Head of Managed Services

Job title: Head of Managed Services

Location: London, UK (Hybrid- 3 days/week; Wednesdays are must)

Type: Full-time/Permanent

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Head of Managed Services to lead and scale a global managed IT and security services function across the UK and offshore locations. The role will own service delivery, operational performance, customer experience and commercial profitability, driving a consistent, scalable and commercially sustainable operating model.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead global Service Desk, Field Engineering, NOC, SOC and internal IT support operations.
• Define and implement managed services strategy, operating models and service improvement initiatives.
• Own service performance, SLAs, operational risk, customer satisfaction and executive escalations.
• Drive profitability, margin improvement, cost optimisation, resource utilisation and capacity planning.
• Standardise service delivery, processes and governance across onshore and offshore teams.
• Lead automation, AI and tooling initiatives to improve productivity, service quality and scalability.
• Develop the managed services portfolio and collaborate with Sales, Account Management and Professional Services to support client retention and growth.
• Build high-performing teams, strengthen leadership capability and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Essential Requirements

• Senior leadership experience within an MSP or IT services organisation operating a recurring-revenue model.
• Proven experience leading large, multi-site managed services operations across onshore and offshore teams.
• Strong knowledge of managed IT, managed security services and ITIL-aligned service management.
• Experience overseeing Service Desk, infrastructure, cloud, application or security operations.
• Strong commercial expertise in budget ownership, profitability, margin improvement and cost-to-serve management.
• Track record of scaling operations through standardisation, automation, AI and process optimisation.
• Excellent client-facing, executive stakeholder management and service escalation skills.
• Proven people leadership, organisational change and operational transformation experience.

Desirable

• Experience supporting regulated sectors such as financial services, private equity or legal.
• Knowledge of Microsoft cloud, modern workplace and cybersecurity technologies.
• Experience with managed services transformation, service portfolio development and ISO 27001 or ITIL 4.