Service Transition Lead

Job title:

Service Transition Lead Contract type:
Fixed Term (24 Months)

Location:

Manchester Salary:
Manchester £55,000 - £60,000 Working arrangements:
Hybrid, with a minimum of 2 days per week in the office

Support the successful transition of critical technology services that support millions of learners across the UK. This is an opportunity to take a leading role in the delivery of technology change across AQA.

You’ll work with senior technology leaders, project teams and operational stakeholders to influence how services are introduced, ensuring change is delivered successfully and sustainably across a complex technology landscape.

If you’re an experienced service transition professional looking to operate at a strategic level and shape best practice, this role offers both challenge and impact. You’ll support the successful introduction of technology change into live service, ensuring operational stability while enabling business transformation.

As Service Transition Lead, you’ll be responsible for ensuring new, changed and retired services are transitioned effectively into and out of live operation. You’ll provide expert oversight, governance and challenge across multiple work streams, working closely with senior technology leaders, operational teams and third‑party partners to identify risks, drive readiness activities and ensure successful outcomes. This role is suited to an experienced service transition professional who can influence stakeholders, provide constructive challenge and support the successful delivery of service transition activities across a complex technology landscape.

• Support the successful transition of technology services into live operation, ensuring they are operationally ready, supportable and aligned to business objectives.
• Provide governance, challenge and strategic oversight across a portfolio of technology change initiatives, influencing decisions at all stages of the delivery lifecycle.
• Drive service readiness activities, identifying and mitigating risks to ensure smooth implementation with minimal impact on operations.
• Partner with senior stakeholders, project teams, service owners and suppliers to embed service transition best practice and deliver successful business outcomes.
• Chair go‑live and acceptance into service reviews, providing assurance that services meet agreed operational, support and governance requirements.
• Validate future operating models and support arrangements, ensuring services can be sustained effectively as technology and business needs evolve.
• Contribute to the ongoing maturity of the Service Transition function, driving continuous improvement across processes, governance and service delivery practices.

To thrive in this role you’ll need:

• Experience in service transition, service management or IT project delivery, or a similar governance role.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL service management principles, service acceptance processes and operational readiness frameworks.
• Experience managing multiple stakeholders across project delivery, operational support and supplier environments.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and decision‑making skills, with the confidence to provide constructive challenge and drive successful outcomes.
• Experience working within complex, enterprise‑scale or regulated environments where governance, service stability and business continuity are critical.
• An ITIL Foundation qualification, with higher‑level ITIL certifications, PRINCE2, Agile or other recognised delivery qualifications being advantageous.

• A platform to influence education nationally and represent AQA at key events
• Career development and…