Lead Service Manager - SAP in Manchester

£60,000 to £70,000 plus private healthcare, pension with up to 10% employer contributions and many more great benefits (Work Level 5). Manchester city centre - in this role you'll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and the office. We're open to applications from people who may require flexible working arrangements. There'll be an opportunity to discuss your flexible working requirements during the interview process, and at offer stage.

We're reshaping our Digital, Technology and Data function for the future, creating new opportunities, strengthening our capability, and building clearer, more resilient ways of working so we can deliver even better services for our Co-op, our colleagues, members and customers.

We're looking for a Lead Service Manager to join our Technology team and take ownership of our SAP platform services. You'll lead the management, performance, stability and continuous improvement of a business-critical SAP landscape, working closely with technical teams, suppliers and stakeholders to ensure our services remain secure, resilient and fit for the future.

Why this job matters

SAP underpins some of Co-op's most important business processes. In this role, you'll help ensure our SAP services remain reliable, secure and resilient while driving continuous improvement across the platform. From supporting colleagues and customers today to shaping future service capabilities, you'll play a key role in helping Co-op get the best value from its technology investments and deliver great outcomes across the business.

What you'll do

• Lead the end-to-end management of Co-op's SAP platform services, including SAP S/4HANA, SAP Basis, SAP Datasphere, SAP BTP and associated integrations.
• Ensure services remain stable, secure, resilient and high performing, meeting agreed business service levels.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, identifying opportunities to improve service reliability, automation and operational efficiency.
• Build strong relationships with technical teams, business stakeholders and third-party suppliers.
• Lead service governance, operational reporting and service reviews across internal and external partners.
• Provide leadership and oversight across incident, problem, change and risk management processes.
• Own disaster recovery, business continuity and operational readiness activities, ensuring services remain supportable and resilient.
• Use service data, trends and insights to inform decision-making, prioritisation and future roadmap planning.

What you'll bring

• Significant experience managing large-scale enterprise platforms and business-critical SAP services, including SAP S/4HANA and related technologies.
• Strong experience leading service management, operational performance and continuous improvement activities.
• Experience working with suppliers and managing service performance against agreed outcomes and service levels.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and build relationships across technical and business teams.
• A good understanding of service management frameworks and modern practices such as ITIL, ITIL 4, Agile Service Management, DevOps or SRE.

We know some people may hesitate to apply if they don't meet every requirement. At Co-op, we're committed to building diverse and inclusive teams, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly, we still encourage you to apply.

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance).
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays.
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions.
• Private healthcare.
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ).
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands.
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it.
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice.
• 24/7 colleague support service.
• Training and support for your development and career progression.
• Cycle-to-work scheme.

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion.