Principal IT Operations Manager

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Job Description

Base salary: £61622 pa to £77028 pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits - check them out in the Benefits section on our website.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

As the The Principal IT Operations Manager you will oversee the end-to-end delivery of IT services and operations across products and platforms to business and IT customers, supported by the service management team. The role focuses on ensuring that IT services are available and perform in line with defined service levels.

About the role:

• Provide strategic leadership for the IT Operations function, encompassing IT Service Management, Application Lifecycle Management, Quality Assurance & Testing, and ensuring the effective delivery of IT services across the organisation
• Direct the development and execution of the IT Operations Strategy and roadmap, aligning service delivery with organisational goals and internal / regulatory standards
• Direct the planning, design, and continual improvement of IT Service Management practices (E.g. Incident, Request, Problem, Change, Release, and Event Management), ensuring consistent and high-quality support for end users and business critical systems
• Build and maintain a high-performing operations team, providing clear leadership and direction to managers responsible for service management, application lifecycle, and QA/testing functions
• Develop IT operational policies, procedures, and standards, ensuring they remain fit for purpose and drive operational resilience, efficiency, and quality
• Act as the senior point of contact for key IT suppliers delivering managed services, ensuring contractual obligations, service level agreements (SLAs), and performance metrics are met or exceeded. Lead regular supplier reviews and drive continuous improvement
• Lead the provision of an IT major incident management capability (24/7) that supports major IT incidents and high-impact service disruptions, ensuring effective coordination, stakeholder communication, timely restoration of service, and robust post-incident analysis to address root causes
• Proactively identify and address systemic challenges across the service lifecycle, championing initiatives that improve automation, service reliability, testing practices, and lifecycle governance
• Actively promotes and embeds Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI

About you:

Skills:

• Technology service management. Managing the provision of technology-based services to meet defined organisational needs
• Service Operations management. Managing the provision of services according to agreed service level agreements (SLA), Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and managing the delivery of these services against these targets
• IT Operations management. Overseeing the end-to-end management of operational IT processes, ensuring alignment with enterprise goals, compliance requirements, and business continuity needs
• Supplier management. Managing the provision of services from multi sourced supply chain and ensuring service quality
• Stakeholder relationship management. Influencing stakeholder attitudes, decisions, and actions for mutual benefit
• Customer service support. Managing and operating customer service and customer satisfaction
• Continual Service Improvement. Continually improving the effectiveness and efficiency of services and processes
• Application Lifecycle & Quality. Providing leadership across the application and service lifecycle, ensuring robust testing, deployment, and service management processes that meet quality, resilience, and compliance expectations

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of delivery methodologies (e.g. Agile and Waterfall) and how to apply or integrate them within IT operations and service delivery contexts
• Knowledge of the technology supplier landscape and opportunities for improving service quality, cost-efficiency, and innovation through supplier collaboration
• Knowledge of service architecture principles, enabling effective definition, integration, and management of service ownership and boundaries
• Knowledge of service metrics and KPIs used to measure availability, performance, customer satisfaction, and operational effectiveness
• Knowledge and practical application of ITIL principles and processes across the service lifecycle

Type of experience:

• Experience leading IT service delivery in a complex, multi-supplier environment, ensuring end-to-end service performance and accountability
• Experience managing or collaborating closely with third-party suppliers and vendors to drive performance, value, and aligned service outcomes
• Experience leading teams responsible for customer-facing service functions, with a focus on user satisfaction, responsiveness, and operational excellence
• Experience applying strategic understanding of business needs to prioritise issue resolution and service improvements effectively

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect

It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time-bound visas that we cannot accept.

Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert.

Watch this video on how we remove bias in the recruitment process: Removing bias in the recruitment process (youtube.com)

Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

About Us

High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK's new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain's major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.

HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.

In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others' health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our 'Safe at Heart' programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.