Service Manager ( DV Cleared )
Outside IR35 - £600P/D based on experience
6 Months Contract
Onsite everyday at Preston
About the role
An experienced, DV-cleared Service Manager is required to support the delivery and operation of secure, mission-critical digital and engineering services within the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). The role operates at the intersection of advanced defence technology, digital transformation, and high-assurance service operations, supporting one of the UK’s most strategically significant combat air programmes.
The Service Manager will play a central role in establishing, governing, and assuring robust service models across complex, multi-partner environments, ensuring services are resilient, compliant, and fit for purpose across both development and operational phases of the programme.
Key Responsibilities
Service & Support Management
* Establish and maintain robust service and support models aligned to GCAP and Future Combat Air delivery requirements.
* Support the design and implementation of enterprise service management approaches across secure digital, engineering, and operational environments.
* Act as a key interface between programme delivery teams, operational support, security, and assurance stakeholders.
* Ensure service models support rapid innovation while maintaining strict security and availability requirements.
Performance, Metrics & Governance
* Define, manage, and report against service KPIs and SLAs to ensure performance meets programme and stakeholder expectations.
* Support service performance reporting, change management, and service review forums.
* Identify service risks, issues, and improvement opportunities, contributing to continual service improvement initiatives.
* Provide clear, structured service management input into programme governance and decision-making processes.
Audit, Compliance & Assurance
* Support audit, compliance, and assurance activities in line with defence, aerospace, and government security standards.
* Ensure service management practices align with high-assurance environments, including secure by design and operational resilience principles.
* Contribute to assurance reviews, readiness assessments, and governance boards as required.
Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
* Produce and maintain service management documentation to support operational continuity and long-term sustainability.
* Package service artefacts, reports, and evidence for programme governance and assurance purposes.
* Support service transition, handover, and knowledge transfer activities across programme phases and supplier boundaries.
Essential Skills & Experience
* Proven experience operating as a Service Manager within complex, secure, or mission-critical environments.
* Strong working knowledge of service management frameworks (e.g. ITIL) and their application in regulated programmes.
* Demonstrable experience managing service performance, KPIs, SLAs, and structured reporting.
* Experience supporting audit, compliance, and governance activities in high-assurance settings.
* Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to operate across technical, operational, and security domains.
* Prior experience within defence, aerospace, or similarly regulated environments.
* DV clearance – current and transferable.