Service Delivery Manager
6 - 12 months
Leeds (hybrid 2day travel per week) with occasional travel to Manchester
Inside IR35 - Umbrella only
Active SC clearance required, eligible candidates will be considered
Job Summary:
We are seeking an experienced Service Delivery Manager to act as a senior Subject Matter Expert across Service Management disciplines. The successful candidate will provide strong service leadership, maintain customer confidence, and ensure consistent, high‑quality service delivery during a complex transition period.
The role requires a pragmatic, delivery‑focused professional with deep ITIL knowledge, strong stakeholder management skills, and proven experience operating in high‑pressure, customer‑facing environments.
Key Responsibilities:
- Act as a Service Management SME across Incident, Problem, Change, Risk, Service Performance & Reporting, Service Level Management, Service Process Improvement, Service Continuity, and Availability Management.
- Provide on‑call Major Incident Management cover, ensuring rapid coordination, clear communications, and effective resolution.
- Maintain strong, trusted customer relationships, acting as a primary escalation and assurance point.
- Deliver accurate, timely service reporting, including performance, SLA compliance, risks, issues, and improvement initiatives.
- Support knowledge transfer and offboarding of the core Technical Service Desk (TSD) team where required as part of insourcing.
- Proactively identify and manage risks, proposing mitigation plans to protect service outcomes and contractual commitments.
- Apply ITIL best practice across helpdesk and support services, ensuring consistency, governance, and continual improvement.
- Take accountability for ensuring technical solutions continue to meet business requirements throughout the service lifecycle.
- Collaborate across internal teams, customers, and third‑party suppliers to deliver a cohesive "One Team" service experience.
- Oversee the end‑to‑end service lifecycle, including service support, delivery, and transition activities.
Experience / Education:
Mandatory
- Degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience in a complex operational environment
- Minimum 5 years' experience in a Service Delivery / Service Management role
- Proven experience leading an IT helpdesk or support service, driving KPI and SLA achievement
- Strong customer‑service orientation with a pragmatic problem‑solving approach
- Proven advocate and practitioner of ITIL best‑practice processes
- Experience in a customer‑facing environment
Desirable
- ITIL v3 Certification
- ITIL v4 Certification (Preferred)
- Experience in Major Incident Management, Incident Management, and Service Transition
- Strong technical background with the ability to communicate effectively to non‑technical stakeholders
- Hands‑on experience with ITSM / helpdesk tooling (e.g. ServiceNow)

