Senior IT Operations Service Manager

Senior IT Operations Service Manager Department: Blue Mantis Employment Type: Full Time Location: Hybrid Description The Senior IT Operations Service Manager is accountable for end-to-end service delivery of Blue Mantis’ Network Operations Center services for a large Blue Mantis banking customer. This role serves as the primary customer-facing operational authority, ensuring contractual SLAs/SLOs are met, ITIL-aligned processes are executed, and the NOC continually matures from reactive operations to a proactive, optimized service model. This role owns operational outcomes, not just people management. The Senior IT Operations Service Manager provides leadership across Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and NOC Team Leads, while acting as the day-to-day point of contact for this customer for delivery, escalations, governance, and continuous service improvement. Key Responsibilities Service Delivery Ownership (Primary Accountability) Own overall service delivery performance for 24x7x365 Network Operations services as defined in the SOW. Ensure compliance with all contractual SLAs/SLOs, including response times, ticket reduction targets, escalation rates, and MTTR. Serve as the final escalation authority for operational issues, repeated SLA risks, or systemic service failures. Act as the primary operational liaison to customer leadership, distinct from account management. Customer Engagement & Governance Participating in and supporting Customer Success Manager and Technical Account Manager in: Monthly Operations Reviews Quarterly Service Design / Continual Improvement Sessions Annual Strategy & Roadmap Reviews Provide clear, data-driven reporting on: SLA/SLO adherence Incident and event trends Alert noise reduction progress Escalation patterns and root cause remediation Translate operational telemetry into executive-ready narratives for customer stakeholders. Build trusted executive relationships through transparency, credibility, and predictable delivery. ITIL Process Ownership & Maturity Own and operationalize ITIL-aligned practices including: Event Management (alert validation, correlation, suppression) Incident Management (triage, escalation, SLA enforcement) Problem Management (root cause analysis, trend reduction, backlog governance) Knowledge Management (KB adoption, left-shift enablement) Continual Service Improvement (CSI) Drive reductions in: False positives Non-actionable alerts Repetitive incidents Ensure incidents do not remain isolated events but become inputs into Problem Management. NOC Leadership & Team Oversight Provide operational leadership across: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 engineers NOC Team Leads / Managers Hold Team Leads accountable for: Queue health SLA adherence Knowledge quality Escalation discipline Ensure appropriate staffing coverage aligned to: Ticket volume Priority distribution Time-of-day demand Partner with leadership on workforce planning, onboarding readiness, and skill progression. Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement Own the NOC improvement plan outlined in the SOW, including: Ticket reduction initiatives Alert threshold rationalization Correlation and deduplication strategies Automation opportunities Partner with tooling stakeholders (e.g., OmniCenter, ServiceNow, AI Ops platforms) to improve outcomes, not just features. Establish feedback loops between: Monitoring configuration Incident outcomes Problem records Knowledge articles Ensure new services, changes, and deployments do not introduce unmanaged noise. Skills, Knowledge & Expertise 10+ years in Network Operations, IT Operations, or Managed Services delivery. 5+ years in senior operational leadership or service delivery management roles. Proven experience managing 24x7 global operations with strict SLAs. Demonstrated success driving operational transformation, not just steady-state support. ITIL & Process Expertise Deep, practical ITIL knowledge (Incident, Event, Problem, Knowledge, CSI). ITIL v4 certification strongly preferred (Expert or Managing Professional ideal). Ability to translate ITIL theory into real-world operational behavior. Technical & Operational Acumen Strong understanding of enterprise networking concepts and NOC tooling ecosystems. Comfortable operating across monitoring platforms, ticketing systems (ServiceNow), and reporting layers. Able to challenge engineering teams constructively while maintaining credibility. Leadership Profile Clear operational authority with a calm escalation presence. Data-driven, outcome-oriented decision maker. Comfortable operating with executive stakeholders. Low tolerance for noise, ambiguity, or unmanaged risk. Strong communicator who can move between engineering depth and executive clarity. #J-18808-Ljbffr