Head of Professional Services in Reading

Job Title

Head of Professional Services

Location

Hybrid - Reading or Leeds Area

Salary

Competitive

Job Type

Permanent – Full Time

Are you the manager who makes sure the right people are on the right work at the right time – every time?

Have you led and developed technical teams in a matrix, owning the people and the plan while others set the technical direction?

Can you hold a shifting picture of capacity across multiple practices and keep it calm, clear and under control?

If yes, then let’s get to the important stuff!

The Role

As Head of Professional Services, you will own the delivery engine that sits behind every practice at TIEVA.

This is the role that makes sure the right people are doing the right work at the right time – so our technical leaders can add value in their domains, and our engineers can build.

You will own line management, workload, planning and organisation for the consultants and engineers who deliver across the business.

Work is scheduled sensibly, capacity is understood, conflicts get resolved, and every person you manage is supported, developed and clear on what they are doing.

The output is a delivery engine that runs smoothly and people who are genuinely looked after.

You will operate in a matrix.

You are the direct line manager for your people – their 1:1s, development, performance and wellbeing sit with you.

Technical leadership sits with our Practice Technical Leads and Principal Cloud Architect, and Solution Scoping sits with the Head of Pre-Sales, your peer in delivery.

You will make sure the team are delivering, are organised, available and not overloaded, partnering closely with leaders so direction and delivery stay aligned.

The newest challenge you will take on is our Solution Architect population, who work as a hybrid between Pre-Sales and Professional Services.

They flex across both worlds depending on demand, which makes their scheduling the hardest in the business.

Holding that balance – keeping pre-sales responsive without starving delivery, and vice versa – is a core part of the role, and the clearest example of the matrix you will run.

• The Candidate
• Line Management
• Act as the direct line manager for consultants and engineers across the practices – 1:1s, objectives, performance reviews, career development and wellbeing all sit with you.
• Handle the people side end to end – absence, conduct, onboarding, induction and HR matters, partnering with HR where needed.
• Be the consistent point of management your people go to – the person who knows what they are working on, how they are doing, and what they need next.
• Hold development conversations focused on the person’s growth, drawing on the Technical Leads and Principal for the technical view of their progression.
• Workload and Resource Management
• Own workload management for the teams across all practices – who is on which engagement or piece of work, and when.
• Run the resourcing process so engineers and consultants receive work through a managed plan, not ad hoc direct requests.
• Collaborate with the Project Management Office to balance project and non-project work – they own the portfolio, governance and plans, you own the people and their capacity, and together you make the schedule work.
• Resolve capacity conflicts – when two demands compete for the same person, you make the call and re-plan in partnership with the relevant technical or commercial lead.
• Protect focus time and sensible booking discipline so technical teams are not fragmented across too many concurrent demands.
• Manage the Solution Architects’ split between pre-sales and professional services – the trickiest scheduling balance in the business, keeping both motions served without either being starved.
• Planning and Organisation
• Maintain a clear, forward view of capacity, utilisation and upcoming demand across every practice.
• Forecast resourcing needs against the project and pre-sales pipeline, flagging gaps and pinch points before they bite.
• Track utilisation and bench time, balancing billable demand against available capacity.
• Coordinate the operating rhythm – booking discipline, intake of new demand, and the cadence that keeps work flowing predictably.
• Provide planning and utilisation reporting to the CTO and to the technical and commercial leaders who depend on your people’s availability.
• Partnering Across the Matrix
• Practice Technical Leads and the Principal Cloud Architect – they set technical direction and own quality; you make sure the people delivering it are organised, available and developing, and you surface where capacity puts delivery at risk.
• Head of Pre-Sales – your peer.

They own Solution Scoping; you coordinate the availability of consultants, engineers and Solution Architects to support it, and protect delivery capacity from being quietly eroded.

• Project Management Office – a key collaborator.

They own the project portfolio, governance and plans; together you agree what gets booked and resolve where project and non-project work compete for the same people.

• Coordinators – you work hand in hand with the coordination function, enforcing the operating model and keeping scheduling clean.
• CTO – your reporting line. You give a clear, honest picture of capacity, utilisation, team health and delivery risk across the practices.
• Required Skills & Experience
• Proven line management experience – a track record of managing, developing and retaining technical people such as consultants or engineers.
• Strong resource, capacity or delivery management experience in a services, MSP, consultancy or professional services environment.
• Comfortable operating in a matrix – managing people whose technical direction is set by someone else, without friction.
• Excellent planning and organisation – able to hold a complex, shifting picture of who is doing what across multiple teams and keep it under control.
• Confident resolving conflict – competing demands, over-allocation and difficult prioritisation calls, worked through with your peers to land amicable solutions.
• Strong stakeholder management – credible with technical leaders, commercial leaders and senior leadership alike.
• A clear, calm communicator – the kind of manager people trust and go to.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Background in an IT services, MSP or cloud consultancy environment – familiarity with how technical delivery, PMO and pre-sales actually interact.
• Experience managing or scheduling hybrid roles that flex across pre-sales and delivery, such as Solution Architects or overlay resource.
• Exposure to a PSA or resource management platform such as Connect Wise, Autotask or similar.
• Familiarity with utilisation, capacity and forecasting reporting.

Qualifications / Accreditations

• People management or leadership qualification – ILM, CMI or equivalent (desirable).
• Willingness to pursue further relevant professional development.
• Who We’re Looking For
• People-first – genuinely invested in the development and wellbeing of the people you manage.
• Organised – calm under a shifting set of demands, and able to keep the plan clear when others cannot.
• Decisive – makes the prioritisation call when two demands compete, and re-plans without drama.
• Boundary-aware – comfortable owning the people and the plan while leaving technical direction to those who own it.
• Collaborative – builds strong, trusting partnerships with technical and commercial leaders.
• What you’ll get in return

As an Investors In People Platinum organisation, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality experience for our people.

• Financial
• Life Insurance
• Pension
• Car allowance (subject to role)
• £1,000 refer a friend bonus
• Generous uncapped commission scheme (sales role)
• Profit share bonus scheme (non-sales, subject to T&C’s)
• Will writing contribution
• Long Service Awards (financial and time rewards)
• Electric Car Scheme (salary sacrifice)
• Cycle to Work Scheme (salary sacrifice)
• Buying holidays (salary sacrifice)
• IT Equipment Purchase / Loan Scheme
• Financial Wellbeing Tool
• Pension Surgery (consultation with a financial advisor)
• Discount scheme (retail, experience days, gym membership, etc.)
• Travel and accommodation reward scheme (Navan Platform)
• Health and Wellbeing
• Private Medical Insurance – includes optical and dental
• Employee Assistance Programme -for you and your family (Counselling, legal advice, career coaching, financial support)
• Digital GP
• Wisdom Wellbeing Platform
• AVIVA Wellbeing Platform
• Gym membership contribution
• Gym time
• Free onsite yoga (TIEVA North office only)
• Free eye tests
• Flu vaccinations
• Fruit basket
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Time off
• Holidays – above statutory increasing with service, plus 8 bank holidays

• Birthday benefit -Have your birthday off on us!

• Enhanced Maternity Pay
• Enhanced Paternity Pay
• Enhanced Adoption Pay
• Compassionate Leave
• Jury Duty top up pay
• Funeral Leave
• Volunteering Days
• Supporting your development
• Comprehensive onboarding plan
• Funded training and accreditations
• Monthly 121’s
• Annual performance reviews
• Professional Development Plans
• Various internal training opportunities
• Access to our Learning and Development Specialist

Perks

• Welcome goodie bag
• Company apparel
• Free staff parties
• Incentives, competitions and prizes including trips
• Staff awards
• Opportunity to join various teams, e. g. Culture Team, EDI Team, ESG Team
• Free parking at either office location
• High quality well-equipped offices – Table football, pinball, pool table, shuffleboard, air hockey, games consoles, darts, multi-faith room, bar, outdoor eating area (subject to location).

Why choose TIEVA?

We’re not your average technology company, we put people at the very centre of all we do. A career at TIEVA means giving you the opportunity to shape your future.

We will provide you with all the tools you need to succeed, this isn’t just the basics, we are talking about the latest automation technology, weekly campaigns, holidays, prizes, and team incentives.

• Further, faster
• We know it’s important for you to keep moving forward, that’s why you’ll have the very best training opportunities.

We invest heavily in our teams, culture, environment, and values which is reflected in us holding an Investors in People Platinum Standard accreditation and by us continuing to develop talent from within.

More than technology

–TIEVA is a leading IT solutions and services provider operating within all industries.

We have experienced phenomenal growth by adopting a people-first approach and providing exemplary service to our customers.

• Real world, real career
• Our focus is to deliver world class services and the best in technologies.

You will work with the team to innovate yet always be looking to improve and deliver a portfolio of new products and services to our customers.

If you would be interested in joining a values-driven, highly reputable business with an inclusive, driven and highly committed team please apply ASAP!

Our promise to you….

If you have a disability or neurodiversity, we will provide support and adjustments that you may need throughout our recruitment process and beyond.

Any information you share on your application will be treated in confidence.

TIEVA is an inclusive company where you can enjoy the career you want, without changing who you are.

We welcome candidates from all walks of life and are passionate about promoting greater diversity in the tech sector.