Head of IT Service

Role: Head of IT Service & Operations

Location: Newcastle or London – Hybrid Office & Home (office based 1-2 times a week)

Who Are We?

mkodo builds world class apps, middleware and digital products in the global lottery, betting, and gaming space.

We have an open, supportive, dynamic culture where talented people are trusted to contribute to the team and company by carrying out their roles in a professional, collaborative, and skilled manner. We value the expertise of our team members and offer opportunities for personal development and career progression within the company.

Acquired in February 2020, by Pollard Banknote Limited (PBL), a major supplier to the global lottery industries, brought mkodo strong financial security, access to resources and clients at a global level.

About the role:

Reporting to the Director of Technology & Engineering, the Head of IT Service & Operations will lead the mkodo IT Service, Operations & Security team (ITOPs), being a part of the Technology & Engineering Leadership Team, and a member of the wider mkodo Senior Leadership Team.

The Head of IT Service & Operations will provide strong leadership: supporting and challenging the team to be their best selves, whilst developing talent through career progression.

The role requires a high level of organisation from an individual that is consistent and leads by example demonstrating creativity, perseverance, and vision.Attention to detail, influencing skills, quality focus and a coaching style will be factors affecting the success of this role. Expected to project as positive, constructive, and approachable and carry out tasks with fairness and integrity. The role holder needs to be commercially focused, a great communicator, customer orientated and committed to the development of quality service that delivers a competitive advantage to mkodo.

The Head of IT Service & Operations will be a highly motivated self-starter that is achievement orientated. This is a pro-active position, and the holder will need to achieve against a backdrop of a fast-changing work environment and commercial pressure, with a high degree of collaboration and leadership across multiple domains and disciplines.

This is an important role for mkodo, as the Head of IT Service & Operations is responsible for managing the customer facing side of our production services ensuring services are available, managing deployments, enhancements, and upgrades, working with clients informing them of service interruptions etc., and the role has overall responsibility for the successful execution of client-facing services. Strong Experience in managing complex internal & external facing IT services is required, as this role will be the escalation point for their team at times where intervention is needed.

Main responsibilities are:

• Leadership of the ITOPs team within mkodo, including performance reviews & providing coaching and support to drive the capability of the team, ensuring they have a customer focus.
• Primary escalation path for all P1 and P2 incidents, whilst also managing IT service escalations from the business or the clients.
• Develop and deliver IT Service & Operations strategy in-line with business objectives.
• Develop and deliver to Service and Operations sub part of the budget (including regular tracking and re-forecasting process).
• Ensure the IT services are continually capable of supporting existing requirements and future growth. Investigate, propose, and deliver new and innovative technological solutions which aim to increase brand value and provide mkodo with a competitive advantage.
• Ensure the IT services are continually secure, and data always remains protected appropriately.
• Via the IT Security Manager, champion information security initiatives across mkodo to ensure that all services are continually secure, protecting sensitive information always.
• Discuss service levels with clients and ensure our Service Level Agreements meet both our contracted and commercial obligations, this will include generating reports internally and externally to demonstrate our position with our SLA’s.
• Deliver cost effective solutions to business requirements including continual review of contracts & services, and effective change management.
• Ensure all services are appropriately licensed, including forecasting future growth needs.
• Own the internal IT business operations, ensuring they are functional, covering internal systems (Networks, Power, communications, O365, Laptops, Video Conference facilities etc).
• Own the relationship with all IT solution and service providers, improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these supplied services, ensuring all IT services have necessary contracts and maintenance support, including regular review.
• Oversee the release of all production deployments, including approval of release at CAB, and associated documentation.
• Ensure all operational based helpdesk tickets are triaged and responded to within SLA’s. Working with various teams including Engineering and QA to ensure optimal response times.
• Ensure that infrastructure (with a bias towards cloud in future) is always suitable for the business and managing enhancements and new deployment of services.
• Lead IT service improvement initiatives from identification, through design and implementation into live operation, following Service Transition best practices.
• Reduce service interruptions through effective incident and problem management.
• Lead projects to implement service improvements or new service developments across all IT services, including support for business led IT projects for Third Party system implementation, such as HR or Finance.
• Embrace the use of Agile working/Kanban boards and Jira/Confluence, as per the wider operating model of T&E.
• Evolve/improve and manage the Starters/Movers/Leavers process (from an IT perspective) so starters and leavers are correctly dealt with from hardware, software, user accounts, AD/security, preferably automatically.
• Lead on any IT audit requirements, ensuring we are meeting our regulatory requirements.
• Identification, resolution, and mitigation of risks from an IT perspective
• Track service performance (incorporating appropriate metrics, KPIs and reporting of those both inward and externally to stakeholders)
• With the IT Security Manager, support mkodo in the ongoing maintenance of its ISO27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS),
• Adhere to all relevant mkodo ISO27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) policies, procedures, and requirements always.
• Complete any reasonable tasks relating to the mkodo ISO27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS).
• As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to the strategy, and help deliver it throughout mkodo, role modelling our values with a focus on Tech & Eng and the ITOPs team.

Key Performance Measures:

• Highly engaged & motived expert team.
• Continual confidentiality, availability, operability, security, and integrity of all existing IT services.
• The requirements of all mkodo colleagues are appropriately represented in plans for new IT services.
• New IT services delivered on time, on budget and within scope.
• Existing IT services delivered on budget and within scope.
• High customer satisfaction ratings, and minimal escalations to Director of Tech & Eng. about Service.
• Continued compliance with standards such as ISO27001.
• Delivering of cost-effective IT services through continual assessment of the technical domain.

Information Security responsibilities

The Information Security Forum (ISF) is responsible for the following:

• Reviewing the ISMS Risk Register at each ISF Meeting,
• Reviewing the Risk Treatment plans for IT security and ensuring that the levels of residual risk are acceptable,
• Reviewing and progressing strategic security issues,
• Establishing relationships with other security advisers,
• Assessing the impact of new IT Security,
• Monitoring the effectiveness of the ISMS (e.g. from the results of Internal Audit reports and Security Incident Reports) in line with the ISMS Effectiveness Review Policy,
• Recommending and / or authorising changes to the ISMS,
• Conducting ISMS management review meetings on at least an annual basis; and
• Seeking ongoing improvement in line with the ISMS Corrective and Preventative Action and Continual Improvement Policy,
• Complete any reasonable tasks relating to the mkodo ISO27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS).