Service Transition Manager

Grade 8

The Service Transition Manager will have responsibility for the service design and transition process within our project management methodology. They are required to facilitate the transition of all aspects of service change deriving from a programme of projects, from the stage where a project is owned fully by a project team, through transition, to service management, where business-as-usual support services are delivered by the support groups.

The post holder is responsible for ensuring that the impact of every element of the life cycle of developmental change is considered, from the time a project is confirmed to its eventual deployment, involving co-ordination of the processes of operational level acceptance, transition planning, support requirements definition, configuration and change management, performance and risk evaluation, test management, release, deployment, early life support and release review.

The Service Transition Manager position is within the Service Management Office, and will work closely with the projects teams, service owner and service delivery manager, the first line and second line support managers and teams, change management and the infrastructure teams. The post holder will be required to have well developed presentation and influencing skills, and be capable of making the case for and achieving effective service transition deliverables in project environments where delivery timescales may be inflexible.

The Service Transition Manager is accountable for co-ordinating a number of activities, such as testing, release and deployment, but is not responsible for managing delivery of such activities operationally – delivery tasks will typically be delivered by other teams or from project resources.

It is critical that project groups have a clear understanding of transition and operational support requirements, while support maintains awareness of project activity and is involved in transition activities. It is a primary responsibility of the Service Transition Manager to facilitate this approach.

Essential selection criteria

  • Education to degree level or able to offer the equivalent in terms of professional training and experience
  • Minimum of five years’ experience working in an IT service environment within a complex and diverse organisation
  • Minimum two years’ working in a service environment where ITIL service management principles and processes are implemented
  • Have demonstrable experience and aptitude in working in a matrix organisation where effective and robust negotiating and influencing skills are used successfully while maintaining good working relationships with members of that organisation
  • Sufficient technical background to understand the different architectures of the core systems, and to understand the impact of new technologies; experience of enterprise level applications will be an advantage
  • Proven track record of successfully managing their own work and that of others where required, including the ability to plan, prioritise and organise work to meet tight deadlines
  • Proven track record of working independently and showing persistence, while fostering good working relationships across teams, as well as contributing to the SMO team environment
  • Strong interpersonal skills and politically astute
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to relate effectively to users at all levels and careful attention to detail
  • Experience of creating and maintaining a project plan
  • Excellent analysis and problem-solving skills
  • An understanding of the need for standards in IT and a willingness to achieve further formal ITIL qualifications as required
  • Confident use of the Microsoft Office toolset, email and web browsers

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