Head of Service Delivery

Located in North Wales, only a stones throw from the Snowdonia National Park, Bangor University is a long-establishedcelebrating 140 years in 2024 - university with an international reputation for the quality of its teaching and research. A rare opportunity has arisen for a Head of Service Delivery to work in the Digital Services directorate, and to take the support service to the next level.
The Digital Services Head of Service Delivery is responsible for the leadership and vision for service delivery management and developing a strategic approach for designing, delivering, managing, and improving the way the student and staff support service is delivered within the university.
The post holder will lead and encourage the Digital Services support teams to deliver service excellence and operational efficiency, as well as providing clear leadership and direction to the digital agenda on the value that is achieved from an integrated support function. The next level of the service delivery model will promote and deliver an outstanding service and high levels of stakeholder satisfaction.
Candidates will have proven service delivery leadership experience; be already managing teams of multi-discipline support staff; be managing incidents and problems daily and be improving the service to reflect changes in customer needs, expectations and requirements.
Candidates should possess a postgraduate degree in a STEM-related subjectorhave equivalent significant experience in a similar senior role.
The post is permanent and full-time and benefits from being eligible for the nationally supported USS pension scheme and various other employee benefits, including on-site gym, on-site creche, dynamic working opportunities, salary sacrifice options, etc. See our website for more information Bangor Benefits - rewards and packages for Bangor University staff .
This role will be located on campus at Bangor. Through our Dynamic Working framework , there will also be the option to spend some time working remotely (although remaining in the UK) to support work life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview.
Overview
Digital Services comprises of two traditional core areas - IT and Library - with circa 100 staff, the department is responsible for providing, developing and maintaining Digital facilities and services across the University. Digital Services has a good reputation within the University, providing reliable and resilient infrastructure, services, applications and facilities. We pride ourselves on being helpful, friendly, and responsive to user needs.
The post holder will lead and encourage the support service teams to deliver service excellence and operational efficiency, as well as providing clear leadership and direction to the digital agenda on the value that is achieved from an integrated support function. The next level of the service delivery model will promote and deliver an outstanding service and high levels of stakeholder satisfaction.
The role involves overseeing the service desk and managing various service delivery support teams which include IT, library, and Teaching & Learning support, ensuring that the support services are aligned with business needs and objectives. The Head of Service Delivery also contributes to the strategic direction and vision for Digital and acts as a senior representative and escalation point for Digital Services issues.
Purpose of the JobThe Head of Service Delivery is responsible for delivering a uniformed, structured, and consistent user support service to all staff and students at the university in the use of Digital services and facilities.
Key Responsibilities
Lead, manage and develop the support teams to deliver a high quality, efficient, customer focused service, in a secure and accessible manner which reflects the aims of the digital, Teaching & Learning, student experience and estates strategies; develop and implement a strategic service management roadmap for organisational excellence.
Develop the support teams to support the ever-changing digital landscape; promote and drive digital change within the University by education, training, communication and engagement; transition new solutions from design to business as usual by involving the team in the implementation lifecycle which includes testing, training, documentation, and to arrive at a standard operating procedure to support business as usual.
Manage major incidents and coordinate the activities both within and external to the department and be part of an out-of-hours support escalation procedure.
Work with external bodies within the higher education sector and the digital industry to seek best practice for service delivery and improvements; work with external partnerships to determine their digital needs; recommend the best hardware and software solutions for the teaching environment.
Work with the Director of Digital Services to re-shape the support service within the department and create a foundation stone for a wider Bangor University support function.
Operational Responsibilities
Work with external suppliers and frameworks to negotiate best value contracts for the University; manage those contracts to always give best value; assist the Director to manage the budget to best fit the University's digital needs.
Lead and own the service management platform; analyse support requests across all teams and work with team leaders to resolve and eradicate common problems to ensure first-line staff can resolve over 80% of incidents at the first point of contact.
Manage budget lines within areas of responsibility, ensuring best value for the University, and procuring goods and services in line with university policy.
Attend to duties from time to time outside of usual working hours, for example, open days, graduation ceremonies, maintenance periods and the out-of-hours escalation procedure.
Technology & Projects
Use the service management platform to develop KPI's; create management dashboards to inform improvements and enhancements to service; produce surveys to measure satisfaction; schedule change management to change requests to minimise disruption; surface trends, issues and problems to target improvements and interventions; review the knowledge base to always reflect the service; promote enhancements, improvements and changes to service delivery.
Strategic management of the Universitys Teaching & Learning facilities and services. Work closely with appropriate Pro Vice Chancellors and the Campus Services team to determine upgrade priorities, needs and requirements.
Be able to provide expert direction in several areas of service delivery.
Ensure the implementation of the Universitys and Departments policies, regulations and procedures in relation to all activities and with particular regard for finance, health and safety, and personnel-related issues.
Other Duties and Responsibilities
The post holder will be expected to comply with the University equal opportunities policies, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the Universitys Welsh Language Policy and the Welsh Language Standards.?
The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for him/her self?and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by his/her actions or inactions.
The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.?
The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their posts.?
Person SpecificationQualifications/Training
Essential
Postgraduate degree in a STEM related subjectorequivalent significant experience in a similar senior role.
Desirable
Have proven commitment to continuing professional development including attendance at relevant courses and conferences.
Member of a relevant and appropriate professional body.
ITIL or equivalent qualification.Experience/Knowledge
Essential
Proven service delivery leadership and management skills, with the ability to motivate, coach, and develop a diverse and high-performing team.
Significant experience in a digital service delivery role.
Previous exposure in working in major incident management, change management and problem management.
Examples of service improvements at scale where thousands of individuals benefited from transformational change.
Demonstrate expertise in at least three core Higher Education or business systems.
High level of customer focus and service orientation, with the ability to understand and anticipate customer needs and expectations.
Managing vendors and third-party suppliers, contract negotiations and tendering processes.
Desirable
Higher Education sector experience.
Management and/or system knowledge of the following systems: ITSM, VLE, LMS, BI, Office365, SRS, ERP, etc.
Membership of relevant external groups.
Teaching & Learning service development, both in physical spaces and on-line.Skills/Abilities
Essential
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate at all levels, and to build and maintain strong stakeholder relationships.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make sound decisions and recommendations based on data and evidence.
Ability to manage competing end-user demands and time-critical schedules, prioritising simultaneous issues and rapidly evaluating alternate action plans.
Desirable
Data analytics skills to produce meaningful managerial reports to drive service improvement.
Excellent analytical skills and ability to develop clear technical statements of work.
Ability to troubleshoot complex multi-factorial application/systems problems, working with a range of colleagues, external colleagues/experts, and suppliers.
The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable for this role. If applicants are not able to speak / write in Welsh at present, there are many opportunities to learn if the successful candidate wishes to do so.GeneralThe University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age.
We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy. We comply with the Welsh Language Standards and are committed to equality of opportunity. You are welcome to apply for any job in English or Welsh and all applications submitted will be treated equally.
We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Silver award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.
All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us. When you apply for this post you will be required to explain the basis upon which you believe you will able to live and work in the UK legally on the commencement date of the role should your application be successful. If you do not have the right to work freely in any position in the UK already, any offer of employment we will make to you will be subject to you obtaining a right to work visa. The following link provides information on the various visa routes into employment and the eligibility requirements (including switching visa status where permissible)
If you are successful in your application we will discuss visa options with you at the time of making the offer of employment.
Please note that, in the event of applications being received from candidates on the University's Redeployment Register with a reasonable skills match to the post specification, these applicants will be given prior consideration.
Closing date for applications: 15th July 2024