Head of Managed Services

Job Description

Version 1 is celebrating 26 years in the IT industry this year and we continue to be trusted by global brands to deliver IT solutions that drive customer success.Version 1 is not just a MicrosoftPartner, an AWS Premier Consulting Partner and an Oracle Modern OPN Partner; we are also an award-winning employer and our employees are at the heart of Version 1. We invest in a strong culture of wellness through programsthat help our employees create their journey toward optimal wellbeing. This framework is based on the ‘Strength in Balance‘ theme and this is seen again in our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Team motto “Bring Your Difference“.Job DescriptionThe RoleOur Managed Services business drives continuous innovation for customers, helping them achieve their strategic outcomes through application of our ASPIRE methodology, protecting the core of our customers’ businesses, and leveraging modern capabilities democratisedthrough Cloud. It is the fundamental core of Version 1, underpinning decades of Customer Success and Engineering Excellence. Our Managed Services business has expanded over that time to include extensive application, data, and platform support, in both hybridand multi-cloud environments. We have more than 300 enterprise customers, spanning diverse sectors from Financial Services to Central Government, Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences, through Energy & Utilities, in the UK, Ireland and further afield. Our servicesare continuously evolving, right alongside with our customers’ businesses, supported by our 250 person team across UK, Ireland, Spain and India.We are looking for an innovative leader who will protect and evolve the core of our Managed Service business and leverage modern approaches to drive fantastic outcomes for our customers and for Version 1. The successful candidate for this role will provideleadership, direction, and guidance to our customers and the entire Managed Services team to ensure strong customer relationships, high standards of delivery and smooth running of our engagements.A key part of the role will be to grow our business through driving and evolving our recently launched ASPIRE – Next Generation Managed Services proposition, driving tangible added value for our customers, differentiating Version 1’s service offering andleveraging our Engage platform, built on ServiceNow.You’ll be responsible for monitoring and managing key Managed Services KPIs including growth, profitability, billable utilisation, revenue delivery (actual vs expected), margin, whilst identifying areas of improvement in relation to Contractual Compliance,Customer Satisfaction and Retention, Employee Engagement, Resourcing and Scheduling, Processes, Quality, Automation and Cost Management.Your role will lead activity on all three sides of the Version 1 triangle, which is our Strength in Balance business model:1. Customer Success

• Build strong, senior customer relationships both directly and with your equivalent Version 1 Commercial lead.
• Responsible for the maintenance, ongoing delivery, and solutions growth into existing customers
• Understanding of targets and forecasting of revenue anticipated from each customer relating to Revenue, and Margin
• Develop, manage and monitor the Managed Services forecast and budgets in line with Version 1 financial reporting cadence ensuring on-budget and on-forecast outcomes
• Develop costing models for managed service offerings
• Support sales and Account Management in pre-sales activities including customer meetings and production of proposals in relation to Managed Services as required
• Drive proposition development in relation to Managed Services, working with Commercial and the CTO
• Ensure that the Managed Services team work collaboratively with our Commercial team to identify and fulfil new business opportunities and to drive cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.
• Ensure that all commercial activities within the team are optimized from a profitability / margin perspective

2.Strong Organisation

• Set, and deliver against, strategic and tactical priorities that align with business objectives
• Ensure that relevant VLAs (Value Level Agreements) and SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are captured, validated and reported
• Develop and manage plans and strategies to improve performance, reliability and operational cost-effectiveness
• Ensure that strong processes are in place for Managed Service engagements to follow. Ensures consistency of processes across all Managed Service engagements
• Leads/Participate in Service Reviews for our largest customers as required
• Lead all improvement initiatives relating to reporting, monitoring and risk management across Managed Services Commercial Management
• Ensure that estimates are validated and reviewed according to an agreed best practice approach
• Act as a point of escalation for your leadership team
• Ensure all engagements are being monitored and reported upon in an efficient and consistent way both internally and externally

3.Empowered People

• Provide strategic leadership, oversight and management for your teams.
• Be a visible, engaging leader, communicating the compelling future which is ahead for Managed Services.
• Engage in all company-wide People initiatives to the benefit of your team.
• Develop and maintain a team through coaching and performance management against clear quarterly goals aligned with your overall vision.

QualificationsThe Successful Candidate will have:

Ability to work operationally and tactically day to day, but think strategically to plan and deliver on the future of Managed Services at Version 1

A strong understanding of the Managed Services market relevant to Version 1, future trends, competitors and their delivery models to allow us to differentiate ourselves and grow faster

A good understanding of the platform required to underpin our operating model and an ability to lead its development and deployment in a cost-efficient manner

Experienced in monitoring and metrics of a successful, diverse Managed Services business

Proven new business and account management experience

High degree of target driven nature, initiative, independent working, and leadership skills

5 to 10 years of operations management experience leading high-performance teams

Strong analytical and numerical skills, organisational and team leadership skills

Proven advocate for standardisation of processes and methodologiesStrong understanding of the potential for digita