stability, and continuous improvement of multiple IT services.
• Act as the primary escalation point for service issues and major incidents.
• Build strong partnerships with business stakeholders, aligning services to strategic priorities.
• Lead relationships with third-party suppliers, managing performance, contracts, renewals, and service reviews.
• Identify opportunities to optimise costs while enhancing service quality and customer experience.
• Drive service maturity, championing ITIL best practices and continual improvement initiatives.
• Manage service risks, resilience planning, and regulatory requirements across your service portfolio.
• Provide clear service reporting and insights to senior leadership teams.

Skills

IT Service Delivery

Contract management

Multi-supplier management

ITIL knowledge

Stakeholder engagement

Change management

Job description

Job Posting End Date: September 11

Who are we? We’re a specialist employee benefits provider, striving to create healthy, happy workplaces. As part of the international Unum Group, we’re on a collective mission to help the working world thrive.

The role

What will you be doing?

Purpose: The Lead Service Delivery Manager is accountable for the end-to-end delivery and performance of a portfolio of IT services, ensuring they meet business expectations, contractual commitments, and strategic outcomes. Operating without direct line management responsibility, this role takes full ownership of service performance across multiple internal teams and third-party suppliers, acting as the single point of accountability between the business and IT. The role requires strong leadership through influence, the ability to operate with autonomy, and confidence in navigating ambiguity while driving service maturity, consistency, and continuous improvement.

What will you bring?

Service Delivery Lead

Lead critical services.

Drive meaningful change.

Influence at every level.

At Unum, we're looking for an experienced Service Delivery Lead to take ownership of a portfolio of business-critical IT services. This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping service excellence across the organisation, managing strategic supplier relationships, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring our services deliver real value to our customers and colleagues. You'll work closely with senior stakeholders, lead service improvements across complex environments, and influence outcomes across internal teams and external partners. If you're passionate about service management, commercial performance, and building trusted relationships, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll be doing

As a Service Delivery Lead, you'll:

• Own the performance, stability, and continuous improvement of multiple IT services.
• Act as the primary escalation point for service issues and major incidents.
• Build strong partnerships with business stakeholders, aligning services to strategic priorities.
• Lead relationships with third-party suppliers, managing performance, contracts, renewals, and service reviews.
• Identify opportunities to optimise costs while enhancing service quality and customer experience.
• Drive service maturity, championing ITIL best practices and continual improvement initiatives.
• Manage service risks, resilience planning, and regulatory requirements across your service portfolio.
• Provide clear service reporting and insights to senior leadership teams.

What we’re looking for

We're seeking a confident and commercially minded service leader who can operate effectively in complex environments and influence stakeholders at all levels. You'll ideally have:

• Significant experience in IT Service Delivery or Service Management roles.
• Strong supplier and contract management expertise.
• Experience managing complex, multi-supplier service models.
• A solid understanding of ITIL principles and service management frameworks.
• Commercial awareness, including budget management and cost optimisation.
• Experience managing service risk, business continuity, and operational resilience.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• The ability to drive change, challenge the status quo, and influence senior decision-makers.
• A proactive, solutions-focused mindset with a passion for service excellence.
• ITIL certification and/or relevant technical experience.

In return, you'll benefit from

• Competitive salary and generous bonus scheme
• Healthcare Cash Plan (Level 1 funded)
• Defined Contribution pension scheme
• Life assurance, private medical and income protection insurance
• Access to a remote GP, nutrition coaching, personal training, unlimited mental health support and medical second opinions
• 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 5 additional days
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme with on-site charging facilities
• Free shuttle bus from Dorking train station
• A supportive culture focused on wellbeing, development and career growth

#LI-NM1 #LI-Hybrid

Why join us?

At Unum, we’ve created a workplace where people feel supported to progress and grow, and can see their ambitions coming to life.

As a part of our commitment to creating an inclusive workplace, we actively encourage applications from those with disabilities and those with long-term health conditions. If you meet the essential criteria for the role and choose to opt in to the scheme during your application, you will be offered an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to [e-mail]. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer.

Company: Unum UK

At Unum Group, we’re a Fortune 500 company and leading international provider of workplace benefits and services, helping workers and their families thrive for more than 175 years. Through our Unum and Colonial Life brands, our company offers disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental and vision insurance; leave and absence management support; and behavioral health services. Our 10,000+ employees work across operations in the US, UK and Poland, as well as our dedicated Technology Centre in Ireland. Unum Group is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations for any applicant with a disability. If you are disabled and need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or hiring process, please contact us by submitting a request here.