Role Overview
The Senior IT Service Manager is responsible for ensuring the effective delivery, governance, and continuous improvement of IT services provided by external service partners. The role acts as the key interface between the business, internal IT stakeholders, and external IT service providers to ensure services are delivered in line with agreed service levels, contractual obligations, operational standards, and business expectations.
The role owns and continuously improves core IT Service Management processes, ensuring operational stability, service quality, and controlled execution of changes across the IT landscape.
This position requires strong vendor management experience, deep ITIL process knowledge, excellent stakeholder management skills, and a proven ability to drive service performance in a multi-provider or outsourced IT environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage the operational relationship with external IT service providers and ensure delivery against agreed contractual commitments.
- Monitor provider performance against agreed SLAs, KPIs, OLAs, and service quality targets.
- Lead regular service review meetings, operational governance forums, and performance discussions with external providers.
- Ensure cost transparency and optimize service consumption in collaboration with providers and Finance (FinOps mindset)
- Take responsibility for supplier management and spend oversight within the assigned service scope, ensuring provider costs, commercial commitments, and service consumption remain transparent, controlled, and aligned with business requirements.
- Challenge service providers where performance gaps, recurring issues, or delivery risks are identified.
- Drive corrective actions, service improvement plans, and escalation management where required.
- Ensure clear ownership, accountability, and communication between external providers and internal IT teams.
- Own the end-to-end Incident Management process and Change Management process across the IT service landscape.
- Chair or coordinate major incident bridge calls and ensure timely stakeholder updates.
- Establish and maintain a robust service governance model across internal and external stakeholders.
- Ensure transparency on operational performance, service quality, user satisfaction, and provider delivery.
- Lead and track continuous service improvement initiatives, including the adoption of automation, AI-driven capabilities, and self-service solutions.
- Act as a trusted service management contact for internal IT stakeholders, business representatives, and external providers.
- Manage expectations and ensure alignment between business priorities and IT service delivery.
- Own the ITSM processes and tool (currently SysAid)
Required Experience and Qualifications
- Minimum 7 years of experience in IT Service Management, IT Operations, or a comparable role.
- Proven experience in managing external IT service providers, outsourced IT services, or managed service contracts.
- Experience with automation, AI, or digital service management solutions (e.g. virtual agents, AIOps, workflow automation) is highly desirable.
- Strong experience in Incident Management and Change Management process ownership.
- Experience working in ITIL-based service management environments.
- Strong understanding of SLA, KPI, service reporting, escalation, and governance models.
- Experience in managing service performance, operational risks, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Experience in working and integrating with ITSM platforms.
- Experience in complex, international, or multi-site IT environments is highly desirable.
- Experience working in a multi-provider or hybrid internal/external delivery model is an advantage.
- Fluent (both written and spoken) in English (level B2 or equivalent)
Personal Attributes
- Structured, proactive, and outcome-oriented.
- Strong sense of ownership and accountability.
- Able to work effectively under pressure and in critical situations.
- Business-focused with a strong customer service mindset.
- Confident in challenging providers and internal teams constructively.
- Collaborative, diplomatic, and solution-oriented.
- Clear communicator, ability to translate technical topics for non-technical stakeholders.
