Head of Service Management

We’re the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company. Proudly customer owned since 1861. Royal London is a purpose-driven mutual. Our Purpose, ‘Protecting today, investing in tomorrow. Together we are mutually responsible’, defines the impact we want to have. It shapes what we do on behalf of our members and customers, financial advisers, our colleagues and the communities in which we operate. Our People Promise is our collective commitment that our workplace will be inclusive, responsible, enjoyable and fulfilling where all colleagues can thrive and experience a sense of belonging. This is underpinned by our Spirit of Royal London values; Empowered, Trustworthy, Collaborate, Achieve. Our inclusive values and people promise are core to who we are and how we work. It’s good for our people, and good for our customers too, because with an inclusive workplace and a diverse workforce we will reflect our members, customers and communities to deliver the best outcomes. We celebrate and value different backgrounds and cultures across our organisation. Our diverse people and perspectives give us a range of skills which are recognised and respected– whatever their nationality, language, education, ethnicity and cultural background, gender and gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, generation, age, socioeconomic background, neurodiversity, religious background, abilities or disability.

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Edinburgh/Alderley

Working style: Hybrid 50% home/office based

Closing date: 30th June 2025

As Head of IT Service Management, you will lead a diverse and high-performing team of approximately 30 professionals across key service functions and ITIL processes including Service Managers, Service Reporting & Analytics, Service Level and Availability Management, Configuration Management, Service Integration, Change Enablement, Release Management, Incident Management and Problem Management. You will be responsible for shaping and executing the IT service strategy, ensuring the delivery of consistent, customer-focused, and efficient IT services across the organisation. This role is pivotal in driving operational excellence, embedding service management into platform teams, and enhancing service performance through data-driven insights and automation. You will work closely with senior stakeholders to align service delivery with business goals, support major incident response and post-incident reviews, and champion continuous improvement initiatives. Your remit includes oversight of service dashboards, performance metrics, and the integration of managed service partners and other third parties into IT and service reporting, with a strong emphasis on governance, transformation, and strategic planning. The role holder will also own and be accountable for the Operational Resilience IT Pillar, including determining the technology resilience metrics and reporting of this data. You will also play a key role in developing future service capabilities, including the adoption and maturing of ITIL practices, modernisation of services processes and ways of working and the evolution of service reporting and tooling. This is a leadership role that demands strategic vision, strong relationship-building skills, and the ability to influence at all levels.

About The Role:

• Ensure IT services are delivered effectively and meet agreed service levels
• Oversee resolution of incidents and root cause analysis to prevent recurrence
• Manage changes to IT systems with minimal disruption to business operations
• Continuously assess and improve IT service processes and performance
• Track KPIs and metrics to evaluate service quality and team performance
• Coordinate with third-party providers to ensure service standards are met
• Manage service-related budgets and optimise resource allocation
• Work closely with business units, project teams, and technical staff to align IT services with business needs
• Support the smooth introduction of new IT services, ensuring alignment with Service Standards
• Ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations
• Maintain accurate records of service processes, incidents, and changes.

About You:

• Excellent communicator who can create partnership relationships with all business functions
• A broad knowledge of the financial services industry, how our business operates and the legislative / regulatory framework
• Commercially astute with the ability to understand and be innovative in the approach to managing budgets and risk framework
• Senior IT management skills, with ITIL and ServiceNow experience
• Strong leadership skills, ability to manage multiple teams, and inspire and energise people.

About Royal London:

We’re the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, offering protection, long-term savings and asset management products and services. Our People Promise to our colleagues is that we will all work somewhere inclusive, responsible, enjoyable and fulfilling. This is underpinned by our Spirit of Royal London values; Empowered, Trustworthy, Collaborate, Achieve. We’ve always been proud to reward employees by offering great workplace benefits such as 28 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays, an up to 14% employer matching pension scheme and private medical insurance.

Inclusion, diversity and belonging:

We’re an Inclusive employer. We celebrate and value different backgrounds and cultures across Royal London. Our diverse people and perspectives give us a range of skills which are recognised and respected – whatever their background.