Find a job 
Featured Companies 
Featured Universities 
For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and manage critical business systems, ensuring optimal performance and availability.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking company focused on collaboration, customer satisfaction, and accountability.
- Benefits: Enjoy hybrid working, 25 days' leave, a bonus scheme, and private medical insurance.
- Why this job: Shape a new leadership role with exposure to C-level executives and clear career progression.
- Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in IT or equivalent experience; strong service delivery and vendor management skills required.
- Other info: Be part of a people-first culture that values inclusivity and diverse backgrounds.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 84000 £ per year.
This is a brand new role offering a rare opportunity to shape how critical business systems are managed and integrated across our client's infrastructure. As Business Applications Manager, you will oversee the performance, resilience, and evolution of key systems, working closely with our vendors, internal IT teams, and senior business stakeholders.
You will have a highly visible position, sitting as part of the Service Leadership Team (SLT), and helping drive a collaborative, customer-focused service culture across a 24/7 operation.
Main Responsibilities- System Management: Lead daily operations, maintenance, and upgrades of critical business systems, ensuring 99%+ availability and optimal performance.
- Incident Management: Oversee major and standard incident processes (not hands-on) including communications, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and service restoration.
- Vendor Management: Manage third-party suppliers and partners to deliver against SLAs, drive system enhancements, and lead regular service reviews.
- SLA Implementation: Define, embed, and continuously improve SLA frameworks to ensure business-aligned performance measurement and accountability.
- Change Management: Drive system change initiatives to maximise adoption, minimise disruption, and support a culture of continuous improvement.
- Project Leadership: Lead system-related projects and workstreams, including upgrades, migrations, and new implementations, ensuring delivery to time, scope, and quality.
- Stakeholder Management: Engage and influence C-level executives and department heads, translating complex system needs into clear business value.
- Training & Enablement: Work with Learning & Development to design and deliver effective user training programmes.
- Governance and Reporting: Maintain documentation, deliver system performance reports, and ensure system security compliance ('Green' status) aligned to company standards.
- Collaboration: Work cross-functionally with Service Desk, Infrastructure, DevOps, Networks, Security, and business stakeholders to deliver aligned, high-quality services.
- Proactive Initiative Ownership: Identify service gaps, initiate improvement projects, and own their delivery through to business-wide adoption.
- Experience in Service Delivery, Applications Management, or Business Systems leadership roles.
- Proven track record managing third-party vendors and service providers.
- Experience designing and implementing SLAs across business-critical systems.
- Strong experience overseeing incident and service management in a complex environment (ideally involving ERP/WMS platforms).
- Demonstrated ability to drive change and lead initiatives in fast-paced, evolving business environments.
- Exceptional communication skills - able to present confidently to C-Level executives and non-technical stakeholders.
- Solid understanding of change management and training best practices.
- Proactive, resilient, and able to navigate complex IT architectures and legacy systems.
- Comfortable operating in a 24/7 distribution environment, including being part of a dedicated OOH (Out Of Hours) on rotation.
- Confident and collaborative by nature, with a strong focus on customer outcomes and accountability.
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology (or equivalent experience).
- Advantageous Experience with ERP, WMS, and automation systems.
- Experience in Infor M3, Consafe Astro and AutoStore.
Our Client live by three key principles: Collaboration, Customer Focus, and Accountability. We are looking for someone who embodies these values and is ready to make an immediate and lasting impact.
Why Join?- Shape a brand-new leadership role with full CIO exposure and SLT membership.
- Clear progression pathway into senior IT leadership.
- Hybrid working model with flexibility.
- 25 days' annual leave + bank holidays, plus the option to buy/sell days.
- 15% bonus scheme.
- Private medical insurance and enhanced family leave policies.
- Birthday day off after one year.
- Fantastic employee discounts and long service rewards.
- A genuine people-first, performance-driven culture.
At Gleeson Recruitment Group, we embrace inclusivity and welcome applicants of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We are proud to be a disability confident employer.
By applying you will be registered as a candidate with Gleeson Recruitment Limited. Our Privacy Policy is available on our website and explains how we will use your data.
IT Applications Service Manager employer: Gleeson Recruitment Group
Contact Detail:
Gleeson Recruitment Group Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land IT Applications Service Manager
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with the specific business applications and systems mentioned in the job description, such as ERP and WMS platforms. Understanding these technologies will help you speak confidently about your experience and how it aligns with the role.
✨Tip Number 2
Network with professionals in the IT service management field, especially those who have experience in vendor management and SLA implementation. Engaging with them can provide insights into the role and may even lead to referrals.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare to discuss your approach to incident management and change management during interviews. Be ready to share specific examples of how you've successfully led initiatives in fast-paced environments, as this will demonstrate your capability for the role.
✨Tip Number 4
Showcase your communication skills by practising how to present complex technical information in a way that is easily understood by non-technical stakeholders. This is crucial for engaging with C-level executives and demonstrating your fit for the position.
We think you need these skills to ace IT Applications Service Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in IT applications management and service delivery. Use keywords from the job description, such as 'vendor management', 'incident management', and 'SLA implementation' to catch the employer's attention.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Write a cover letter that showcases your understanding of the role and how your skills align with the company's needs. Mention specific examples of how you've successfully managed third-party vendors or led system change initiatives in the past.
Highlight Relevant Skills: In your application, emphasise your communication skills and ability to engage with C-level executives. Provide examples of how you've translated complex technical needs into business value, as this is crucial for the role.
Showcase Your Proactive Approach: Demonstrate your proactive nature by including examples of how you've identified service gaps and initiated improvement projects. This will show that you embody the company's core values of collaboration, customer focus, and accountability.
How to prepare for a job interview at Gleeson Recruitment Group
✨Understand the Role
Make sure you thoroughly understand the responsibilities of the IT Applications Service Manager. Familiarise yourself with system management, incident management, and vendor management, as these are key areas that will likely come up during the interview.
✨Showcase Your Experience
Prepare to discuss your previous experience in service delivery and applications management. Highlight specific examples where you've successfully managed third-party vendors or implemented SLAs, as this will demonstrate your capability for the role.
✨Communicate Effectively
Since you'll be engaging with C-level executives, practice articulating complex technical concepts in a way that's easy to understand. This will show your ability to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
✨Emphasise Collaboration
Given the importance of collaboration in this role, be prepared to discuss how you've worked cross-functionally in the past. Share examples of how you've built partnerships to drive shared success, aligning with the company's core values.
