Group Head of IT Service Management

Brief Summary:

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of a consistent IT service management framework across a regional organisation. Direct service desk, end-user computing, access management, operational governance and continual improvement to deliver reliable and accountable IT services.

Responsibilities

• Establish and continuously improve IT service management policies, processes, standards, ownership models and escalation routes. Lead the IT Service Desk as the primary contact point for incidents and service requests. Oversee ticket intake, classification, prioritisation, assignment, escalation, communication and closure through Jira. Coordinate major incident response, prioritising service restoration, stakeholder updates and post-incident actions. Monitor ageing, breached, reopened and recurring tickets, ensuring accountable owners drive timely resolution. Develop operating procedures, knowledge articles, standard responses and escalation guidelines. Analyse incident, request and problem trends to identify recurring issues and improvement opportunities. Direct root-cause analysis and track corrective and preventive actions through to completion. Maintain a prioritised service improvement plan informed by operational data, user feedback and business impact. Promote automation, self-service and knowledge management to improve service quality and efficiency. Operate end-user computing as a regional shared service and govern common workflows for end-user computing, server and network services. Use Jira as the common workflow platform for incidents, requests and operational tasks across shared services. Standardise service catalogues, ownership, routing, service levels, escalation procedures and documentation requirements. Coordinate cross-functional workflows and dependencies while maintaining clear operational ownership for each service area. Consolidate reporting on demand, performance, ageing, backlogs and recurring issues for management review. Lead end-user computing and workplace services, including device deployment, maintenance, software distribution, Microsoft 365 and related technologies. Govern endpoint provisioning, configuration, lifecycle management, support readiness and approved software deployment. Coordinate centrally delivered services with local onsite support through clearly defined responsibilities. Oversee user access administration for Windows, Microsoft 365 and business applications. Ensure access provisioning, amendments and revocation are completed accurately, promptly and on the basis of approved requests. Govern joiner, mover and leaver access processes in accordance with established controls. Maintain segregation of duties, approval records, access documentation and audit trails. Coordinate periodic access reviews and remediation with relevant application, business, human resources and cybersecurity stakeholders. Define service targets, performance indicators and reporting requirements for IT and shared services. Monitor ticket volumes, response and resolution performance, backlogs, ageing, recurring issues and user satisfaction. Prepare management reports and ensure service gaps and adverse trends have documented corrective actions. Build effective working relationships with users, business stakeholders, IT teams and service providers. Manage escalations involving significant service issues and unresolved support matters. Hold vendors and managed service providers accountable for agreed commitments and service levels. Ensure service communications are timely, clear and appropriate to the business impact. Maintain records and controls that support operational, risk, audit and compliance requirements. Participate in project and change readiness reviews covering support, monitoring, documentation, ownership and escalation arrangements. Ensure new or amended services are formally transitioned into operations with agreed acceptance criteria and support responsibilities. Measure service outcomes through incident resolution, major incident handling, shared-service consistency, access control, reduction of repeat incidents and operational readiness. Provide after-hours coordination for critical or major incidents when required.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or a related discipline. At least eight years of relevant experience in IT service management, IT operations, end-user computing, service desk management or a comparable role, including leadership responsibility. Strong practical knowledge of ITIL principles and service management disciplines. Demonstrated experience managing enterprise incidents, major incidents, service requests, problems, service levels and continual improvement. Experience designing or operating shared-service workflows and support queues using Jira or a comparable IT service management platform. Experience managing end-user computing, workplace services and user access administration for Windows, Microsoft 365 or business applications. Working knowledge of server, network and application support operating models. Experience managing internal support teams, external vendors or managed service providers. Strong operational leadership, ownership and follow-through. Ability to establish clear processes, accountability and service discipline across teams. Data-driven approach to service performance management and continual improvement. Ability to lead incidents effectively and remain composed under operational pressure. Strong influencing, stakeholder-management and escalation-management skills. Strong awareness of controls relating to user access administration. Ability to manage multiple operational priorities and competing service demands. Hands-on experience with Jira Service Management, workflow configuration, dashboards and service reporting is preferred. ITIL certification is preferred.