Director of Service Management

Date: 19 Feb 2024 Location: Noida, South Asia, IN Company: British Council

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.

We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021\xe2\x80\x9322 we reached 650 million people.


British Council Pay band LMFG /Pay Band 10
Location: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Department: Digital and Technology
Contract type: Indefinite Contract
Closing Date: 04th March 2024 at 23:59 UK Time.
Interviews will be held week commencing 11th March 2024


You must have the legal right to work in India at the time of application. There is no relocation or sponsorship support.
British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service. This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.


Role purpose
The Director of Service Management is responsible for leading the strategic vision and operational execution of service management across the global organisation. They harmonize IT services with business objectives and customer needs, ensuring seamless, efficient, and high-quality service delivery. By implementing best practices and standards, they transform the organisation into a service-oriented, client-driven, value-added entity.
Their role includes defining and implementing service strategy, ensuring the service partners adhere to the contract and the contractual obligations, that align to the business needs and requirements.


In essence, the Director of Service Management navigates the complexities of technology, people, and processes to deliver superior IT services, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive digital transformation on a global scale. Their ultimate role is to leverage technology to create business value, improve operational efficiency, and enable innovation.


Role contex
The Digital and Technology Directorate leads the British Council\xe2\x80\x99s digital strategy and transformation. It creates and executes technology initiatives to fulfil the organisation\xe2\x80\x99s mission and corporate priorities.
Key focus areas are:

• Creating digital products that attract and retain customers, delivering business value through digital design and delivery expertise.
• Developing and optimising digital platforms that provide seamless customer interactions and use scalable and secure capabilities.
• Enhancing digital capability across the organisation.
• Enabling growth, impact and efficiency through technology.

Digital and Technology is a global Directorate organised into four divisions: Product, Engineering, Operations and Performance which collectively create digital products and services, maintain, and improve products, services and platforms and optimise performance. Areas of responsibility include digital and technology strategy, architecture, infrastructure, software, development, data, innovation, and cybersecurity. It ensures that technology initiatives are customer and value focused, accessible, efficient, and secure.
The Operations division is accountable for the continuing delivery of secure, performant enterprise platforms and applications and the connectivity and modern workplace environment to access those platforms. This is achieved through partnerships with external suppliers and delivery through ITIL based processes. The unit is also responsible for transitioning new products and services into the live environment. It interfaces across the Digital and Technology departments, Suppliers and Managed Services.


Main accountabilities


Functional strategy & planning

• Develops and implements a comprehensive service management strategy that aligns with the company\'s overall business objectives.
• Ensures demand and supply management of service delivery matches organisational needs.
• Maintains the service landscape, ensuring consistency across supplier services and interfaces.
• Oversees the planning and execution of service improvement initiatives, ensuring they exceed quality standards, timelines, and budget constraints.
• Monitors and evaluates market trends in service management to ensure the service landscape continues to evolve and aligns to market supply and business demand.

Organisational improvement

• Ensures the service integration framework between suppliers and business functions is fit for purpose whilst meeting the business needs.
• Drives improvements to the service management framework and optimising integration between suppliers and the business.
• Fosters a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging the service suppliers to embrace new ways of working.
• Maintains a close oversight of customer satisfaction to drive service improvement.

Functional expertise and advisory excellence

• Leverages service expertise to offer guidance and solutions on complex service management issues.
• Acts as a consultant to the leadership team, providing insights on service management advancements and their potential impact on service delivery.
• Ensures compliance with industry standards and regulations in all service management processes.

Relationship & stakeholder management

• Builds and maintains strong relationships with key stakeholders, including clients, vendors, and internal teams.
• Communicates effectively with stakeholders at all levels, ensuring transparency and alignment on service improvement goals and progress.
• Resolves any conflicts or issues that arise, balancing the needs of different stakeholders.

Commercial and financial management

• Oversees the department\'s budget for 3rd party service management, developing the annual budget and financial plan, ensuring supplier payments are aligned to supplier obligations and delivery.
• Ensures the delivery of the contractual obligations and commitments of the suppliers and monitors the financial performance of the service supplier.
• Recommends and implements strategic decisions on the service landscape to optimise the cost-base for the organisation.
• Supports the tendering, procurement, and renewal of the 3rd party suppliers.

Leadership & management

• Ensures cultural alignment between service suppliers and British Council.
• Leads and manages the service management team, setting clear expectations and providing regular feedback.
• Develops the skills and capabilities of the team through coaching and mentoring.
• Fosters a positive and inclusive work environment that encourages collaboration and innovation

Role specific skills

• Digital Literacy: Proficiency in aligning business needs, technology and service management is crucial. This includes a strong understanding of processes, methodologies, and ways of working relevant to service management.
• Technical Expertise: A good understanding of service management contracts, contract management and supplier management.AI (Artificial Intelligence)
• Data Handling: Proficiency in maintaining dataflows between supplier, business, and senior stakeholders.
• Problem Solving: Ability to identify, analyse, and effectively solve problems in a service management context. This includes incident and problem management.
• Communication: Strong digital communication skills to ensure effective collaboration between different suppliers and the business.
• Strategic Planning: Ability to leverage digital tools for strategic planning and project management.

Role specific knowledge and experience
Essential

• Experience of operational service management experience in driving large multinational operations.
• Demonstrated experience in Service Integration and Operations including Service planning leadership and development.
• Demonstrated experience and ability to document service management requirement specifications for commercial and operational needs.
• Experience in managing large scale budgets.
• An in-depth understanding of the principles and practices of service management, including contract management, contract delivery and vendor management.
• Well-versed in strategic planning and operational execution within a global context.
• Proven experience in developing and implementing service management strategies that align with business objectives.
• A track record of effectively managing suppliers, timelines, and performance metrics to achieve operational targets.
• Demonstrated ability to lead diverse supplier organisations, mentor supplier staff, and foster an environment of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• In-depth knowledge of the service management, including familiarity with current industry trends, standards, and best practices.
• Experience in applying industry knowledge to keep the organization\'s service management practices relevant and cutting edge
• Knowledge and experience in data handling, including using data analytics tools to generate insights and inform decision-making.
• Experience in developing and implementing service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Desirable

• Previous experience in supplier and customer delivery organisations.
• Experience in service management tools and methodologies (e.g., ITIL, Prince, DevOps, ServiceNow)
• Domain expertise in managing and controlling operational risk management and service compliance.
• Knowledge of service management strategies and technologies.
• Experience in negotiating and managing contracts with technology vendors and service providers.
• A track record of making data-driven decisions to improve service delivery, demonstrating their ability to use digital tools effectively.

Language Requirements
The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required


Education
Minimum:

• A Bachelor\'s degree in a relevant field such as business and/or technology or equivalent experience

Desirable:

• An advanced degree such as a Master\'s in Business Administration or Information Technology is advantageous field such as business, administration, or service management

Professional Qualification and Certification
Minimum:

• Professional certifications in service management such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)

Desirable:

• or PMP (Project Management Professional)
• Due to the leadership nature of the role, qualifications in areas such as leadership or management could also be beneficial

For detailed Role Profile and any questions please reach out to: Bratati.Chakraborty@britishcouncil.org


A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.


Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement


The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.


The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.


We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.


Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council\xe2\x80\x99s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.


If you have any problems with your application please email askhr@britishcouncil.org


Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our \xe2\x80\x98ASK HR\xe2\x80\x99 email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.