Service Transition Lead

• We are looking for an experienced Service Transition Lead to join a major technology transformation programme and lead the controlled transition of new and changed services into live operation
• This is a critical role within the programme, ensuring that technology solutions are not only technically ready to go live, but are also supportable, operationally understood and ready to be owned by the organisation’s service teams
• You will work across technical workstreams including identity, endpoints, Microsoft 365, applications, infrastructure, networks and security, coordinating the activities required to move services safely from design and delivery into operational use
• The role will ensure that each pilot, migration wave and cutover is supported by appropriate operational readiness, including support models, processes, knowledge, monitoring, documentation, training and clearly defined ownership
• You will act as the bridge between programme delivery and live service operations, ensuring that services are transitioned in a controlled manner and that operational teams have the information, tools and capabilities they need to support users effectively from day one
• This role will require strong coordination across technical and service-management teams, with the ability to identify supportability gaps early and drive them to resolution before go-live
• Define the overall service-transition strategy, transition approach and operational acceptance criteria for the programme
• Develop and maintain transition plans covering pilots, migration waves, cutovers and subsequent handover into business-as-usual operations
• Establish clear entry and exit criteria for each stage of service transition, ensuring that operational readiness is demonstrated rather than assumed
• Coordinate service design and operational readiness activities across technical workstreams and service-management teams
• Work closely with programme, project and technical leads to ensure operational requirements are considered throughout the design and delivery lifecycle
• Ensure appropriate support models are defined and agreed before services enter production
• Establish clear service ownership, support responsibilities, escalation paths, SLAs and OLAs
• Ensure that monitoring, alerting, capacity, availability, backup, recovery and security processes are appropriately designed and operationally understood
• Confirm that service-management processes are in place for incident, problem, change, request and knowledge management
• Oversee the production and quality of operational documentation, including runbooks, knowledge articles, service records, support procedures, technical documentation and user/support guidance
• Ensure that appropriate training and knowledge transfer is completed for service desk, support, infrastructure and operational teams
• Coordinate operational acceptance evidence and maintain clear visibility of outstanding readiness actions
• Identify supportability gaps, operational risks and dependencies early and work with technical teams to ensure they are resolved before go-live
• Work closely with the Change, Test and Cutover functions to ensure that operational readiness is aligned with technical and migration readiness
• Ensure that service continuity and user experience are considered throughout migration planning and cutover activity
• Develop and coordinate early-life support arrangements for new and migrated services
• Define warranty, hypercare and handover arrangements, including clear ownership and exit criteria
• Ensure that services are formally accepted into operational ownership with appropriate evidence and accountability
• Track transition risks, actions, dependencies and readiness decisions through to completion
• Support go-live and cutover decision-making by providing a clear assessment of operational readiness and outstanding risks
• Coordinate post-implementation reviews and capture lessons learned from each migration wave
• Use lessons learned and operational feedback to improve transition processes and readiness standards for subsequent waves

Benefits

• Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience
• Be part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society
• Strong, inspiring and thought-provoking leadership
• A supportive and collaborative environment
• Development access to LinkedIn Learning, a management development programme and training
• Wellness 24/7 Confidential employee assistance programme
• Social - Breakfast Tuesdays, Pizza Thursday monthly, weekly social in the office and commitment to charitable causes
• Time off 25 days a year
• Pension Salary Exchange Scheme with 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution
• Discretionary Company Bonus based on company and individual performance
• Life Assurance of 4 times base salary
• Private Medical Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependants included)
• Worldwide Travel Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependants included)
• Benefits Platform offering various retail and leisure discounts

We are looking for an experienced Service Transition or Service Management professional with a strong background in complex technology programmesStrong experience coordinating technical documentation, runbooks, knowledge articles and operational proceduresExperience working across complex technology environments, ideally including cloud, Microsoft 365, identity, endpoints and hybrid infrastructureAbility to identify supportability and operational-readiness gaps and drive actions across multiple technical teamsExperience developing or assuring support models, escalation paths, SLAs, OLAs and service ownership arrangementsExperience working closely with Change, Test, Cutover and technical delivery teamsStrong planning and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple services and migration waves simultaneouslyProven experience defining and managing operational acceptance criteriaGood knowledge of ITIL-aligned service management practices, including service design, transition, change, incident, problem and knowledge managementExcellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to communicate operational requirements clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholdersExperience planning and managing early-life support, hypercare, warranty and formal service handoverExperience coordinating go-live and operational readiness across multiple technical and business teamsStrong understanding of how services move from development or project delivery into live operational supportUnderstanding of operational requirements around monitoring, backup, recovery, security, availability and resilienceExperience transitioning services across organisational or supplier boundaries would be advantageousStrong facilitation and stakeholder-management skillsStrong experience leading service transition, operational readiness or service management within complex technology transformation programmesYou will be comfortable working across technical and operational communities and will be able to challenge delivery teams when a service is technically ready but not operationally readyYou will have strong attention to detail, but you will also be able to maintain sight of the bigger picture and understand how individual service-readiness issues could affect a wider migration waveYou will be an organised, pragmatic and delivery-focused service professional who understands that successful transformation does not end at go-liveYou will also have the judgement to distinguish between genuine operational risks and lower-impact gaps that can be managed through agreed workarounds or post-go-live actionsYou will be confident asking difficult questions and holding teams accountable for readiness actions without creating unnecessary bureaucracyMost importantly, you will be someone who can build confidence between programme delivery and operational teams, ensuring that services are transitioned with clear ownership, appropriate controls and the capability to support users effectively

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