Senior IT Service Manager

As the Senior IT Service Manager for the One Login Service Management team, you will lead engagement with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the needs, risks and challenges of the government services using One Login are properly understood, prioritised and communicated. These services, known as relying parties because they rely on One Login to verify their users identities and provide access, often have different technical, operational and support requirements. Your role will ensure these are managed effectively so that each service receives the right level of assurance and support when using One Login. You will play a key role in shaping and maturing the service model for One Login as it continues to evolve. This means helping ensure a consistent, high quality experience for all government services onboarded to One Login. You will work closely with Product Managers, Supplier Relationship Managers, Service Transition Managers, Technical Architects, Operational Support Teams, Data Specialists and a wide range of stakeholders across government. As a senior member of the Service Management team, you will also help embed a strong service oriented culture, promote best practice and ensure that government services receive the service quality and user experience they need to successfully use One Login. As a Senior IT Service Manager you'll:

• be responsible for the day to day service management provided to live relying parties. These are government services that use One Login to confirm users identities and provide access. You will provide assurance to these services and act as the main link between One Login and the services that rely on it

• build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across the relying party services, ensuring their needs and challenges are clearly understood and supported

• work with relying party teams to identify service improvements and any gaps in the relying party lifecycle, helping to improve how services are onboarded and supported

• proactively focus on continuous improvement of both your own work and the wider service. You will work with others to improve the user experience, simplify processes and increase the efficiency of One Login services

• act as a point of escalation for critical issues, providing senior level support to governance meetings, service forums and working groups

• lead or contribute to service reviews, audits, incident reviews and service improvement initiatives, ensuring lessons are understood and acted upon

• help shape and mature the overall service management model for One Login, working closely with the relying party service managers and the Lead IT Service Manager, + a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the "person specification" section above

• a 90 minute Google Meet video interview and presentation Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise. In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:

• have a strong understanding of service lifecycle management, including onboarding, migrations, versioning, and deprecation In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We'll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role. For this role we'll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• leadership

• communicating and influencing

• managing a quality service

• delivering at pace We'll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Senior IT Service Manager role:

• IT service reporting

• Ownership and initiative

• Service focus

• Service management framework knowledge

• Stakeholder relationship management (IT operations)

• Strategic thinking

• Technical understanding

• User focus Recruitment Timeline Sift completion: week commencing Monday 19th January 2026 Panel interviews: week commencing Monday 26th January 2026 Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade. A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made. The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy. Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years' UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible. For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers. Sponsorship DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify. Location Whilst this role's location is Manchester, if you are a current Civil servant working in DSIT and based in London, you are also able to apply for this role. If you are successful, you will retain your London location and pay. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

• have a strong understanding of service lifecycle management, including onboarding, migrations, versioning, and deprecation
• are comfortable taking ownership and accountability for RP services across different stages of maturity and being proactive in searching for potential problems
• can negotiate with and influence stakeholders, and manage relationships effectively
• can build long term strategic relationships and communicate clearly with RPs and evaluate current strategies to ensure business requirements are being met and exceeded where possible
• demonstrate ability to oversee and improve operational processes at scale
• have experience acting as an escalation point for live service issues, with a calm and structured approach to incident management

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King's birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning Any move to Government Digital Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk Office attendance The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period. DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government. Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by: 1. joining up public sector services 2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good 3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure 4. elevating leadership and investing in talent 5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation 6. committing to transparency and driving accountability We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK's geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government. We're part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol. The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you'll be working with some of the world's most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale. Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation's highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need