Director of IT Operations & Service Transformation - 12 Months - London, Manchester or Bristol

A major public sector organisation is seeking an experienced Director of IT Operations & Service Transformation to help shape the future of technology operations, service management, and operational excellence across a highly complex, multi-stakeholder environment.

This is a unique opportunity to influence strategy at a national scale, working across organisational boundaries to improve how technology services are delivered, supported and transformed. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in defining future operating models, driving large-scale change initiatives and establishing a long-term vision for IT Operations across a complex public sector landscape.

This is not a traditional operational management role. We are looking for a strategic technology leader with experience leading enterprise-scale IT Operations functions, delivering major transformation programmes and influencing senior stakeholders across large and complex organisations.

Working closely with executive leaders, technology teams and operational communities, you will help identify opportunities for service improvement, establish best practices, shape future investment decisions and drive meaningful change across a broad technology ecosystem.

The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in ambiguity, building consensus amongst diverse stakeholder groups and leading initiatives where influence and collaboration are more important than direct authority.

Candidates should ensure their CV clearly demonstrates experience leading IT Operations functions, delivering operational transformation programmes, implementing service management best practices and influencing change across large-scale environments.

Please note, this is a hybrid role requiring attendance at offices in London, Manchester or Bristol, alongside occasional travel to stakeholder locations. Fully remote working arrangements will not be considered., * Develop and drive strategic IT Operations and service transformation initiatives

• Define future operating models and operational strategies across complex environments
• Lead discovery and assessment activities to understand existing operational capabilities, challenges and opportunities
• Drive improvements across service management, operational governance and technology service delivery
• Champion modern service management principles, including self-service capabilities and operational tooling
• Influence senior stakeholders and technology leaders to gain alignment on strategic priorities
• Develop business cases, investment proposals and long-term transformation roadmaps
• Identify opportunities for collaboration, shared capabilities and operational efficiencies across organisations
• Lead large-scale change initiatives that improve operational performance and user outcomes
• Work across multi-supplier environments to improve service delivery and operational resilience
• Represent technology operations communities and provide thought leadership on industry best practices
• Contribute to policy, governance and strategic decision-making activities

• Significant experience leading enterprise-scale IT Operations teams and functions
• Proven experience delivering large-scale transformation and operational change programmes
• Strong knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) frameworks and best practice
• Experience operating within large, complex and highly regulated organisations
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills at executive and director level
• Demonstrable experience developing strategy, vision and operational roadmaps
• Strong understanding of service operations, incident management, problem management and operational governance
• Experience leading organisational change and driving adoption of new operating models
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and establish direction in evolving environments
• Strong commercial awareness and experience managing supplier relationships
• Self-starter with high levels of autonomy, initiative and leadership capability
• Minimum six years’ experience in senior IT Operations, service management or transformation leadership roles

Desirable Experience

• ServiceNow and associated self-service platforms
• Microsoft 365 and Digital Workplace technologies
• Salesforce and enterprise SaaS solutions
• Cloud platforms including Azure and AWS
• IT Operations strategy and operating model design
• Service desk, end-user services and operational resilience
• Cross-organisational or enterprise-wide transformation programmes
• Government, public sector or other highly regulated environments
• Agile delivery methodologies
• Contract and supplier management, * ITIL Certification
• TOGAF
• ISO 27001
• ISO 20000
• Microsoft Azure Certifications
• AWS Certifications
• ServiceNow Certifications
• Agile Certifications

London - £775-£800 per day Contract Posted by: Allen Lane Ltd. Posted: Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Director of IT Operations & Service Transformation - 12 Months - London, Manchester or Bristol - £800pd