IT Service Transition Lead

Job summary

As an IT Service Transition Lead at UKHSA, you will ensure that digital and technology services are transitioned into live operation safely, efficiently, and in a way that supports long-term operational resilience. You will play a key role in delivering UKHSA’s health security mission by ensuring that services are robust, supportable, and aligned with operational and user needs from day one.

The role involves working across delivery, technical, and operational teams to embed structured transition processes, reduce risk, and ensure readiness across people, process, and technology. You will influence service design decisions, support adoption of ITIL practices, and enable high-quality service outcomes across national and regional operations.

Working for your organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Job description

• Lead the transition of new and changed services into live operation, ensuring alignment with governance standards and organisational priorities
• Ensure all elements required for service readiness (people, process, technology, suppliers) are in place prior to go-live
• Manage transition timelines to meet delivery milestones while maintaining service quality and minimising operational risk
• Provide evidence-based recommendations on rollout strategies, early-life support and service acceptance criteria
• Build strong relationships with delivery teams, service management, technical specialists and suppliers to enable effective collaboration
• Identify, manage and mitigate risks, issues and dependencies across service transitions
• Coordinate onboarding of services into ITSM platforms (e.g. ServiceNow), ensuring clarity on ownership, support models and performance expectations

• Service Transition & Delivery
  
  • Lead end-to-end service transition activities ensuring new or changed services meet defined entry and exit criteria
  • Embed ITIL-aligned service transition processes, including change, release and knowledge management
  • Ensure service documentation (e.g. support models, runbooks, SLAs) is complete and approved prior to go-live
    
    
• Stakeholder Engagement
  
  • Engage with a wide range of stakeholders including programme teams, architects, operations, and suppliers
  • Translate technical service requirements into clear, business-understandable outputs
  • Influence decision-making to ensure supportability and sustainability of services
    
    
• Operational Readiness
  
  • Validate that service support structures, monitoring, and escalation processes are in place
  • Ensure operational teams are trained and prepared to manage live services
  • Support early life support (ELS) and transition into business-as-usual operations
    
    
• Risk & Governance
  
  • Manage risks and dependencies across multiple service transitions
  • Ensure compliance with organisational governance, security and assurance processes
  • Provide reporting and assurance to senior stakeholders on transition readiness
    
    
• Continuous Improvement
  
  • Identify opportunities to improve service transition processes and practices
  • Contribute to continual service improvement initiatives across ITSM functions
  • Promote best practice and knowledge sharing across teams

• Leadership (where applicable)
• • Provide matrix leadership across transition activities
  • Support prioritisation and coordination of workloads across multiple services
  • Mentor and support colleagues to build capability in service management practices

This is not an exhaustive list.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• ITIL qualification (or equivalent) with practical experience in IT Service Management, particularly Service Transition
• Demonstrated experience leading service transition activities for digital or technology services
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with the ability to influence across technical and non-technical teams
• Experience producing and reviewing service design and transition documentation
• Proven ability to identify and manage risks, issues and dependencies
• Experience working with suppliers and ensuring delivery against SLAs and KPIs

Desirable criteria

• Experience coordinating or leading teams (including matrix management)
• Familiarity with ServiceNow or similar ITSM platforms
• Experience in public sector (or a similar large scale organisation), or health environments

Please note that for roles where specific qualifications or registrations are required, successful applicants will be asked to provide appropriate evidence. Employment cannot commence until satisfactory documentation has been received and verified.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,185, UK Health Security Agency contributes £16,276 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your behaviours, experience and technical skills.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the 6 listed essential criteria, and this will be in the form of:

• an application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• a 1000 word supporting statement.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 1000 words. We will not consider any words over 1000 words.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:

• Meets all essential criteria
• Meets some essential criteria
• Meets no essential criteria

Only those meeting all essential criteria will be taken through to shortlisting.

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on:

• Demonstrated experience leading service transition activities for digital or technology services

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications / large amount of successful candidates.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a face to face interview in our Canary Wharf offices.

Behaviours, experience and technical skills will be tested at interview.

You will be required to prepare a presentation (maximum of 10 minutes) as part of the interview which will assess your technical skills. The presentation will be: “Using an example, show how you used ITIL principles to ensure a smooth transition of a new IT service into live operations, while maintaining service quality and minimising risk”.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Leadership (Lead behaviour)
• Communicating and influencing
• Delivering at pace
• Making effective decisions

Interview dates to be confirmed.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs in either Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London (Canary Wharf).

We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, averaged over a month) on-site.

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Eligibility criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

Security clearance level requirement

Part 1

Successful candidates must pass a basic Disclosure and Barring Security (DBS) check before they can be appointed.

Part 2

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Check clearance.

For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years to obtain Security Check clearance. UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting at this higher level and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder / Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

Salary information

If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary. Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.

Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location.

Grade 7:

£56,185- £66,581 (National)
£58,340- £68,574 (Outer London)
£60,494- £70,566 (Inner London)

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.

The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Careers website

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Jon Payne
• Email : jonathan.payne@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel 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 UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk