Senior Service Assurance Manager

Summary

The Senior Service Assurance Manager is a key role within D&T responsible for Service Management delivery assurance across their assigned D&T product, platform or infrastructure Tribe(s).

The Senior Service Assurance Manager is a key role within D&T responsible for Service Management delivery assurance across their assigned D&T product, platform or infrastructure Tribe(s). Assigned to and embedded within the D&T Tribes your will provide the primary link between Service Management practices and Tribe members; this role ensures that Service Management practices are fully embedded, complied with and that the IT Services provided by the Tribe(s) are meeting the Service Levels required by the Business operations and it Stores.

As an ambassador for Service Management, you will promote ITIL4, Dev Ops, and Sec Ops as complimentary frameworks, working with the various product and platform owners, squad leaders and their teams to support them to effectively balance velocity and throughput needs with the standardisation and risk reduction and operational stability achieved through adherence to the Service Management Practices. This role will proactively monitor performance levels, identifying trends, risks and issues and will work collaboratively with the relevant Tribe leaders and its members to develop Insights, establishing root causes, and planning and tracking the implementation of required improvement initiatives and interventions.

The Senior Service Assurance Manager is accountable for the performance achieved by the assigned Tribe(s) and will be able to demonstrate the increased performance and maturity over time. This role requires regular engagement with Tribe leadership and key business stakeholders to understand current challenges and risks and to reinforce the value of Service Management practices ensuring alignment, buy in and sponsorship for improvements.

• Assure the quality, performance and consistent adoption of Service Management practices across assigned Tribe’s, ensuring service levels and business objectives are met.
• Coach, train and support Tribe members on Service Management processes, procedures and SLA requirements, acting as an accessible point of contact for guidance.
• Monitor compliance, throughput and performance trends, identifying risks, issues and improvement opportunities through insight-led analysis.
• Lead root cause analysis and drive remediation actions for performance gaps, ensuring risks, issues and corrective actions are tracked through to completion.
• Provide clear reporting and stakeholder communication, including Tribe leadership reviews, Service Management alignment, Major Incident updates and Post-Incident Review follow-through.

• Strong Service Management expertise, with practical knowledge of ITIL4, Dev Ops and Sec Ops practices; retail experience would be a distinct advantage.
• Proven experience improving Service Management processes, governance and compliance, with the ability to identify risks, root causes and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills, including monitoring service performance, SLA compliance, trends and operational risks.
• Excellent communication, reporting and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence senior leaders, manage challenging conversations and secure buy-in for change.
• Solid understanding of IT infrastructure, operations and service management tools such as Service Now/Helix, Jira and Power BI, with the adaptability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy…