Service Manager

This is a Service Management role within a Managed Services practice.  It is a varied role that includes managing relationships, communications and expectations with Managed Services customers as well as handling customers’ service escalations and reporting on service delivery. There is also a commercial element supporting sales in each account and managing the sales process for sales resulting from Managed Service delivery.
The role will involve client (UK wide) travel to support service reviews and manage client relationships.  There is also a requirement for occasional travel for internal meetings.  The role will be home based.
Experience and Skills
·Experience working as a Service Manager or in similar roles with demonstrable experience managing customers and using the professional and personal skills described below.
·Previous experience of working within a support services environment, underpinned by ITIL-based working practices. The candidate should ideally be certified at Foundation level for ITIL, but training to support this will be provided if a candidate can demonstrate understanding of the principles.
·Oracle experience is not essential but any experience with Oracle Managed Services will be beneficial.
·Demonstrable experience of the pressures of managing customers in a services business, an ability to multi task and co-ordinate activities /escalations, and the ability to work with difficult customers.
·Ability to deliver regular service reporting activities, i.e. working with delivery resources and the Service Desk to generate and deliver the regular service review meetings (including organising and delivering such meetings, capturing minutes and managing meeting actions) and service reports.
·While there are dedicated Project Managers for the delivery of large projects, the successful candidate will have a proven ability to manage the delivery of work packages, for example customers’ transitions to a new Managed Service or discrete changes.
·This is a client-facing role and requires the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with a wide variety of customers, manage customers’ expectations and handle escalations.
·Experience of commercial account management.  While this is primarily a service management role not a sales or commercial role, and our larger customers have dedicated Account Managers, the Service Manager must be comfortable supporting the commercial administration of Managed Service agreements, e.g. discussing the cost of service variations, agreeing and obtaining signed contracts, and securing purchase orders.
·Experience of, and desire to, maintain and improve the delivery of services to customers.
·Experience of the ServiceNow Service desk solution is advantageous but not essential.
·Excellent all-round computer systems competence, and especially for Microsoft Office, to support the Service Manager’s day-to-day activities.
About you
While experience and skills, as detailed above, are important, the focus for this role is on high-quality, proactive services with excellent attention to detail means we place as much emphasis on candidates’ personal qualities and soft skills. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate the following skills, and strengths in these areas will be taken in to account if there are gaps in professional skills:
·Self-motivated, hard-working, energetic and results-focused.
·A “can do” attitude with a desire to deliver excellent results for customers.
·Self-confidence in all aspects of dealing with colleagues and customers.
·Strong attention to detail and a desire and ability to work accurately.
·Proven ability to operate effectively individually and within a team.
·Exceptional communication and inter-personal skills and the ability to build and maintain excellent relationships with colleagues and customers.
·Excellent time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple on-going activities and plan and deliver meetings and calls effectively.