Service Management Lead (DV Cleared)

Location: Hampshire – Site Based
Security Clearance: DV Clearance Essential
Contract: Contract Opportunity

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Service Management Lead to support the successful transition of new and changed IT services into live operational environments.

The role will act as the key bridge between project delivery teams, Service Management, Operations and Support functions, ensuring that all operational, technical and business readiness activities are completed, documented and approved before go-live.

You will take ownership of operational acceptance, service transition, support models, knowledge transfer, training, documentation, risk management and service handover activities, ensuring services are fully prepared to be supported effectively from day one.

This is a highly stakeholder-focused role requiring someone with strong IT Service Management, Service Transition and Operational Readiness experience, ideally within complex or secure environments.

Key Responsibilities

Service Transition & Operational Readiness

• Lead Operational Readiness Reviews (ORRs) for new and updated IT services.
• Develop and maintain operational readiness frameworks, processes and governance.
• Ensure all operational acceptance criteria are completed before go-live.
• Coordinate service transition activities across project and operational teams.
• Act as the operational readiness authority for project deployments.
• Ensure services are appropriately prepared for operational support before deployment.

Service Acceptance & Governance

• Define and maintain Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT) requirements.
• Facilitate readiness assessments and go-live reviews.
• Identify, assess and manage operational risks, issues and dependencies.
• Ensure service support requirements are documented, agreed and approved.
• Provide clear readiness recommendations to senior stakeholders and governance forums.

Knowledge & Documentation

• Ensure appropriate support documentation, work instructions, runbooks and knowledge articles are created and maintained.
• Coordinate knowledge-transfer sessions between project/delivery and operational support teams.
• Ensure Service Desk and resolver groups have the information and knowledge required to support new services.
• Maintain appropriate service handover documentation and readiness records.

Support Model & Resource Readiness

• Validate support structures, escalation paths, ownership and RACI models.
• Ensure monitoring, alerting, backup, recovery and support tooling are operational and fit for purpose.
• Work with technical teams to confirm operational support capability and capacity.
• Identify support-team resource, training and knowledge requirements.
• Ensure operational teams are appropriately prepared to take ownership of services.

Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with Project Managers, Service Owners, Technical Architects, Engineers and Support Teams.
• Provide operational readiness reporting to senior leadership and governance boards.
• Communicate readiness status, risks, mitigation plans and recommendations clearly.
• Build strong relationships across technical, project and operational teams.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve service transition and operational readiness processes.
• Support the adoption of ITIL best practices and wider Service Management initiatives.
• Review post-implementation outcomes and lessons learned.
• Use lessons learned to improve readiness approaches for future deployments.

Essential Experience & Skills

• 5+ years’ experience in IT Service Management (ITSM) and Service Transition.
• Strong understanding of ITIL principles and frameworks.
• Proven experience managing Operational Readiness and/or Service Transition activities.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience working across infrastructure, cloud, application and support teams.
• Strong risk management and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to coordinate multiple projects, workstreams and competing priorities.
• Experience taking new or changed services through readiness, acceptance and transition into live service.
• Strong understanding of operational support requirements and service handover.

Desirable Experience

• ITIL Foundation or higher certification.
• Experience using ServiceNow or equivalent ITSM platforms.
• Project Management qualifications such as PRINCE2, Agile or PMP.
• Knowledge and practical experience of Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT).
• Previous experience working within complex, highly secure or regulated environments.

Key Deliverables

The successful candidate will be responsible for producing and managing deliverables including:

• Operational Readiness Plans
• Operational Acceptance Checklists
• Service Handover Documentation
• Support Models and RACI Definitions
• Knowledge Articles and Runbooks
• Training and Knowledge Transfer Records
• Go-Live Readiness Assessments
• Risk and Issue Registers
• Service Transition Reports

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role will be demonstrated through:

• Successful service deployments with minimal operational disruption or post-go-live incidents.
• Reduced post-implementation support issues.
• Consistent compliance with operational acceptance standards.
• Completion of readiness activities within agreed timelines.
• Strong feedback from Service Owners and operational teams.
• Improved support-team preparedness and overall service stability.

Stakeholder Environment

The role will work closely with:

• Project Managers
• Service Owners
• Technical Architects
• Infrastructure & Cloud Teams
• Service Desk and Resolver Groups
• Change & Release Management Teams
• Service Management and Operations Leadership

The role may report into functions such as the Head of Service Management, Service Delivery Manager, Operations Manager or Service Transition Manager.

Key Requirements

Operational Readiness | Service Transition | ITSM | ITIL | OAT | Service Acceptance | Risk Management | Service Handover | IT Operations

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.