Senior Service Delivery Manager

Service Delivery Manager (SDM)

The Service Delivery Manager (SDM) is accountable for ensuring the ongoing stability, security, and dependability of the system post-implementation. This role involves leading the Level 1 (L1), Level 2 (L2), and Level 3 (L3) support teams, while coordinating effectively with clients and vendors to address issues within established SLAs and maintain system availability and currency.

 

Primary Responsibilities

Supervise support teams across L1, L2, and L3 tiers, ensuring that incidents and service requests are promptly triaged, resolved, or escalated according to SLA commitments.

Oversee the service desk operations, including ticket management, escalation procedures, and shift scheduling.

Lead problem management initiatives and conduct root cause analyses to mitigate recurring issues.

Coordinate maintenance activities such as patches, upgrades, and other corrective, preventive, and adaptive measures.

Plan, oversee, and control change management processes and release schedules, including emergency fixes and scheduled maintenance windows.

Continuously monitor system health, availability, and performance metrics, responding proactively to alerts and identifying trends.

Drive major incident response efforts, facilitate communication, and conduct post-incident reviews to prevent future occurrences.

Manage vendor relationships and third-party support services, ensuring compliance with contractual SLAs.

Maintain comprehensive runbooks, knowledge bases, and operational documentation to support Level 1 issue resolution and minimize escalations.

Ensure adherence to security standards and compliance requirements, including vulnerability management and audit preparedness.

Provide regular reports on support performance and maintenance activities during service review meetings.

Monitor support budgets, license renewals, and manage the service risk register to mitigate potential issues.

 

Qualifications

A bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.

Between 5 to 8 years of experience in application or infrastructure support and maintenance, with at least 2 years in a leadership or managerial capacity.

Proven experience managing multi-tier support (L1 to L3) for production environments within SLA frameworks.

Strong background in incident, problem, and change management processes.

Experience in vendor management and handling escalations from clients.

Certifications such as ITIL 4 Foundation are essential; additional credentials like PMP, PRINCE2, or cloud certifications (AWS, Azure) are advantageous.

 

Core Skills

Extensive knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) tools such as ServiceNow or JIRA Service Management.

Familiarity with cloud platforms, infrastructure support, monitoring tools, and application support processes.

Understanding of patch management, vulnerability mitigation, and DevSecOps methodologies.

Leadership capabilities, including shift planning, team development, and supporting support tier capabilities.

Excellent communication skills, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to make sound decisions under pressure.