Job Description
IT Service Lead, Financial Services
London, West End
£highly competitive with bonus and benefits
A well-regarded financial services firm is looking for an experienced IT Service Manager to take ownership of international support operations across London, Europe, the Middle East, and APAC.
This is a genuinely hands-on role, split evenly across two areas: leading day-to-day support operations and owning the ITSM governance framework for the international organisation. You will be the senior escalation point for major incidents, manage a direct team and MSP partner, and drive the maturity of ITIL-aligned processes across the region.
The environment is fast-paced and senior-stakeholder-heavy. You will regularly interact with Partners and senior leadership, so clear communication under pressure matters as much as technical capability.
Operational Support
* Owning day-to-day performance of the international support team across all regions, with accountability for SLAs and service quality
* Acting as the escalation point for P1/P2 incidents, coordinating with infrastructure, network, and vendor teams to drive resolution
* Managing and developing a direct team through regular outcome-based 1:1s and clear performance expectations
* Overseeing the managed service partner across the region, holding regular service reviews and addressing delivery gaps
* Ensuring out-of-hours and follow-the-sun coverage operates effectively with clear escalation paths
* Producing and presenting regional operational reporting to the Global Support Head and local technology leadership
* Providing technical support to senior leaders directly, when required
ITSM Governance
* Maintaining and maturing Incident, Problem, Change, and Asset Management processes in line with an ITIL-aligned framework and audit controls
* Administering and continuously improving ServiceNow workflows, including automation, routing rules, and reporting configuration
* Actively participating in CAB meetings to assess risk and coordinate scheduling; leading end user communications ahead of impactful changes
* Overseeing asset management across international offices, ensuring configuration items and inventory records are accurate and current
* Driving Problem Management activity, ensuring root cause analysis is completed and recurring issues are closed out
* Defining and governing the Knowledge Management framework, including article creation, approval, and retirement cycles
* Supporting the transition of new systems and services into production as the operational acceptance owner
* Identifying and driving continuous improvement through trend data, post-incident reviews, and stakeholder feedback
What They Are Looking For
* Experience in IT support operations, including leadership of international or multi-site teams
* Financial services background is essential: investment banking, asset management, or professional services
* Technically capable and still close to the work, not purely a manager
* Strong ITIL v4 knowledge across Incident, Problem, Change, and Configuration; certification preferred
* Hands-on ServiceNow experience including workflow configuration, automation, and reporting
* Comfortable running CAB meetings, managing MSP relationships, and owning operational reporting
* Clear and confident communicator at Partner and senior leadership level
* PowerBI or equivalent for dashboards and performance reporting is a plus
This is a London-based permanent role reporting into both local and New York-based technology leadership.
If this sounds like the right move, get in touch.