Trac proudly powers the recruitment for
UK Health Security Agency
About
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) prevents, prepares for and responds to infectious diseases, and environmental hazards, to keep all our communities safe, save lives and protect livelihoods.
We provide scientific and operational leadership, working with local, national and international partners to protect the public’s health and build the nation’s health security capability.
UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Contact
- Address
- 10 South Colonnade
- London
- E14 4PU
IT Service Delivery Lead
Accepting applications until: 21-Aug-2026 23:59
Vacancy status: Open
Accepting applications until: 21-Aug-2026 23:59
Key details
Location
- Site
- Hybrid working based at any core HQ in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London Canary Wharf
- Town
- London
- Postcode
- E14 4PU
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Flexible working
Salary
- Salary
- £56,185 - £70,566 Per annum, pro-rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (Civil Service: Grade 7)
Specialty
- Main area
- Trusted Data & Technology - Data Protection, Security & Technology Services - Service Management
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) prevents, prepares for and responds to infectious diseases, and environmental hazards, to keep all our communities safe, save lives and protect livelihoods.
We provide scientific and operational leadership, working with local, national and international partners to protect the public’s health and build the nation’s health security capability.
UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Job overview
The IT Service Delivery Manager (SDM) plays a critical role in ensuring that live IT services consistently deliver agreed outcomes for UKHSA. Operating within the Service Delivery and Supplier Management function, we are looking for two IT Service Delivery Leads to work closely with Technology teams, suppliers, and business stakeholders to ensure services are stable, resilient, and aligned to organisational priorities.
The SDM is engaged early in projects and upgrades, working alongside Service Design & Introduction to ensure new and changed services transition smoothly into live operation. The two roles are accountable for service availability, performance, and ongoing operational health, operating with a high degree of autonomy and making informed, risk-based decisions in line with Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practice.
Due to the nature of critical services, the two roles require flexibility, including participation in major incidents, service recovery, and service transition activities outside normal business hours where required.
Advert
Service Delivery & Operational Assurance
- Provide end‑to‑end oversight of live IT services, ensuring availability, stability, and performance.
- Lead service reviews with internal teams and third‑party suppliers to assure delivery against SLAs, KPIs, and service targets.
- Manage service go‑lives and early life support, ensuring services are supportable and resilient.
- Monitor service health, identify risks and capacity constraints, and recommend corrective actions.
Stakeholder & Supplier Management
- Act as the primary service contact for business stakeholders during live service operations and incidents.
- Coordinate and manage communications during planned and unplanned service interruptions.
- Lead supplier engagement and assurance activities, working closely with Commercial and Procurement teams.
- Represent Technology within governance forums, approval boards, and senior stakeholder discussions.
Further duties can be found under Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities.
Working for our organisation
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all. Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Incident, Problem & Continuity Management
- Support and influence Incident, Major Incident, and Problem Management activities.
- Contribute to root cause analysis and preventative actions.
- Influence Service Continuity Management activities, including SLAs and Business Impact Assessments (BIAs).
Continuous Improvement & Service Development
- Drive continual service improvement, applying ITIL principles.
- Influence technical and non‑technical stakeholders on the value of service management disciplines and investment.
Service Catalogue & Governance
- Manage the introduction, change, and retirement of services within the Service Catalogue.
- Work with Service Design & Integration to ensure service information remains accurate and aligned to business needs.
The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of these roles.
They will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required. The job descriptions and person specifications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation.
Essential Criteria
- Experience managing live IT services, including ownership of SLAs, KPIs, and service performance.
- Proven ability to maintain service availability and reliability in line with business outcomes.
- ITIL qualification (or equivalent) with extensive experience in IT Service Management, with a primary focus on Service Delivery.
- Experience working with senior stakeholders to deliver outcome‑focused services.
- Experience working with third‑party suppliers within a service delivery environment.
- Confidence representing Technology within governance and senior leadership forums.
- Ability to produce clear, insight‑led service performance reporting.
- Strong analytical skills to identify risks, trends, and service improvement opportunities.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience using ServiceNow or equivalent IT service management tooling.
- Experience working within a supplier delivered ITSM model.
- Experience applying formal continual service improvement or Kaizen approaches.
- Financial awareness, including experience considering cost, risk, and value when making service delivery decisions.
- Exposure to commercial activities such as contract management, renewals, or tender exercises.
Application & Sift (Competency-based)
At sift stage you will be assessed against the 8 Essential Criteria listed in this job advert. You will be required to complete an:
- Application form (‘Employer/Activity history’ section on the application)
- 1000 word supporting statement
This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role. You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement.
The application form is the kind of information you would put into your CV – please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email your CV.
Healthjobsuk has a word limit of 1500 but your statement of suitability must be no more than 1000 words. We will not consider any words over 1000.
Longlisting
In the event of a large number of applications, we may longlist into 3 piles of:
- Meets all Essential Criteria
- Meets some Essential Criteria
- Meets no Essential Criteria
Only those that 'Meets all Essential Criteria' will progress to Shortlisting.
Shortlisting
In the event of a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift on the following Essential Criteria:
- Experience managing live IT services, including ownership of SLAs, KPIs, and service performance.
- Strong practical understanding of ITIL principles and their application across core ITSM practices.
Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications/successful candidates.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview.
Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Interview (Competency-based)
You will be invited to a single face-to-face interview. Interview date(s) and location to be confirmed.
During the interview we will assess against the below in relation to the 8 Essential Criteria:
• Knowledge
• Experience
• Skills and Abilities
You will be asked to prepare a 10-minute presentation explaining how you would work with stakeholders, suppliers, and technical teams to restore confidence in the service and improve its performance based on the following scenario:
- A critical IT service is experiencing frequent outages, and confidence in the service has fallen among users and senior stakeholders.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).
Salary Information
Grade: Civil Service Grade 7
Inner: £60,494 - £70,566
Outer: £58,340 - £68,574
National: £56,185 - £66,581
Per annum, pro-rata
Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location.
If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary. Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.
Location
This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our core HQs in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London Canary Wharf.
We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London).
Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport links and benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Security Clearance Level Requirement
Successful candidates must pass a basic disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Check (SC).
For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years as the role requires Security Check (SC) clearance. (delete as appropriate) UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Resourcing Support listed in the advert for further advice.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ
If you experience technical difficulties when using Trac, please contact Support via https://apps.trac.jobs/support and provide screenshots/details of the issue encountered. If Trac cannot resolve your issue, you should notify the UKHSA Recruitment Team at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Please note that where no technical issue has been recorded by Trac, and no supporting evidence has been provided before the closing deadline, we will be unable to accept late applications. We therefore recommend submitting applications well in advance of the closing date and taking screenshots of any issues encountered.
Qualifications and Registrations
For roles where specific qualifications or registrations are required, successful applicants will be asked to provide appropriate evidence. Employment cannot commence until satisfactory documentation has been received and verified.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Link below:
Artificial intelligence and recruitment | Civil Service Careers
This is a Non-Reserved post under the Civil Service Nationality Rules. To be eligible for employment in the UK Civil Service applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs) which operate independently of and additionally to the Immigration Rules. Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks.
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
For more information on job nationality requirements and the right to work in the UK, see the Civil Service Nationality rules (opens in a new window) and the UK Visas and Immigration rules (opens in a new window)
For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
The Civil Service pay structure and progression is different from NHS Agenda for Change (AfC), most local authority pay grades and other systems that have annual pay increments. For further details, please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.
For AfC or Medical/Dental posts, you must have the correct professional registration to be appointed. The pay will follow the AfC or Medical & Dental terms & conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of previous service whilst we are conducting pre-employment checks to determine your starting salary.
For Temporary Appointments, if you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment. You may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan which you will need your department to agree. You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy.
Given the nature of the work of the UKHSA, as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, you may be required in an emergency, if deemed a necessity, to redeploy to another role at short notice. You may also be required to work at any other location, within reasonable travelling distance of your permanent home address, in line with the provisions set out in your contract of employment.
Late Applications will unfortunately not be considered.
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website here.
Reserve List - If more than the required number of suitable candidates pass the interview criteria, you may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months subject to your agreement. You may be contacted, in merit-order, if similar roles with closely matching essential criteria become available and the department choose to appoint from a reserve list.
The panel will assess if candidates meet the requirement of the role first, using a specific benchmark system. If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.
Interview expenses will not be reimbursed.
UKHSA is required to check employment and/or education history covering three consecutive years. Please ensure you give details of at least two different referees, even if you were employed in one company for three years or more.
If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Benefits of working at UKHSA include:
- Generous annual leave:
-26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service
-28 days after 5 years of continuous service
-32 days after 10 years of continuous service
-Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King’s birthday - Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
- Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
- Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
- We also promote flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours). UKHSA views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.
- We also offer a generous maternity/ paternity and adoption leave package.
Hybrid Working
UKHSA operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce.
As a hybrid worker, you will usually spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted hours (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (approximately 3 days a week pro rata) and the rest of your time working from home.
Disability Confident Scheme
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria at sift to ensure these candidates are invited to interview. If you wish to be included in this scheme please tick the box on your application form.
Reasonable Adjustments
The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.
To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any reasonable adjustments that could help you.
An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.
This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.
If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:
Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.
You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/
International Police Check
If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and could be time accrued over that period.
Internal Fraud check
If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.
Security Vetting
Please check the Security Clearance needed for the role and follow the link for more information:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels
Future location
UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.
The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.
Agenda for Change roles -NHS Pension
For roles offered under Agenda for Change (AFC) Terms and Conditions (and if you are eligible)
• If you are already on AFC T&Cs or accept the role on a fixed-term contract, you will be enrolled in the NHS Pension Scheme or keep your current AFC Pension.
• If you take the role on a loan or temporary promotion, you will retain your existing, substantive T&Cs.
• If the role is available under either AFC or Civil Service T&Cs depending on your registration, your pension scheme will align accordingly.
Person specification
Application form and supporting statement
Essential criteria
- Application form and supporting statement
Essential Criteria
Essential criteria
- General Questions on Experience, Knowledge and Skills
Presentation
Essential criteria
- A critical IT service is experiencing frequent outages, and confidence in the service has fallen among users and senior stakeholders. Prepare a 10-minute presentation explaining how you would work with stakeholders, suppliers, and technical teams to restore confidence in the service and improve its performance.
Documents
- Civil Service Recruitment Principles (PDF, 2.6MB)
- Civil Service Nationality Rules (PDF, 195.3KB)
- Application Form Guidance Notes (PDF, 77.3KB)
- Information Sheet - Starting salaries and benefits (PDF, 129.4KB)
- Information Sheet - Selection Process (PDF, 110.1KB)
- Working at UKHSA and your benefits (PDF, 219.2KB)
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sarah Handy
- Job title
- Resourcing Support
- Email address
- [email protected]
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