Senior Project Transition Manager

Essential Qualifications/Experience:

·       Bachelor's degree at a nationally recognised/certified university in Information Technology, Engineering, Business Administration or a related discipline, and 8 years' post-related experience

·       Or exceptionally, the lack of a university degree may be compensated by the demonstration of a candidate's particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to the NCI Agency, that is, at least 12 years' extensive and progressive expertise in duties related to the function of the post

·       8+ years of combined experience in IT service management and project management, of which at least 3 years in a senior role

·       Proven experience (minimum 5 years) in IT service management in a Service Delivery Manager, IT Operations Manager or similar role, including incident, problem, change and service level management

·       Proven experience (minimum 5 years) in project management, delivering complex IT/CIS projects to time, cost and quality

·       Demonstrable track record of transitioning projects or new capabilities into live operational service

·       Proven experience engaging, influencing and briefing senior stakeholders at executive (C-level) or General/Flag Officer level

·       Experience managing IT infrastructure (networks, data centres, servers, end-user and communications systems) in an operational environment

·       Experience in budget and cost management, including forecasting, cost control and financial reporting

·       Proven experience managing vendors and contractors against contractual and service level obligations

·       Experience leading multidisciplinary teams in an international environment

·       Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills

·       Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make data-driven decisions under pressure

·       Training/Certifications

ü  ITIL 4 Foundation (or ITIL v3 Foundation)

ü  Project management certification: PMP (PMI / PMBOK) or PRINCE2 Practitioner

Desirable Qualifications/Experience:

·       Experience in NATO, military, defence or other international organisations

·       Experience with deployable CIS or mission-critical communications services

·       ITIL 4 Managing Professional or Strategic Leader; MSP or PgMP; SIAM certification

·       Experience with ITSM tools (e.g. ServiceNow, BMC Remedy, Jira Service Management)

·       Knowledge of NATO procurement and financial processes

·       Working knowledge of German

DUTIES/ROLE:

·       Project Transition to Operations

ü  Leads the transition of projects and capabilities into operational service, from early engagement in project planning through to formal handover and early life support

ü  Defines and agrees transition plans, entry and exit criteria, service acceptance criteria and handover deliverables with Project Managers, Service Owners and customers

ü  Ensures operational readiness prior to go-live: support model, staffing, training, documentation, spares, underpinning contracts, monitoring and configuration data are in place

ü  Evaluates project outputs against agreed service acceptance criteria and formally recommends acceptance, conditional acceptance or rejection

ü  Identifies, manages and escalates transition risks, issues and dependencies, and ensures residual risks are understood and owned by operations

ü  Manages early life support and closes transition only when agreed service performance has been demonstrated

ü  Captures and applies lessons identified to improve future transitions

·       Local Operations Management (Wiesbaden)

ü  Takes accountability for the day-to-day delivery of NCIA services at the location, including service performance, customer satisfaction and compliance with security and safety requirements

ü  Leads and coordinates local technical, support and contractor personnel, setting clear priorities, standards and direction

ü  Oversees the local infrastructure (facilities, networks, data centre / server rooms, end-user and deployable CIS assets) and ensures it is maintained, secured and fit for purpose

ü  Ensures asset and configuration management records for the location are accurate and complete

ü  Coordinates local business continuity and service recovery arrangements

·       Incident and Problem Management

ü  Ensures incidents are logged, prioritised, diagnosed and resolved according to agreed procedures and service levels

ü  Leads the resolution of major incidents, coordinating technical teams, vendors and customers, and provides timely, accurate communication to senior stakeholders

ü  Escalates unresolved incidents and facilitates recovery following resolution

ü  Initiates and monitors problem investigations, drives root cause analysis and ensures preventive measures are implemented

ü  Analyses incident and problem trends to reduce recurrence and improve service stability

·       Change Management

ü  Manages the change control process for services and assets at the location and for services in transition

ü  Assesses changes for risk, impact, cost and resource requirements, and represents the location in Change Advisory Boards

ü  Ensures changes are planned, communicated, tested, implemented and reviewed in a controlled manner, minimising disruption to operations

·       Service Level Management

ü  Negotiates service level requirements and agreed service levels with customers, and contributes to Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements and underpinning contracts

ü  Monitors service performance and key performance indicators, diagnoses service delivery problems and initiates improvement actions

ü  Provides accurate and regular performance reporting to NCIA management and customers

ü  Drives continual service improvement across processes, tools and third-party delivery

·       Cost, Resource and Vendor Management

ü  Manages the operational and transition budget for the location, including cost planning, forecasting, tracking and variance reporting

ü  Provides inputs to customer budget processes, cost models and service rates, ensuring the full cost of operating transitioned services is identified and funded

ü  Identifies cost optimisation opportunities without compromising service levels or security

ü  Manages vendor and contractor performance against contractual obligations, statements of work and service levels, and supports procurement activities as required

·       Stakeholder Relationship Management