Continuous Improvement Manager

Join Police Digital Service as a Continuous Improvement Manager. Permanent Full time. Salary starting at £50,000 per annum.

About Police Digital Service

The Continuous Improvement Manager will lead, design, and embed continuous improvement (CI) initiatives across the Managed Service Directorate, enhancing operational performance, service quality, efficiency and user satisfaction for national policing IT services. The postholder will also play a key role in identifying, assessing, and mitigating operational risks, working collaboratively with Service, Technical, and Product teams to proactively manage risk and drive a culture of operational excellence. The role operates with delegated authority across the Managed Services Directorate to challenge existing practices, influence stakeholders and prioritise improvement initiatives in line with risk appetite, department and strategic objectives.

Our Values are:

• We value People
• We do the right thing
• We are innovative
• We are one Team
• We are proud and passionate

Key Responsibilities

• Continuous Improvement and Governance
  • Develop and implement a Continuous Improvement Framework for all managed services, aligning with PDS standards, ITIL v4, ISO 20000 and National Policing Digital Strategy objectives.
  • Maintain register to support assessment and prioritisation of improvement opportunities including business case (resourcing and budgetary considerations) and measuring, evaluating and tracking benefits.
  • Identify and lead CI initiatives that improve SLA performance, service availability, resilience and user experience.
  • Produce clear documentation, including updated policies, SOPs, process maps and risk registers for all improvements and mitigations delivered.
  • Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for CI and risk mitigation projects, reporting progress to senior leadership and stakeholders.
• Improvement Delivery
  • Champion user centred design and stakeholder engagement to ensure improvements and risk controls meet operational policing needs.
• Risk and Problem Management
  • Management and co-ordination of Problem Management practice across the Managed Services Directorate.
  • Oversight of root cause analysis for major incidents, recurring issues, and identified risks; support design and implementation of corrective and preventive actions to reduce service vulnerabilities.
  • Conduct regular risk assessments in collaboration with key stakeholders, ensuring risks are documented, prioritised, and addressed with robust mitigation plans.
  • Support the implementation of a service risk framework, ensuring alignment with MSD, organisational risk and Live Services Board objectives.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Capability Building
  • Collaborate with internal Service Management, Technical Operations and Product Management teams and business stakeholders to analyse policies, processes, procedures identifying inefficiencies, remove waste, and reduce operational risk.
  • Embed a learning culture within the Managed Service Directorate by coordinating training and coaching on CI tools, techniques, and risk management best practices.

What you need to succeed in the role

• Proven experience in continuous improvement and risk management roles within IT service management or technical operations environments.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL v4 principles, ISO 20000 standards, and practical experience in implementing CSI frameworks and risk management processes.
• Demonstrable experience applying Lean, Six Sigma or other CI methodologies.
• Experience in conducting risk assessments, developing mitigation plans and reporting on risk management activities.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data into actionable insights and risk mitigation strategies.
• Effective stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to communicate complex improvements and risk information to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong organisational skills, capable of managing multiple concurrent improvement and risk initiatives.
• Familiarity with ITSM tooling, service performance dashboards and risk registers.
• Experience delivering training or coaching in CI tools and risk management methodologies.
• High personal standards with a passion for operational excellence, risk reduction, and user-centred service delivery.

Qualifications:

• Degree or equivalent professional experience in IT, business or continuous improvement disciplines.
• ITIL v4 certification (Foundation or higher) desirable.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent CI certification preferred.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

We are committed to equal opportunities for all and will not discriminate on any grounds. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible span of experience. All applicants will be considered without attention to age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental status, nationality, neurodiversity or disability status.

Working Arrangements

This is a remote role. Please note, we may choose to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of applications for this role so please endeavour to complete your application as soon as possible.