IT Service Manager

Organisation: Defence Equipment & Support 
Salary: £44,100 per annum (plus generous benefits)
Grade: PII 
Working Pattern: Full time
Contract Type: Permanent

Job Summary

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we supply and maintain vital equipment and services for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Together, we deliver a vast range of essential defence programmes and strive for what's next. Because it helps keep our military at the top of their game and our nation safe – for today, and tomorrow.

DE&S has recently been integrated into the National Armaments Director (NAD) Group. The NAD Group brings together key Ministry of Defence (MOD) organisations to unite expertise across science, technology, procurement, infrastructure, and support to provide integrated capabilities faster and more efficiently for our armed forces and our allies.  This is an exciting new opportunity to enable better ways of working and empower greater collaboration across Defence. For further information about the NAD Group, please visit: National Armaments Director Group - GOV.UK

We offer 25+ days’ holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of 28.97%, to help make work for you.

This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance. Clearance must be obtained without any caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role you’ve been recruited for. If it isn’t obtained or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn. Obtaining SC security clearance can be a lengthy process, and we reserve the right to withdraw any conditional offer made if the necessary security clearance isn’t obtained within 12 months.

Job description 

We are seeking an experienced IT Service Manager to lead the delivery and assurance of the Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions (JAMES) service. 

This role is responsible for ensuring the effective operation, governance and continual improvement of a business-critical service used across Defence. Working with military users, suppliers and stakeholders, you will manage service performance, assure operational delivery, contractual relationships, oversee key service management processes and support the transition from JAMES to Defence Equipment Engineering and Asset Management System (DEEAMS). 

This is an exciting opportunity for a service management professional with strong Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) experience, able to use strong excellent stakeholder engagement skills and a proven track record of delivering high-quality services within a complex and regulated environment.

Please note that due to the nature of the role, you will be required full time on site at Warminster.

What you’ll be doing

• Support the lifecycle and development of services and products from design to disposal, sustaining compliance within change Programmes ensuring optimisation. 
• Manage and maintain the service compliance of IT applications and service assets in line with business and regulatory requirements. 
• Engage with stakeholders and customers across the business to review, update and implement relevant policies and processes. Engage with organisations, customers, suppliers, partners and peers at account level and guide them through appropriate knowledge sharing to maintain service. 
• Support the creation of underpinning contracts and agreements during service design through to transition. Monitor agreed performance indicators in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLA’s), Operational Level Agreements (OLA’s) and other contractual dependencies. Identify changes in performance through incident and problem management, including service readiness, incident volumes and user satisfaction in support of organisational objectives. 
• Contribute to the definition and maturity of service integration and transition requirements. 
• Support design and implementation of service transition plans, including resource allocation within those plans, timelines, and risk mitigation. Support validation and verification activities to transition into the live service environments. 

• Conduct learning from experience (LFE) activities to capture lessons learnt and to improve future service operations.

Person specification
To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Significant experience managing and assuring live IT services within a large, complex or highly regulated environment – Lead Criterion

• Experience of applying ITIL-based service management practices including incident, problem, change, release and transition management.

• Experience using service performance measures (SLAs, OLAs, KPIs and operational reporting) to hold suppliers accountable and improve outcomes.

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Core Behaviour 1: Managing a Quality Service – CSBC 3 

• Core Behaviour 2: Communicating and Influencing – CSBC 3 

• Technical Competence 1: Service Delivery and Operations (1) – Practitioner

Offered benefits

• 25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
• Support for progression
• Huge range of discounts
• Volunteering days

• Enhanced parental leave schemes

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of - and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

#LI-Onsite

Further Information

• Civil Service Recruitment Principles: Recruitment Principles - Civil Service Commission 

• Candidate Information Pack: https://bit.ly/DES-candidate-information-pack

• Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-Terms-and-Conditions

• Civil Service Code: The Code - Civil Service Commission

Any personal data that you provide during the Recruitment process will be treated in accordance with the MOD Privacy Notice which can be accessed here.

Disability Confident:

Please note as a Disability Confident Leader we want to ensure you receive any reasonable adjustments that you need throughout the recruitment process. If you do require any reasonable adjustments, you can let us know on your online application under the section ‘Please indicate and give details of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the recruitment process.’

Conflicts of Interest:

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

Selection Process Details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

1. Pre-sift - We will check your application to ensure that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.

2. Sift - Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills. Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.

3. Interview - If you're invited to interview, you will be assessed against the following:

• CV Review

• Core Behaviour 1

• Core Behaviour 2

• Technical Competencies

Please Note: In the event of a tied score at interview, the Order of Merit will be distinguished based on the ranking of the assessed behaviours and competencies below:  

• 1st: Core Behaviour 1 
• 2nd: Core Behaviour 2 
• 3rd: Technical Competencies 
• 4th: CV Review 

In the event of a further tie using the method above, we reserve the right to utilise the Lead criteria, and/or an additional assessment. Please note for this specific assessment, the Lead Criteria will be:

Significant experience managing and assuring live IT services within a large, complex or highly regulated environment

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should contact department via email ([email protected].) If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission

Offering at a lower level

If you’re not successful at interview, we may offer you a role at a lower level if this is a match for your skills and experience. If this applies to your application, you’ll be scored against criteria for the lower-level role and offers will be made in merit order. If you accept this position, you’ll be able to take advantage of opportunities to develop your career as part of our team.