Service Delivery Lead

SmartPA; United States; Hybrid; USD 73,994 - 100,901; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

33 days holiday

Flexitime core hours 10:00-16:30

Hybrid (Edinburgh) or fully remote (UK

Ongoing development and career growth

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

SmartPA seeks an experienced operations leader to own day-to-day performance of a major client account, partnering with the Key Account Manager to sustain and improve delivery. You will spot bottlenecks, brief our automation/AI teams, and push for faster, more reliable processes across QA, Automation and Pod Lead groups.

This role requires calm leadership, strong stakeholder engagement, and a data‑driven approach to manage risk while driving continuous improvement in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading and developing teams in a corporate environment.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills — confident leading meetings and presenting to senior client stakeholders.
• A solid understanding of what automation and AI can do for operational efficiency, and the ability to brief a technical team to deliver it.
• Hands‑on experience using AI tools (e.g. Gemini) in your own day‑to‑day work.
• Strong data literacy with a keen eye for accuracy — able to read dashboards and reports, spot inaccuracies and inconsistencies, pull out useful insights, and flag risks early
• Confident coordinating teams across functions (and time zones), largely online, without relying on constant live meetings

Responsibilities

• Keep an overall view of how the account runs, and lead its day-to-day delivery
• Work with the QA, Automation and Pod Lead teams to find what's slowing things down and fix it
• Make sure work is delivered accurately, efficiently and in line with agreed service levels (SLAs)
• Spot where automation or AI could save time or improve quality and brief our technical teams
• Read the account's performance data with the Key Account Manager and flag risks early
• Lead the rollout of new tools and ways of working, supporting the team through the change

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Automation briefing

Data literacy

Cross-functional coordination

Google Workspace

AI tools usage

Tools

Gemini

Google Workspace

Job description

Job Description

This role leads the operations behind one of our biggest client accounts, working in close partnership with the Key Account Manager. You'll own how the account runs day to day, so the Key Account Manager can focus on commercial strategy and client growth.

Your job is to keep the whole account running smoothly and to keep making it better. You'll spot where processes are slowing the team down and fix them, and you'll find the places where automation or AI could make the work faster and more reliable. You won't build the automations yourself — but you'll understand what's possible, and brief our technical teams clearly so they can build it.

You'll work day to day with our Automation, Quality Assurance (QA) and Pod Lead teams, keep a close eye on how the account is performing, and act as a confident, senior point of contact for the client.

This suits someone who enjoys leading in a fast-paced environment, is comfortable across multiple systems, and takes real ownership of delivering to a consistently high standard.

Key Responsibilities and Skills

Operational Leadership

• Keep an overall view of how the account runs, and lead its day-to-day delivery
• Work with the QA, Automation and Pod Lead teams to find what's slowing things down and fix it
• Make sure work is delivered accurately, efficiently and in line with agreed service levels (SLAs)

Innovation, Automation & AI

• Spot where automation or AI could save time or improve quality
• Brief our technical automation and AI teams clearly on what's needed, and see it through

Data, Reporting & Risk

• Work with the Key Account Manager to read the account's performance data, share what's going well, and flag risks early — before they reach the client

Change & Rollouts

• Lead the rollout of new tools and ways of working, supporting the team through the change so it sticks

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a senior point of contact for the client alongside the Key Account Manager
• Run welcome meetings for new users, hold regular check-in calls, and present results and insights to senior client contacts

Skills

An experienced, highly organised operations professional who enjoys leading a team and bringing structure to complex, cross-functional work. You take pride in delivering to a high standard, building strong relationships, and finding smarter ways of working.

You'll thrive in this role if you:

• Lead calmly and confidently in a fast-paced environment
• Are a natural people person who builds trust easily across teams and with clients
• Enjoy spotting friction between teams and smoothing it out
• Have a sharp eye for detail — you notice when the data doesn't add up and dig into why
• Can translate the technical into the practical — for your own team or a senior client
• Already use AI tools in your own work and can see where they'd help a whole team

Experience

We hire for mindset as much as background — a strong sense of ownership and a growth mindset go a long way.

Essential

• 5+ years leading and developing teams in a corporate environment, with a track record of building strong, collaborative teams
• Excellent communication and presentation skills — confident leading meetings and presenting to senior client stakeholders
• A solid understanding of what automation and AI can do for operational efficiency, and the ability to brief a technical team to deliver it
• Hands‑on experience using AI tools (e.g. Gemini) in your own day‑to‑day work
• Strong data literacy with a keen eye for accuracy — able to read dashboards and reports, spot inaccuracies and inconsistencies, pull out useful insights, and flag risks early
• Confident coordinating teams across functions (and time zones), largely online, without relying on constant live meetings
• Confident using Google Workspace

Desirable

• Experience in, or working alongside, high‑growth tech companies
• Experience in global or matrixed organisations across multiple time zones
• Experience leading change management and the rollout of new tools or processes

Work Remotely

Yes, however, occasional travel to London and/or Edinburgh for team and client sessions (roughly once a month)

Schedule

Monday-Friday, 9am-5.30pm

Job Type

Full-time, permanent

What's in it for you?

We're ambitious about where we're going, and we're looking for people who want to grow with us. As part of your package you can expect:

• Competitive salary
• 33 days' holiday
• Flexitime (core hours 10:00-16:30)
• Hybrid (Edinburgh) or fully remote (UK)
• Ongoing development and career opportunities
• Department incentives
• Employee Assistance Programme (including counselling, finance and legal support)
• A positive, people-first culture