Operational Readiness Lead

Role Summary

The IT Service Operational Readiness Lead is responsible for ensuring that new or changed IT services are fully prepared for operational support before deployment into live environments. This role acts as the bridge between project delivery teams, service management, operations, and support functions to ensure all operational, technical, and business readiness activities are completed, documented, and approved.

Key responsibilities include coordinating operational acceptance, support models, knowledge transfer, training, documentation, risk management, and service handover activities to support successful service transitions.

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. We actively encourage applications from neurodiverse individuals, women, and those from other underrepresented groups in technology. We believe that diverse perspectives drive better outcomes—for our people, our customers, and our business—and we are dedicated to supporting all employees to achieve their full potential.

• Operational Readiness Reviews (ORR) for new and updated services.
• Develop and maintain operational readiness frameworks, processes, and governance.
• Ensure all operational acceptance criteria are met before service go‑live.
• Coordinate service transition activities across project and operational teams.
• Act as the operational readiness authority for project deployments.
• Service Acceptance & Governance
  • Define and maintain Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT) requirements.
  • Facilitate readiness assessments and go‑live reviews.
  • Identify and manage operational risks, issues, and dependencies.
  • Ensure service support requirements are documented and approved.
• Knowledge & Documentation Management
  • Ensure support documentation, work instructions, runbooks, and knowledge articles are created and maintained.
  • Coordinate knowledge transfer sessions between delivery and support teams.
  • Verify service desk and resolver groups have the information required to support the service.
• Support Model & Resource Readiness
  • Validate support structures, escalation paths, and service ownership.
  • Ensure monitoring, alerting, backup, recovery, and support tooling are operational.
  • Work with technical teams to confirm operational support capability and capacity.
  • Assess resource and training requirements for support teams.
• Stakeholder Management
  • Partner with project managers, service owners, architects, engineers, and support teams.
  • Provide readiness status reporting to senior leadership and governance boards.
  • Communicate risks, mitigation plans, and deployment readiness recommendations.
• Continuous Improvement
  • Identify opportunities to improve service transition and operational readiness processes.
  • Support ITIL best practices and organizational service management initiatives.
  • Analyse post‑implementation reviews and lessons learned to improve future readiness activities.

• 5+ years’ experience in IT Service Management (ITSM) and Service Transition processes.
• Strong understanding of ITIL principles and frameworks.
• Experience managing operational readiness or service transition activities.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience working with infrastructure, cloud, application, and support teams.
• Strong risk management and problem‑solving capabilities.
• Ability to coordinate multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

• ITIL Foundation or higher certification.
• Experience with Service Now or equivalent ITSM platforms.
• Project Management qualifications (PRINCE2, Agile, PMP, etc.).
• Knowledge of Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT).
• Experience with in complex and secure environments.

• Operational Readiness Plans
• Operational Acceptance Checklists
• Service Handover Documentation
• Support Models and RACI Definitions
• Knowledge Articles and Runbooks
• Training and Knowledge Transfer Records
• Go‑Live Readiness Assessments
• Risk and Issue Registers
• Service Transition Reports

• Successful service deployments with minimal operational incidents.
• Reduction in post‑implementation support issues.
• Compliance with operational acceptance standards.
• Completion of readiness activities within agreed timelines.
• Positive feedback from service owners and operational teams.
• Improved support team preparedness and service stability.

Reports to:

Head of Service Management / Service Delivery Manager / Operations Manager / Service Transition Manager.

• Project Managers
• Service Owners
• Technical Architects
• Infrastructure & Cloud Teams
• Service Desk and Resolver Groups
• Change & Release Management Teams