Head of Service Operations

Head of Service Operations

We are looking for an experienced Head of Service Operations / Director of Service Management to join a global technology and AI organisation undergoing significant business and technology transformation.

This is an opportunity for an established Service Management leader to take ownership of complex, business-critical live services operating across multiple regions.

The successful candidate will bring strong operational leadership, commercial awareness and the ability to engage confidently with senior stakeholders, whilst driving service excellence, operational consistency and continuous improvement.

This is a hands-on leadership role focused on managing and improving existing live services rather than delivering a standalone transformation project.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee global IT service operations, ensuring the effective delivery of business-critical services across multiple regions and time zones.

• Take ownership of service performance, including major incident, problem and change management.

• Establish and maintain consistent ITSM processes, service governance, SLAs and operational reporting.

• Drive continuous improvement across service management functions, identifying opportunities to improve performance, efficiency and customer experience.

• Manage relationships with senior stakeholders, including VP and C-suite leadership.

• Oversee supplier performance, ensuring third-party providers meet agreed service levels and business expectations.

• Work closely with engineering, infrastructure, technology and offshore delivery teams to ensure operational alignment.

• Support the integration and standardisation of service operations across multiple business units and acquired organisations.

• Develop meaningful service performance metrics, dashboards and executive-level reporting.

• Provide leadership and direction during critical incidents, ensuring effective communication and timely resolution.

Essential Skills & Experience

• 10+ years' experience in IT Service Management, including at least 3 years in a senior leadership position such as Head of Service Management, Head of Service Operations or Service Delivery Director.

• Proven experience leading 24/7, multi-region or global service operations within a complex enterprise environment.

• Strong background in ITIL and ITSM best practices, including major incident, problem, change and service-level management.

• Demonstrable experience managing live operational services and driving measurable service improvements.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the confidence and credibility to influence VP, Director and C-suite stakeholders.

• Experience managing distributed teams, third-party suppliers and complex service delivery environments.

• Strong operational governance, reporting and service performance management capabilities.

• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving organisation.

• Flexibility to collaborate with international teams across different time zones.