Service Operations Lead

Service Operations LeadLocation: Havant (50% onsite) Contract: 6 months Rate: £550-£650/day (Inside IR35) OverviewWe're supporting a leading utilities client on a major service transformation programme and are looking for an experienced Service Operations Lead to help maintain operational stability during a transition to a new managed service provider (MSP). This is a hands-on role focused on day-to-day IT operations, major incident management, and cross-supplier coordination, ensuring service continuity throughout the transition. Key Responsibilities • Provide oversight of BAU IT operations across Incident, Major Incident, Problem and Change • Lead and support major incidents and escalations, ensuring timely resolution and clear communications • Coordinate across Service Desk, suppliers, and technical teams to maintain service stability • Support MSP transition activities, including cutover planning and early life support • Drive Problem Management and PIR actions to reduce recurring issues • Produce and review operational MI (incident trends, backlog, MTTR, change success) • Maintain runbooks, knowledge articles, and ensure ITSM tooling hygiene Key Requirements • Strong experience in IT service operations in an outsourced / MSP environment • Deep hands-on experience across ITIL processes (Incident, Major Incident, Problem, Change) • Proven track record managing major incidents and high-pressure situations • Experience working with Service Desk and multi-supplier environments • Strong stakeholder management and communication skills • Working knowledge of ServiceNow (or similar ITSM tools) • Experience supporting service transitions / early life support Ideal Profile • Calm under pressure and confident managing escalations • Highly proactive with strong ownership • Able to engage senior stakeholders and suppliers effectively • Structured, detail-focused and organised Guidant, Carbon60, Lorien & SRG - The Impellam Group Portfolio are acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.