We are actively building diverse teams and welcome applications from everyone.
Role: Service Manager
Location: Birmingham (SCC operate hybrid working, which comprises of a mix of office and home working)
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary Package: Competitive salary plus large company benefits, a broad flexible benefits scheme, and 2 paid-for volunteering days a year
Hours: 9.00 am – 5.30 pm Monday – Friday
Interview Process: 2-stage process
Why SCC?
- An inclusive workplace
- Excellent package: solid basic and company benefits
- Hybrid working & core hours in line with role requirements
- Career development and life-long learning opportunities
- Opportunity to join Europe's largest privately-owned IT Company
Role purpose:
This role leads a team of Service Delivery Managers who manage a portfolio of customer accounts focussing on customer experience, customer growth, retention, satisfaction, and profitability which feeds into the overall Business strategy.
They are responsible for driving the team to achievement of contract service levels, service improvement and customer satisfaction across the portfolio.
This is a key customer advocate role and acts as the voice of the customer both internally within SCC and externally. The Service Manager is the formal line of escalation for any Service Delivery Manager or customers managed within the team where appropriate.
This role should develop and manage a highly motivated, high performing team through collaboration with the rest of the Service Management team, internal SCC departments as well as the customers within the portfolio. Team development should be in line with the Service Management competency framework within the job family structure.
A strong working relationship with the SCC sales representatives aligned to the customer portfolio is essential and the management and reporting of the customer opportunities and overseeing account planning for this area should be identified, understood and reported within the team.
They are also a key customer advocate, acting as the voice of the customer both internally and externally and support the Customer Experience Strategy for all customers within their responsibility.
Management Information and any required escalations should be provided on a regular basis to the Head of the Service Delivery, to which this role reports
Key responsibilities:
Leadership & Management
• Performance management of direct reports including annual appraisals and setting of objectives and regular 1:1 sessions with staff.
• Create and regularly maintain staff development plans for each staff member
• Create shared goals, objectives and metrics for the team
• Support recruitment of new staff as appropriate
• Mentor the team on Service Delivery process and principles and applying industry best practices with customers
• Lead the team in identifying service improvements, seeking value add, increasing revenue opportunities and reducing the cost of support across a portfolio of accounts.
• Oversee the induction training for new starters in the team
• Manage direct reports health and safety requirements
Stakeholder Management
• Work collaboratively with the Sales Team to drive customer growth and profitability
• Build excellent relationships with both customers and internal SCC stakeholders. Be a collaborative partner with other internal departments to deliver the best possible customer experience.
• Ensure customer and internal perceptions and expectations are understood and plans are aligned to facilitate improvement
• Be the proactive face of SCC working closely with Account Management
• Ensure that a high profile is maintained and that all stakeholders have the visibility of the Service Delivery
• Take ownership, where required, of account issues and escalations to facilitate progress and resolution with stakeholders and functional units
• Keep senior SCC management informed of major service issues
Account Management
• Support the sales team to ensure Account Plans are created and maintained for customers within the portfolio.
• Be aware of opportunities to extend, negotiate and expand the SCC undertaking and drive incremental revenue
• Understand the Customers business, the Account plans and SCC Company Strategy
• Engage with Account Management to provide a consistent approach and to assist with opportunities
Financial, Commercial & Contract Management
• Ensures commercial / service charges are managed and invoiced in line with financial cadence
• Oversee the management of Service Credit negotiations
• Management of the underlying cost of Service as defined in the agreed Service Cost Model
• Continually review cost model/delivery approach to drive down the cost of delivery
• Be familiar with the SCC financial models that control the P&L, margin and cost base
• Oversee the day-to-day contract mechanics (such as management of change (CCN) – variations to contract) performed by the Service Delivery Managers
• Provide support and guidance to Service Delivery Managers and Account Management in renewals and extensions
• Engage with Service Design to ensure that Design and Cost models are fit for purpose
• Engage with contract negotiations and transition to ensure the Service Delivery requirements are encompassed in new customer contracts.
• Provide timely Financial Reporting and updates. Ensuring focus on forecasting requirements in line with business process.
• Manage their team P& L to ensure revenue recover against cost & play an active role in the overall Service Management P&L to the agreed business target
Service Improvement & Value Creation
• Manage and continually improve customer’s perception and satisfaction with SCC and its services
• Measure customer satisfaction on a regular basis for all customers. Ensure completion of the CSAT surveys in accordance with SCC defined cadence
• Act upon comments and observations within the CSAT process an ensure improvements are fully documented
• Increase the value-add proposition by fully understanding the requirements of the customer and what they perceive as value from the SCC
• Working in association with customers and internal stakeholders, identify and manage Critical Success Factors that reflect the agreed service improvements and that can be appropriately measured via KPIs or other measures.
• Oversee execution of service improvement. Ensure service improvement plans exist and are regularly acted upon for customers
• Drive through initiatives/ opportunities for additional services, early contract renewal or transformation
Performance Management
• Ensure an agreed escalation process for services issues is in place and understood by the team and customer
• Ensure Service Delivery managers own escalations and effectively contribute to the escalation management process
• Review service breakdowns to implement process improvement opportunities
• Measure and maintain OLA's and SLA's
• Ensure that the contracted services are fit for purpose for the customer requirements
• Oversee identification and management of operational service risks for all customers within portfolio
• Put service quality measurements are in place and a service excellence ethos promoted
• Ensure consistent process and documentation is applied across customers
Reporting & Governance
• Oversee Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) and Service Improvement Plans ( SIP ) and agreed measurements managed by the Service Delivery Managers for each customer
• Work with the appropriate stakeholder teams, ensure that the standard SCC tool sets deliver the appropriate / defined contracted customer service reporting at agreed frequencies
• Ensure the correct governance framework and cadence are in place with each customer
• Ensure Stakeholder alignment to the agreed governance
• Ensure agreed performance statistics and reporting are provided to the customer
Operational Contract Management
• Be fully conversant with the portfolio of customer contracts and its operational translation. Work internally to remove any ambiguity.
• Oversee the sign off Request for Change and associated risks both internally and with the Customer. Sign off high risk or large change.
• Ensure the Service Delivery Manager is actively involved in on boarding the customer and in finalising the contract.
• Take an active role in overseeing the transition into service for new Customers and additional services, ensuring AIS is completed, and any known risks are managed. Align a Service Delivery Manager to the customer before contract is finalised.
• Ensure effective and early lines of communication with Projects and Transition to mitigate potential impact to live service.
• Support the Major Incident Management process as needed.
• Provide Management and oversight of 3rd Parties/Supplier within the defined Service Model
• Ensure consistent process and documentation across the teamwork with other Heads to ensure this is consistent across the department.
Customer Experience Strategy
Be fully conversant with the Customer First programme and support in line with Business Strategy from key areas of the programme:
• Voice of Customer – ensure we understand customer view of the company & the services we deliver and have a roadmap to address
• Customer Experience Strategy – ensure we have a fully documented & agreed customer strategy
• Customer Satisfaction – drive and support the business tragedy target in response rate and target measures
Skills and experience:
- At least 3 years’ experience managing a portfolio of accounts
- Strong business and commercial experience and a good understanding of managing customer P&L
- Experience of end-to-end contract management
- Proven ability to manage the SIP and CSI processes for a customer portfolio
- Knowledge of managed services methodologies
- Good understanding of the IT industry, infrastructure systems and hosting
- Understanding of ITIL process and structure
- Experience of working within/aligning to an ITIL environment
- Experience of AiS for managed service/projects
- ITIL Certified
- Strong business and commercial experience and a good understanding of managing a customer P&L
- Experienced at managing small teams either directly or virtually
- Excellent customer facing experience and customer service skills
- Ability to inspire and motivate others
- Ability to interface with senior stakeholders regularly (internally and with customers)
- Ability to manage multiple tasks in an accurate and timely manner, often against tight deadlines
- Ability to communicate effectively at the appropriate levels, internally and externally
- Ability to influence at all levels. Able to effectively handle customer relationships and negotiations
- Ability to translate and communicate business requirements and service requirements / specifications to varying levels of audience
- Ability to influence at all levels. Able to effectively handle customer relationships and negotiations
- Ability to translate and communicate business requirements and service requirements / specifications to varying levels of audience
- Track record in delivering on a customer service model
- Track record of high performance and achievement
- Support cross functional collaboration to maximise customer satisfaction
- Embraces the Business strategy and adoption across teams
- Ability to create and improve culture within the team to maximise performance and retention of team members
- Able to work out of hours and on weekends as required
- Flexible with location and able to travel
- Full UK Driving License and able to travel