Incident & Problem Manager

Incident & Problem Manager
Based: Whitechapel, London or home-based, within the London area
Type: Full-time
Salary: up to 55K
Eligibility: You must be eligible to work in the UK

Position Overview

The Incident Manager at Smartdesc plays a critical role in ensuring the stability, reliability, and effectiveness of IT services delivered to our clients. Aligned with ITIL best practices, this position is responsible for proactively managing the full incident lifecycle, driving continual improvement, and providing leadership across Incident, Change, and Problem Management processes. The Incident Manager is both a process owner and a champion for operational excellence within Smartdesc’s Managed Services environment.

Key Responsibilities

Incident Management

• Own and manage the end-to-end Incident Management process, ensuring swift and effective resolution of service interruptions and minimising business impact.
• Act as the primary point of escalation for major incidents, coordinating resources and communications to restore services as quickly as possible.
• Monitor incident trends, perform root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Facilitate regular incident reviews and post-incident reporting, ensuring transparency and continuous learning.
• Ensure incidents are correctly categorised and prioritised according to agreed service levels and business requirements.

Change Management

• Collaborate with the Change Manager and technical teams to assess and approve changes, ensuring all risks are identified and mitigated.
• Participate in Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings, providing input from an incident and problem management perspective.
• Monitor the impact of changes on service stability and proactively manage any resulting incidents.

Problem Management

• Work closely with Problem Management to identify recurring incidents and drive permanent solutions.
• Lead or participate in root cause analyses and ensure effective knowledge transfer across the team.
• Document and implement workarounds and known error records to support quicker incident resolution in the future.

Process Ownership & Continual Improvement

• Act as the process owner for Incident Management, responsible for process adherence, documentation, and governance.
• Identify, design, and implement improvements to the Incident Management process, leveraging feedback, metrics, and industry best practices.
• Develop and deliver training for staff on ITIL-aligned incident, change, and problem management processes.
• Produce regular management reports, analysing incident and problem trends to inform strategic service improvements.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

• Maintain clear, timely communication with clients, service teams, and senior management during major incidents and planned changes.
• Provide concise, non-technical updates to stakeholders and ensure all relevant parties are kept informed throughout the incident lifecycle.
• Facilitate lessons learned sessions and ensure improvement actions are tracked to closure.

Key Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in Incident/Problem/Change Management in a Managed Services or IT Service Provider environment.
• In-depth knowledge of ITIL principles, with ITIL Foundation certification preferred.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills with experience in root cause analysis and trend identification.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills, with the ability to handle multiple priorities and stakeholders.
• Ability to drive process improvements and foster a culture of continual service enhancement.
• Experience with ITSM tools (e.g., ServiceNow, Remedy, Cherwell, or similar).
• Ability to remain calm under pressure and manage major incidents with confidence and clarity.

Why Join Smartdesc?

• Be part of a collaborative and forward-thinking IT Managed Services team.
• Opportunities for professional development and ITIL certification support.
• Play a pivotal role in ensuring best-in-class service delivery for diverse clients.
• Competitive salary, benefits, and a supportive workplace culture.