Associate Director, Head of IT Service Management

Job Summary

The Associate Director, Head of IT Service Management (ITSM) is accountable for the global ITSM strategy, operating model, and service governance across Grant Thornton’s technology organization.

This role provides enterprise‑level leadership across core ITSM disciplines—including Incident, Major Incident, Problem, Change Enablement, and Release Management—ensuring consistent, scalable, and reliable service delivery through the Global Delivery Centers (GDCs).

The Head of ITSM defines global process standards, provides executive oversight across ITSM functions, and partners with senior technology and business leadership to improve service reliability, manage operational risk, and enhance the end‑user experience

Responsibilities

• ITSM Strategy & Global Operating Model
  • Define and own the global IT Service Management strategy and operating model, aligned to business objectives, risk posture, and technology direction.
  • Establish a GDC‑led delivery model for ITSM, including role clarity, regional responsibilities, and follow‑the‑sun coverage.
  • Ensure consistent adoption of ITSM practices across infrastructure, cloud, enterprise systems, digital workplace, and application services.
• Functional Leadership & People Management
  • Provide leadership and direction to ITSM Managers (e.g., Major Incident & Problem, Change Enablement, Release).
  • Operate as a manager‑of‑managers, establishing accountability, performance standards, and operating cadence.
  • Build leadership capability, succession planning, and maturity across the ITSM organization.
  • Champion a culture of operational discipline, continuous improvement, and service ownership.
• Process Ownership & Governance
  • Serve as the executive process owner for core ITSM practices, including Incident, Problem, Change, and Release Management.
  • Define and govern global ITSM policies, standards, workflows, and escalation models aligned to ITIL best practices.
  • Ensure consistent application of ITSM processes across regions, services, and delivery teams.
  • Provide assurance on ITSM controls, supporting audit, risk, and compliance requirements.
• Service Reliability, Risk & Performance
  • Provide executive oversight of service reliability, major incidents, and systemic operational risk.
  • Ensure strong integration between Incident, Problem, Change, and Release processes to reduce recurring incidents and unplanned disruptions.
  • Define and review KPIs, service health indicators, and maturity metrics; communicate trends and risks to senior leadership.
  • Balance the competing demands of delivery velocity, stability, and risk management.
• Executive Stakeholder Engagement
  • Act as the senior ITSM interface to global technology leadership and executive stakeholders.
  • Provide clear, structured executive communications during significant service events or risk situations.
  • Advise leadership on service readiness, operational risk exposure, and change impact.
  • Represent ITSM in enterprise‑wide governance, transformation, and operational forums.
• ITSM Tooling Partnership (Non‑Ownership)
  • Partner with the ServiceNow platform and tooling teams to define ITSM process requirements, control needs, and functional outcomes that must be supported by the platform.
  • Provide direction and prioritization from an ITSM process perspective to inform platform configuration, enhancements, and automation.
  • Ensure tooling capabilities effectively enable standardized ITSM workflows, reporting, and governance.
  • Maintain clear separation of accountability between process ownership (ITSM) and platform ownership (ServiceNow team).
• Continuous Improvement & Maturity Advancement
  • Establish and maintain an ITSM maturity roadmap aligned to organizational priorities.
  • Drive ongoing improvement initiatives based on performance data, risk trends, and industry benchmarks.
  • Influence simplification and modernization of ITSM processes while maintaining appropriate governance and control.

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Skills and Experience

• Executive‑level leadership experience across IT Service Management disciplines.
• Deep expertise in Incident, Major Incident, Problem, Change Enablement, and Release Management.
• Strong experience operating in global, matrixed, and GDC‑based delivery models.
• Excellent executive communication, influencing, and decision‑making capabilities.
• Strong understanding of ITIL, service governance, and operational risk management.
• Proven ability to partner effectively with platform, engineering, and architecture teams without direct ownership.

 Education/ Professional Experience / Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience.
• ITIL Managing Professional or equivalent preferred.
• 12+ years of experience in IT Operations, Service Management, or Technology Enablement.
• Demonstrated success leading global ITSM functions and process owners.
• Experience operating in a ServiceNow‑enabled ITSM environment (platform ownership not required).