IT Manager - Operations

Job Description

Location/s: Newcastle, UK
Recruiter contact: Nikki George

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices.

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual.

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

Overview of the role
As the IT Manager – Operations reporting to the Head of IT – Service Delivery and Operations, you will play a pivotal leadership role within the IT management team, overseeing our two global operations centres in Newcastle (UK) and Bengaluru (India). You will ensure continuity and excellence in service delivery through proactive management of IT incidents, service requests, and operational processes, supporting a dynamic organisation of over 20,000 employees and £3 billion in annual turnover.

Success in this role requires deep collaboration across infrastructure, service delivery, applications, and security to champion service excellence and drive continuous improvement. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to align operational activities with strategic goals and ensure a seamless experience for our internal customers.

This role is a key contributor to our broader business objectives—enhancing operational resilience, enabling digital transformation, and optimising service performance. You will be instrumental in shaping a high-performing, customer-focused IT function that supports innovation and growth across the organisation.

We are committed to building a culture of inclusion, wellbeing, and professional development. As a visible leader, you will foster an environment where people feel empowered, supported, and inspired to deliver their best.

Key responsibilities and duties include:

• Lead and manage the UK operations centre and coordinate with global support teams
• Develop and inspire high-performing IT support teams across Newcastle and Bengaluru, ensuring accountability, collaboration, and high service standards
• Own the escalation and resolution of major incidents, ensuring timely communication and minimal business impact
• Provide hands-on support for project implementations and service transitions across infrastructure and applications
• Deliver strategic and operational oversight of IT services, ensuring systems are secure, reliable, and aligned with business needs
• Promote customer-centric service delivery by ensuring user satisfaction, responsiveness, and clear communication across all support levels
• Drive continuous improvement by analysing operational metrics, capturing lessons learned, and implementing enhancements to processes and technologies
• Embed governance, compliance, and risk management practices across all IT operations
• Maintain broad technical awareness to support effective decision-making across infrastructure, applications, data, and security
• Manage budgets, resources, and vendor relationships to optimise service delivery and operational efficiency
• Communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences, translating strategy into actionable plans
• Ensure all support activities align with group policies, compliance standards, and risk controls
• Report performance metrics, risks, and service insights to stakeholders in clear, actionable terms
• Coach and mentor team members to build capability, foster growth, and support career progression
• Champion a collaborative and inclusive team culture focused on wellbeing, engagement, and continuous development

Key Performance Indicators:

• Mean time to resolve incidents
• Incident volumes
• Net Promoter Score and customer feedback
• SLA performance
• Connected conversation completion rate
• Employee satisfaction
• Delivery against strategic operations objectives
• Automation adoption rate

Candidate specification
Essential:

• Proven experience in leading large-scale IT operations, with full accountability for service performance across incident, request, and major incident management in global support environments
• Strong operational leadership with the ability to drive team alignment, performance, and service excellence across diverse and distributed teams
• Strategic thinker with a track record of contributing to long-term operational planning, transformation initiatives, and continuous service improvement
• Skilled in stakeholder engagement and communication, with the ability to influence, negotiate, and manage expectations across all levels of the organisation
• Demonstrated capability in risk identification, escalation management, and decision-making under pressure
• Expertise in resource planning and prioritisation to meet both immediate operational needs and strategic objectives
• Commitment to operational maturity and service evolution through data-driven insights, innovation, and process optimisation

Desirable:

• Professional certification in IT Service Management (e.g., ITIL, SDI) or equivalent
• Experience operating within complex, matrixed organisations and managing global teams
• Familiarity with ITIL frameworks (V3/V4) and industry standards for service excellence
• Hands-on experience with ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow, including workflow and reporting capabilities
• Understanding of service governance, performance metrics, and continuous improvement methodologies

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Agile working

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.