Service Delivery Manager

Overview

West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the second largest fire and rescue service in England, serving an area of 902km square and a population of over 2.9 million people.

Our vision is 'Making the West Midlands safer, stronger and healthier'.

This vision and the strategic goals outlined in 'Our Strategy' are what drives the people, professionalism and pride with which we serve our communities.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Digital, Data and Technology as a Service Delivery Manager. Our technology underpins everything we do, from the systems our firefighters rely on in an emergency to the services our communities interact with every day. This role takes overall responsibility for our first line Service Desk and our Application Support team, making sure incidents and requests are resolved quickly and customers are kept informed throughout.

You will own the relationships that keep our services running, building strong partnerships with key suppliers and holding them to account against agreed contracts and service levels. Reporting to the Head of IT and working closely with the wider Digital, Data and Technology leadership team, you will help shape and embed our IT governance strategy, drive our ITSM and ITIL capabilities, and line manage and coach your direct reports.

Responsibilities

• take overall responsibility for the Service Desk, Service Management and Application Support teams
• monitor and manage incidents and requests, making sure work is completed within agreed service levels and customers are kept informed of progress
• manage service level agreements end to end, measuring and reporting on performance and benchmarking against industry standards and comparable organisations
• lead the relationship with key suppliers, holding them to account for contract delivery and performance
• manage IT audits, making sure findings, actions and outcomes are tracked, addressed and reported to IT leadership
• introduce and maintain a robust change management process, act as a point of escalation, and support the shaping and embedding of IT governance across Digital, Data and Technology
• line manage and coach direct reports, including performance, development and recruitment.

• Experience and skills
• Essential skills or experience

• experience in a similar Service Delivery Manager role
• expert knowledge of ITIL v3 or v4
• experience of managing key supplier and vendor relationships, including contract and performance management
• experience of managing service level agreements and benchmarking service performance
• experience of implementing and managing IT governance policies
• excellent customer-facing communication skills, both written and spoken
• the ability to build effective working relationships internally and externally, particularly with key stakeholders.

Desirable skills or experience

• experience of working within a technology managed service provider or multi-customer environment
• experience of working for a public sector organisation, for example a fire and rescue service
• ITIL v3 or v4 certification to expert level
• experience of IT audit processes and frameworks, for example ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials
• strong leadership skills.

Benefits

We offer a friendly working environment and benefits including

• flexible and agile working arrangements
• enhanced family leave benefits, including 52 weeks fully paid maternity and adoption leave
• on-site free gym facilities
• free parking.

We also offer access to an in-house occupational health facility - including occupational health and fitness advisors, sports therapists, physiotherapists, cognitive behavioural therapy practitioners and counsellors.

In addition, employees have access to

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• wellbeing programmes
• 'blue light' discounts across many retailers through partner schemes
• Sports and Welfare scheme (for a small fee) – with access to discounted products and services.

Diversity

We welcome applications from all eligible candidates. However, as women and Black and minority ethnic employees are currently under-represented in our service, we particularly encourage applications from these groups.

WMFS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect the same of every staff member.

Successful candidates will be subject to necessary pre-employment checks, including - where applicable - relevant level Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, qualifications, medical clearance, identity and right to work. All applicants will be required to provide two suitable references.

How to apply

Send your CV, along with a covering letter outlining your relevant experience against the job description (linked below), to demonstrate your suitability for the role.

Questions

If you have any questions about the role, or would like an informal discussion, please contact Simon Bentley, Head of IT, by email at [email hidden].