IT Service Manager

On behalf of the MOD, we are looking for an IT Service Manager (Inside IR35) for a 6 month contract based Remote with occasional travel to Corsham.

Role purpose

The Defence Digital Foundry is establishing a unified IT Service Management capability to support a growing portfolio of digital services across Defence.

The IT Service Manager will act as a trusted advisor and delivery partner to the Head of IT Service Management. The role will lead and support the onboarding of service areas into the Foundry ITSM operating model, establish practical support arrangements, improve operational readiness and help teams adopt consistent and sustainable service management practices.

This is not a traditional service operations or people management role. Its principal focus is service onboarding, operational readiness, service transition, stakeholder engagement and applied ITSM consultancy. The postholder will work across organisational boundaries, turn emerging requirements into workable support arrangements and help service areas move safely into business as usual support.

The postholder will also provide senior professional support to the ITSM Stability Manager and IT Service Desk Manager, offering practical advice across Service Desk operations, Change Enablement and Major Incident Management.

As an IT Service Manager, your main responsibilities will be to:

• Provide expert guidance on applying ITSM and ITIL principles within a complex Defence environment.
• Support the development and implementation of the Foundry ITSM operating model, service management standards and continual improvement initiatives.
• Design and improve service processes, governance arrangements and operational ways of working.
• Advise and mentor colleagues across Service Desk, Change Enablement and Major Incident Management and wider ITSM practices.
• Facilitate workshops, reviews and knowledge-sharing sessions to build capability within the permanent team.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the Head of IT Service Management and support delivery across key ITSM priorities.
• Engage and build credible relationships with service owners, technical teams, delivery leads and senior stakeholders to drive service improvements.
• Communicate complex service management issues effectively to operational, technical and senior audiences.
• Support service onboarding, operational readiness, service transition and ongoing service maturity.
• Develop meaningful service measures, reporting and assurance processes.
• Identify opportunities for continual improvement using service data, stakeholder feedback and operational experience.

PLEASE NOTE: SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.

Essential:

• Practical knowledge of ITIL and modern IT Service Management, with the judgement to apply it proportionately.
• Experience with service onboarding, service transition and operational readiness.
• Proven experience across Service Desk, Change Enablement, Major Incident Management and wider ITSM practices.
• Experience defining support models, governance arrangements and service management processes.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience working across multiple teams and senior stakeholders.
• Experience working with ITSM platforms such as Jira Service Management, ServiceNow, Remedy or an equivalent product.
• Experience driving service improvement and ITSM maturity initiatives.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

Desirable:

• Experience in Defence, Central Government or other secure environments.
• Experience of establishing or maturing a unified or federated ITSM operating model across previously separate service areas.
• Experience of Jira Service Management, including service onboarding and workflow implementation.
• Knowledge of Service Integration and Management principles and multi-supplier support environments.
• Experience developing service reporting, knowledge management, service catalogue or configuration management arrangements.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident 

As a Disability Confident employer, the MOD encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent candidates. Applications from candidates who identify as having a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

As a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, the MOD welcome applications from veterans, service leavers, reservists and military spouses or partners. Applications from eligible candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following “this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.