Head of IT Service Management
You will report to the Director of Group IT and sit on the IT Leadership Group. Your role is to head the IT Service Management function for Group IT, working closely with Architecture, Infrastructure & Operations, Delivery & Change, Procurement, NA and ATGE Europe teams, managed service providers, software platform vendors, and venue and business‑unit IT customers. You will partner with the Head of IT Delivery & Change on the IT Change Management process and the service‑transition handoff into operational service.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
* Develop and communicate a strategic vision for IT Service Management in a hybrid‑sourced operating model, ensuring alignment with Group business objectives and the Executive’s "run it like you own it" service ethos.
Service Management & Vendor Governance
* Own the SIAM operating model across ATG’s managed service providers, governing Service Integration and Delivery, Service Operations and IT Asset Lifecycle Management, Service Management and Governance, and the technology platform that integrates them.
* Ensure services are designed, transitioned and operated to contractually committed performance, quality and end‑to‑end outcome standards (SLA, XLA and business‑outcome metrics).
* Govern MSP performance against SLA, XLA and end‑to‑end outcome frameworks across ServiceDesk, ITSM, Application Support, Cloud Infrastructure Operations, Network Operations Centre (NoC) and Security Operations Centre (SoC).
* Lead contractually committed business outcomes, change success rate, CMDB accuracy and cross‑provider collaboration metrics; initiate corrective action and contractual remediation where required.
* Own the Group ITSM platform direction – a centralised SIAM dashboard with single‑source‑of‑truth visibility across all providers (ticketing, service catalogue, CMDB, problem / change / release / configuration management) – integrated with supplier platforms, augmented by AI/GenAI and experience management tooling, underpinned by ITIL 4 process maturity.
* Lead service reporting to the IT Leadership Group and business stakeholders – uptime, customer experience, vendor accountability and service‑quality KPIs.
* Act as the Group escalation point for major service incidents and vendor performance failures; lead post‑incident review, root‑cause analysis and continuous improvement plans.
* Own service management for in‑Venue technologies – Audio‑Visual, Accessibility, ePOS and other front‑of‑house and back‑of‑house venue technology – and manage the Group IT relationship with Venue Operations Business Directors as the primary internal customer for venue‑tech service performance.
Out‑of‑Hours Service & Capability Build
* Design and stand up Group out‑of‑hours service capability – making the sourcing decision (follow‑the‑sun in‑house, MSP overflow or hybrid) and owning ongoing governance, SLA and cost.
* Position ATG’s IT service model as a shift from a primarily outsourced posture to a partial‑insourced (hybrid) model, leading the build and ongoing maturity of the internal ITSM capability – process, tooling, governance, performance management and continuous improvement – augmented by GenAI (MS CoPilot & Claude) and automation.
Team, Application Support & Financial Management
* Lead the Application Support function operationally (the Application Support Manager team), with matrixed delivery into Delivery & Change for change‑driven work and drive the AI‑native, technically adept redesign of Application Support in line with the Group capability strategy.
* Manage the service‑line OPEX envelope, lead FinOps coordination with Infrastructure & Operations on managed‑service cost, and contribute to Group IT financial accounting and budget planning.
* Establish and maintain robust ITSM frameworks (ITIL 4, SIAM, ISO 20000‑aligned where appropriate) and ensure best practice is followed across regions.
Stakeholder Engagement
* Act as the bridge between the business, IT teams and managed service providers; collaborate with venue, theatre and corporate stakeholders at all levels and serve as the senior service‑experience voice in Executive, Group leadership and Providence‑facing forums.
Qualifications & Experience Required
* Proven track record of supporting a complex IT estate in a senior service delivery, service management or service integration leadership role.
* Strong strategic leadership with experience designing and operating hybrid IT operating models, multi‑vendor SIAM ecosystems, including SIAM advisory, mixed managed services and build‑operate‑transfer (BOT) contracting models.
* Deep knowledge of Service Integration and Delivery governance, cross‑provider collaboration, ecosystem performance and risk‑indexed multivendor oversight.
* Experience in Service Operations and IT Asset Lifecycle Management – ITSM platform direction, ITIL 4 process maturity, change success rate and CMDB accuracy as primary operational metrics.
* Familiarity with Service Management and Governance – SLA, XLA and end‑to‑end outcome frameworks, commercial and contractual aspects of multi‑vendor governance.
* Ability to enhance delivery through technology – build and operate a centralised SIAM dashboard and observability with single‑source‑of‑truth visibility, AI/GenAI augmentation, supplier platform integration and service operations automation initiatives.
* Capability in designing Out‑of‑Hours service (follow‑the‑sun, NOC‑style or hybrid MSP / in‑house models) and Group‑wide major incident management.
* Operational familiarity with cloud‑first IT estates, FinOps disciplines and GenAI/automation augmentation in service operations (MS CoPilot, Claude or equivalent).
* Experience in PCI DSS‑relevant environments and customer‑facing transactional service uptime (ticketing, hospitality, payments).
* Stakeholder management skills at all levels – comfortable communicating with executive, business, technical and external supplier audiences.
* Certifications: ITIL 4 (Foundation essential; Managing Professional or Strategic Leader desirable), SIAM Foundation/Professional or other relevant service‑management frameworks.
* Degree in a relevant technology/computer science subject or equivalent on‑the‑job experience.
Desirable Skills and Experience
* Experience of venue‑based IT service operations (live entertainment, sports, events, conferences) in a multi‑site, customer‑facing environment.
* Agile Delivery Methodology (Scrum / Kanban) or Scaled Agile (SAFe) training and experience.
* Operational FinOps experience in Azure.
* Operational experience with in‑venue networking solutions such as Cisco Meraki, Fortinet FortiGate or PaloAlto.
* Operational experience with VoIP solutions (8x8 experience preferred).
EEO and Diversity Statement
ATG Entertainment is a Disability Confident, Committed Employer. We invite applicants from a wide range of backgrounds, particularly those currently under‑represented in our workforce. All applicants will be considered based on their ability to meet the essential criteria for the role. Where we receive more applications than we can reasonably interview for a particular role, we will retain applications for the next available interview opportunity wherever possible.
Our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Mission Statement – A Stage for Everyone – is a platform for compelling stories that are for all, by all, and of all. We shine our spotlight on our differences and believe that understanding and celebrating these differences makes us better global citizens. We strive to make our venues beacons of these ideals in our communities. At ATG Entertainment, we provide a stage for everyone.
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