Senior Operations Manager

Nextlink is seeking for an experienced Senior Operations Manager to support the Digital Services domain across Commercial and Digital IT. The role will take ownership of the operational landscape, stabilize day-to-day service delivery, and establish robust, repeatable processes and governance mechanisms.

The ideal candidate will bring strong experience in IT service operations, service management, incident and problem management, operational governance, and continuous improvement. Experience within Digital Services and the Life Sciences/Pharmaceutical domain is mandatory for the initial search.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring someone who can quickly assess the current operational environment, take ownership of existing workloads, establish structure and accountability, and drive the organization toward a more proactive and mature operating model.

Key Responsibilities

Service Operations & Stability

• Take ownership of day-to-day operational activities across the Digital Services application landscape.
  
• Ensure stable, reliable, and efficient delivery of digital applications and services.
  
• Monitor operational performance, identify risks and dependencies, and ensure timely resolution of issues.
  
• Establish clear ownership and accountability across internal teams, service providers, and vendors.
  

Incident & Service Management

• Lead the coordination of incidents, major incidents, and service requests.
  
• Ensure effective triage, prioritization, escalation, and resolution of operational issues.
  
• Coordinate stakeholder communication during critical and major incidents.
  
• Drive root-cause analysis and follow-up actions for recurring or high-impact incidents.
  
• Ensure appropriate change and release readiness from an operational perspective.
  

Service Governance

• Establish and run a structured service governance framework.
  
• Define and monitor relevant KPIs, SLAs, service performance metrics, and operational dashboards.
  
• Lead regular service reviews with business stakeholders, IT teams, and vendors.
  
• Maintain action, risk, issue, and dependency tracking and ensure timely closure.
  
• Coordinate vendor performance and ensure contractual/service expectations are met.
  

Operational Processes & Documentation

• Assess the existing operating model and identify gaps, risks, and improvement opportunities.
  
• Define and implement standardized operational processes and ways of working.
  
• Develop and maintain runbooks, SOPs, handover documentation, RACI matrices, escalation procedures, and operational playbooks.
  
• Establish clear processes for change, release, deployment, and operational readiness.
  
• Ensure operational knowledge is documented, accessible, and transferable across teams.
  

Continuous Improvement

• Drive initiatives to reduce recurring incidents, operational inefficiencies, and service disruptions.
  
• Identify opportunities to improve service quality, reliability, automation, and operational efficiency.
  
• Establish a culture of proactive problem management and continuous improvement.
  
• Track improvement initiatives through measurable outcomes and performance indicators.
  
• Ensure operational processes remain aligned with compliance, security, and organizational standards.
  

Key Stakeholder Interfaces

The role will work closely with:

• Commercial and Digital IT stakeholders
  
• Digital Product/Application teams
  
• Business stakeholders and service owners
  
• Infrastructure and technical support teams
  
• External vendors and managed service providers
  
• Incident, problem, change, and release management teams
  
• Senior IT and business leadership
  

Requirements

Required Experience & Skills

• Proven experience as a Senior Operations Manager, IT Operations Manager, Service Delivery Manager, or equivalent.
  
• Strong experience managing digital application/service operations in a complex enterprise environment.
  
• Demonstrated experience taking over and stabilizing operational environments.
  
• Strong knowledge of ITIL/service management principles, including incident, problem, change, request, and service management.
  
• Experience establishing service governance, KPIs, SLAs, service reviews, and operational reporting.
  
• Strong stakeholder and vendor management experience.
  
• Experience creating and implementing operational processes, documentation, runbooks, RACIs, and governance frameworks.
  
• Proven track record in continuous improvement and operational transformation.
  
• Strong communication, coordination, escalation, and leadership skills.
  
• Ability to operate effectively in a complex, matrixed organization and manage multiple priorities.
  

Mandatory Domain Experience

For the initial 48-candidate search, candidates should have demonstrable experience in both:

• Digital Services / Digital IT
  
• Life Sciences / Pharmaceutical industry
  

Candidates without relevant Life Sciences and Digital Services experience should not be prioritized during the initial search, given the specific domain requirement.

Preferred Qualifications

• ITIL certification or equivalent service management qualification.
  
• Experience working with global/multinational organizations.
  
• Experience with managed service providers and third-party vendors.
  
• Experience with regulated environments and associated compliance requirements.
  
• Experience supporting Commercial, Customer, or Digital business functions within Life Sciences.
  
• Experience implementing or improving IT service management frameworks and operating models.