Service Operations Manager - London

IntroductionSaab UK is a British company that is part of Saab Group''s global high-technology operations. Saab offers world-leading solutions and services in defence, aviation, space and civil security. In the UK, we bring together the best of Swedish and British innovation and engineering to provide our customers with products and solutions that push boundaries for what is considered technically possible. Our mission is to help our customers to keep people and society safe.Across the country, we have seven principal sites which focus on software engineering, AI swarming drones, underwater robotics, training services and radars. Technologically, we are leaders in many areas and we reinvest a high proportion of our earnings in internal research and development. Saab is a company with opportunities, a company where we see diversity as an asset and where you have both considerable responsibility as well as good opportunities for advancing in your career. You will be part of Public Safety Solutions (PSS), which develops advanced software applications and solutions (SAFE) for mission-critical control room operations-including for police, fire and rescue, and airports.As Service Operations Manager, you will lead the operations team serving our customers and work closely with engineers in the UK and Sweden. You will be responsible for maintaining and evolving the SAFE platform and its supporting systems, services, and infrastructure.This is a strategic and hands-on role focused on ensuring consistent service quality, smooth delivery operations, and continuous improvement of operational processes. You will work alongside the Client Services and Support Team Manager-who handles frontline support-focusing on the end-to-end service lifecycle, including service design, transition, incident management, change coordination, and operational governance.Collaborate with the Head of Operations to develop and implement strategic plans that enhance operational efficiency, service reliability, and customer satisfaction.Lead and coordinate the Service Operations team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.Mentor and develop team members, encouraging professional growth and performance excellence.

Operational ManagementOwn and manage daily service operations (excluding frontline support), including change enablement, incident coordination, major incident response, service reviews, and reporting.Oversee resource allocation across projects and functions, ensuring optimal use of team capabilities, staffing, and budget.Monitor and analyse SLAs, KPIs, and service metrics, identifying trends and opportunities for improvement.

Service Quality and GovernanceDrive governance and best practices across the service lifecycle-covering service design, transition, operation, and continual improvement.change management, environment readiness, incident/problem workflows).

Partner with Development, Infrastructure, Product, and QA teams to ensure operational readiness for software releases and services.Work with Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and service delivery teams to ensure customer satisfaction and proactive issue resolution.Maintain open communication with customers, addressing service-related concerns and driving service excellence.Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, providing insights and updates on service health and operational performance.

Proven experience in IT Service Operations, ideally within a software/SaaS delivery environmentStrong understanding of service management practices (e.g., ITIL, SRE, DevOps)Excellent problem-solving skills and a data-driven approachExperience managing operational risk and service transitionsFamiliarity with security, compliance, and business continuity processesITIL v4 Foundation or similar certificationExperience scaling service operations in a high-growth or complex environmentExposure to Agile delivery methodologiesBackground in software engineering, infrastructure, or DevOps