At a Glance
- Tasks: Ensure new services are ready for deployment and support, coordinating between teams and stakeholders.
- Company: Global recruitment specialist with a focus on innovative service delivery.
- Benefits: Competitive daily rate, remote work, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Join a dynamic team with a commitment to excellence and career advancement.
- Why this job: Play a key role in launching impactful services while minimising operational risks.
- Qualifications: Experience in service readiness, release management, and strong stakeholder engagement skills.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
We are a Global Recruitment specialist that provides support to the clients across EMEA, APAC, US and Canada. We have an excellent job opportunity for you.
Clearance: Active SC Clearance
Location: Remote
Duration: 31/03/2027
Rate: 671GBP/Day (Inside IR35)
Role Purpose
The Service Readiness Manager is responsible for ensuring that new and changed services are fully prepared for deployment into live operation and support. Acting as the focal point between delivery teams, operational support teams, suppliers, and business stakeholders, the role provides governance and assurance that services meet agreed quality, security, supportability, and operational readiness requirements before go-live.
The role is accountable for coordinating release readiness, service transition activities, defect management, operational acceptance, and post-live stabilisation, ensuring services can be transitioned safely into Business as Usual (BAU) operation with minimal risk to service users and operational teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Service Readiness & Operational Acceptance
- Define and maintain Service Readiness and Operational Acceptance criteria for programme releases.
- Assess readiness across people, process, technology, security, support, service management and operational processes.
- Coordinate Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT) activities.
- Ensure support teams have the capability, knowledge, documentation and tooling required to operate the service.
- Facilitate readiness reviews and provide recommendations to governance boards regarding deployment decisions.
- Release Management
- Develop and maintain release schedules across multiple delivery teams and suppliers.
- Coordinate deployment planning and release governance activities.
- Manage dependencies, deployment risks and release conflicts.
- Ensure release approvals are obtained through agreed governance processes.
- Support deployment planning, go-live activities and rollback planning.
- Defect Management
- Establish and maintain defect management processes and governance.
- Chair defect triage meetings and manage prioritisation of defects.
- Provide visibility of defect trends, risks and remediation progress.
- Escalate critical defects impacting service readiness or live operation.
- Ensure agreed defect thresholds are met before production deployment.
- Service Transition
- Coordinate transition activities between delivery and operational teams.
- Ensure transition plans are developed, maintained and executed.
- Verify service support models, processes and SLAs are in place.
- Ensure service documentation, runbooks and knowledge articles are complete and approved.
- Support supplier onboarding and transition activities.
- Hypercare & Stabilisation
- Coordinate early life support and hypercare activities.
- Monitor service performance and defect resolution during stabilisation periods.
- Ensure ownership for outstanding issues is agreed before transition to BAU support.
- Produce lessons learned and improvement recommendations.
- Risk & Governance
- Maintain readiness dashboards and reporting.
- Identify and manage service readiness risks and issues.
- Present readiness recommendations to Programme Boards, Design Authorities and Service Acceptance Boards.
- Support audit, compliance and assurance reviews.
Key Deliverables
- Service Readiness Assessments
- Operational Acceptance Reports
- Release Readiness Reviews
- Go-Live Recommendations
- Defect and Risk Dashboards
- Hypercare Plans
- Transition Plans
- Operational Support Models
- Service Acceptance Packs
- Lessons Learned Reports
Skills & Experience
Essential
- Experience delivering large-scale digital, data or technology programmes.
- Experience of Release Management, Service Transition and Operational Readiness.
- Strong knowledge of defect management and quality assurance practices.
- Experience working with multiple suppliers and delivery partners.
- Strong stakeholder management and governance experience.
- Experience presenting recommendations to senior leadership.
- Understanding of Agile, Scrum and DevOps delivery approaches.
- Experience using service management tooling including ServiceNow and Jira.
- Strong analytical, planning and risk management skills.
Desirable
- ITIL Foundation or higher.
- Experience in UK Government digital services.
- Experience working in highly regulated environments.
- Knowledge of Government Service Standard and service assessments.
- Experience supporting cloud-based services (AWS).
- Knowledge of cyber security and operational resilience requirements.
Central Government Specific Responsibilities
- Support compliance with the Government Digital Service (GDS) Service Standard.
- Ensure services are prepared for Alpha, Beta and Live service assessments where required.
- Work closely with Service Owners, Senior Responsible Owners (SROs), Delivery Managers and Programme Directors.
- Coordinate readiness across internal teams, arms-length bodies, third-party suppliers and managed service providers.
- Ensure accessibility, security, operational resilience and support requirements are understood and met before go-live.
- Support delivery of citizen-facing services by minimising operational risk during deployment and transition.
Typical Measures of Success
- Percentage of releases deployed successfully first time.
- Readiness assessments completed on schedule.
- Reduction in high-severity defects entering production.
- Successful completion of operational acceptance activities.
- Hypercare exit criteria achieved within agreed timelines.
- Reduction in deployment-related incidents.
- Stakeholder satisfaction with transition and go-live processes.
- Audit and assurance findings closed within agreed timescales.
If you are interested in this position and would like to learn more, please send through your CV and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible. Please note, candidates are often shortlisted within 48 hours.
Locations
Service Readiness Manager in Cheshire, Warrington employer: eTeam
As a SQL DBA Lead in Manchester, you will join a dynamic team that values expertise and collaboration, offering a supportive work culture where your contributions are recognised. The company prioritises employee growth through mentorship opportunities and continuous learning, ensuring you can advance your skills in a secure and innovative environment. With a focus on performance and security, this role provides the chance to work on enterprise-level database operations while enjoying the benefits of a fully onsite position in a vibrant city.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Service Readiness Manager in Cheshire, Warrington
✨Tip Number 1: Get Involved in Consulting Case Competitions
Look for case competitions hosted by universities and consulting firms. They’re a fab way to showcase your problem-solving skills and meet industry players. Plus, winning one can seriously boost your CV, which we know is key when applying for roles like Service Readiness Manager at eTeam!
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Tap into your university’s alumni network; many consultants love to help out new talent. Reach out to alumni who are working in management consulting, they might have insider knowledge about openings at firms like eTeam or be willing to refer you for that Service Readiness Manager position!
✨Tip Number 3: Attend Industry Events and Conferences
Keep an eye on management consulting events, workshops, or panels. These are prime opportunities to network with top professionals and get your name out there. You might even bump into someone from eTeam who’s on the lookout for their next Service Readiness Manager star!
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Engage with online platforms that offer consulting simulations or courses. Prove your chops by completing relevant projects — this not only beefs up your experience but also gives you concrete examples to chat about during interviews for that full-time Service Readiness Manager role at eTeam!
We think you need these skills to ace Service Readiness Manager in Cheshire, Warrington
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Problem-Solving Skills:In management consulting, it's all about problem-solving—so make sure your CV highlights your analytical and critical thinking skills. Include examples from your studies or previous roles where you tackled complex issues or came up with innovative solutions. Quantify your achievements whenever possible to demonstrate your impact!
Tailor Your Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to explain why you're a perfect fit for the consulting world. Focus on your motivation for joining the industry and how your skills align with the requirements of the role at eTeam. Remember to mention any relevant coursework or projects that showcase your understanding of strategic frameworks or business models!
Highlight Team Experience:Consultants often work in teams, so it's vital to showcase your collaborative skills. Include experiences where you've worked effectively with others, whether in academic group projects or internships. Discuss your role in the team and how you helped achieve common goals, demonstrating you can thrive in a consultancy environment.
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How to prepare for a job interview at eTeam
✨Master the Case Study Game
In management consulting, case study interviews are all the rage. Make sure to practice structuring your thoughts and analysing data on the fly. Use resources like example case studies to get comfortable with frameworks and solutions. Remember, it’s not just about getting the right answer but showcasing your thought process, so talk us through your reasoning!
✨Know Your Numbers
Be prepared for some numerical and analytical questions. Brush up on your mental math and be ready to interpret data from charts or graphs. We might throw some business scenarios at you that require a quick turnaround on numerical analysis, so practice these skills to feel confident and swift!
✨Show Your Leadership Flair
As this is a full-time role, we want to see your potential as a seasoned consultant. Be ready to discuss experiences where you've led a project or a team. Think about times you've influenced decisions or navigated challenges—this is your chance to show how you can thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
✨Be a Cultural Fit
We’re not just looking for brains; we want to see if you vibe with our company culture at eTeam. Prepare to share how your values align with ours. Have a think about what makes a great team environment for you and how you can contribute to that. A good cultural fit goes a long way in management consulting!
