Senior IT Service Manager

Job summary

Across government, the effective delivery of IT services is essential to enabling organisations to operate efficiently, securely and responsively. As digital services become more integral to core operations, strong service management capability is critical to ensuring reliability, performance and continuous improvement. Ofgem plays a vital role in the UK’s energy system, protecting consumers and enabling a more secure, fair and sustainable energy future, and high-quality IT services are fundamental to supporting this mission.

Ofgem is on an ambitious transformation journey. Within the Digital, Data and Security Services (DDSS) directorate, we are modernising our technology estate while maintaining reliable day-to-day services. This requires strong service leadership to ensure that both operational (‘run’) services and transformation (‘change’) initiatives deliver value to users, meet service standards and align with organisational priorities.

As a Senior IT Service Manager, you will be accountable for the delivery and continuous improvement of a portfolio of IT services. You will set service strategy, oversee performance and act as a senior escalation point for complex issues. You will also lead supplier relationships, ensuring services are delivered effectively across a multi-sourced environment and that service quality meets both user expectations and organisational standards.

This is a senior service management role with significant responsibility across service management, stakeholder engagement and operational delivery. You will combine strategic oversight with hands-on service governance, driving improvements and ensuring high-quality service outcomes.

Job description

You will be responsible for:

• Leading the development of the end-to-end delivery of IT services, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and adherence to ITIL-based practices while reporting into the Head of Service Management
• Owning service performance, monitoring SLAs and driving improvements to ensure high levels of reliability, availability and user satisfaction.
• Acting as the service management authority for assigned services, ensuring governance, accountability and operational excellence.
• Serving as the senior escalation point for complex or critical service issues, ensuring timely resolution and effective stakeholder communication.
• Leading supplier and vendor relationships, holding partners accountable for performance and ensuring alignment with contractual and service expectations.
• Chairing service review meetings and governance forums, providing clear reporting and insight into service performance.
• Driving continual service improvement initiatives, identifying opportunities to enhance efficiency, resilience and value delivery.
• Maintaining service documentation, including service catalogues and knowledge bases, ensuring they are accurate and accessible.
• Supporting financial management of services, including cost control, forecasting and optimisation activities.
• Building and supporting high-performing teams, providing coaching and mentorship to develop capability across service management functions.
• Supporting the delivery and transition of new services into live operation, ensuring operational readiness and sustainability.

We are looking for:

An experienced and well-rounded IT service management professional who can lead a portfolio of services in a complex, multi-supplier environment. You will bring strong leadership capability, alongside deep knowledge of service management frameworks and practices.

You may come from a service management, IT operations or delivery background, but you will demonstrate:

• Significant experience owning and managing IT services within an enterprise environment
• Strong knowledge of ITIL frameworks and service management best practice
• Experience managing supplier relationships and holding vendors accountable for performance
• Proven ability to drive service improvement and enhance operational performance
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence across technical and business domains

An ITIL v4 Foundation certification is required, with higher-level ITIL certifications (e.g. Create, Deliver and Support) strongly preferred.

Experience operating within government or regulated environments, and in service transition or transformation activities, would be beneficial.

This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping how Ofgem delivers IT services. You will ensure that services are reliable, efficient and aligned with user needs, supporting both operational excellence and successful delivery of organisational transformation.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Extensive and demonstrable experience owning and managing a portfolio of services, with a strong background in service management frameworks and processes (Lead Criteria).
• ITIL v4 foundation qualification is a minimum requirement (Lead Criteria).
• High level of ITIL awareness, preferably supported by ITIL certifications (minimum Practitioner) - e.g. ITILv4 Create, Deliver and Support.
• Experience in customer/business relationship management and supplier management.
• Experience in maturing service management processes, including service documentation.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in operationalising new services (e.g. ITSM Processes such as CMDB).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• You will also be asked to prepare a presentation. Full details of the presentation will be included in the invitation to interview.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £49,452, OFGEM contributes £14,326 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).Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; 30 days annual leave after 2 years; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but this is kept under review), flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.

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 (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the criteria listed in the role profile. In the event of receiving a large number of applications, an initial sift may take place on just the lead criteria indicated in the essential criteria.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn].

At Ofgem, we expect our staff to carry out their roles with honesty, fairness and openness. They should follow the Civil Service code and be free from any influence or bias. We are committed to making sure interests are recognised, declared and managed appropriately so that we can fulfil our duties as an energy regulator. Our Conflicts of Interest policy outlines the types of interests Ofgem staff must declare before onboarding, and the rules they must follow throughout employment so that we can clearly demonstrate that our decisions are not influenced by private interests.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Amber Shankland
• Email : amber.shankland@ofgem.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of these Recruitment Principles.

In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website.

Attachments

DDSS Role Profile Senior IT Service Manager (2B) Opens in new window (pdf, 131kB)DDSS Candidate Pack, Senior IT Service Manager - 467935 Opens in new window (pdf, 3430kB)Terms and Conditions Opens in new window (pdf, 335kB)