Service Introduction Lead

Reporting to: Senior Service Transition Manager 

Location: Hybrid

About us

IQUW is a speciality (re)insurer at Lloyd’s (Syndicate 1856) underwriting a diverse range of Property, Commercial and Speciality (re)insurance products from Cargo and Marine to Political Violence, Terror and War. We combine data, intelligent automation, and human expertise to make smart decisions, fast. 

ERS is the UK's largest specialist motor insurer with an A+ rating. We recognise that for some, motor insurance is more than just a must-have; it's a way of taking care of what stands at the heart of their passion or livelihood. For those people, standard insurance isn't enough. That's why we work exclusively with motor insurance brokers to help get under the skin of the most difficult insurance risks, helping build products to meet their customer’s needs.

The role

The Service Introduction Lead is responsible for overseeing the introduction of new or significantly changed IT services into the live operational environment. The role ensures that all necessary processes, resources, and documentation are in place to enable smooth service handover, operational readiness, and alignment with business objectives. This includes close collaboration with project and product teams, IT Service owners, and operational stakeholders to deliver services that meet quality, performance, and compliance requirements.

Key responsibilities

Service Introduction Planning:

• Continuously improve and maintain the service introduction framework, aligning it with ITIL best practices and organisational goals.
• Collaborate with project and product teams to define and document service introduction plans, including milestones, deliverables, and acceptance criteria.
• Work closely with stakeholders to ensure new services align with operational capabilities and business needs.

Service Acceptance Criteria:

• Collaborate with project teams, IT Service owners, and stakeholders to define clear Service Acceptance Criteria (SAC) during the service design phase.
• Ensure that all SAC items, including functional, non-functional, technical, and operational requirements, are documented, and agreed upon by relevant stakeholders.
• Monitor progress against SAC throughout the service introduction lifecycle to ensure compliance with defined standards.
• Facilitate testing and validation to confirm that SAC is met before approving the service for operational deployment.
• Escalate any unmet SAC or risks to go-live, working with teams to address gaps and implement corrective actions.

30 Fenchurch Street London EC3M 3BD     T: +44 (0) 203 743 1856     e: hello@iquw.com     w: www.iquw.com

Our cover is underwritten by IQUW (syndicate 1856) at Lloyd’s. The syndicate is managed by Arch Managing Agency Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

• Provide final sign-off for service readiness based on successful completion of SAC, ensuring operational teams are fully prepared to support the service.

• Operational & Business Readiness:

• Conduct operational readiness assessments, identifying and addressing gaps before service go-live.
• Ensure support models, RACIs and operations requirements are in place to sustain new services.
• Manage the handover of services to operational teams, ensuring they are equipped with the required knowledge, resources, and training.
• Ensure Go-live sign-off is managed.

Risk and Issue Management:

• Identify, log, and mitigate risks associated with introducing new services into live environments.
• Resolve or escalate service introduction issues in a timely manner to minimise disruption.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Act as the primary point of contact between project/product teams, IT Service Owners, and operational stakeholders for service introduction activities.
• Manage stakeholder expectations, ensuring clear communication of timelines, responsibilities, and progress.

Documentation and Knowledge Management:

• Oversee the creation, review, and approval of service documentation, including operational procedures, user guides, and runbooks.
• Ensure effective knowledge transfer sessions are conducted for service desk and operational teams.

Post-Implementation Review:

• Facilitate post-implementation reviews to assess the success of the service introduction and identify lessons learnt.
• Use feedback from stakeholders and operational teams to improve the service introduction process for future initiatives.

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list and you may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties compatible with your experience and competencies. This description may be varied from time to time to reflect changing business requirements.

Essential qualifications, skills, and experience

• Strong process competencies
• Excellent communication skills. Ability to clearly communicate with both technical and senior management staff 
• Good understanding of Service Transition methodology and the Service Value Chain
• Possesses an as a minimum an ITIL Foundation certificate  •     5+ years of previous Service Transition / Service Introduction. 
• Solid knowledge of software development lifecycle
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional work teams toward task completion
• Demonstrated effective analytical skills
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills 
• Experience with reporting, utilising the Microsoft Office product suite and ITSM tooling
• Understanding of the management of risk and impact in an operational setting

Desirable behavioural attributes

       •           Effective Communication

30 Fenchurch Street London EC3M 3BD     T: +44 (0) 203 743 1856     e: hello@iquw.com     w: www.iquw.com

Our cover is underwritten by IQUW (syndicate 1856) at Lloyd’s. The syndicate is managed by Arch Managing Agency Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

• Initiative & Change
• Governance
• Driving & Delivering Results
• Problem Solving
• Teamwork
• Decision Making
• Building Relationships
• Commercial Awareness
• Planning and organising

Additional Information

• A full job description can be seen here.

30 Fenchurch Street London EC3M 3BD     T: +44 (0) 203 743 1856     e: hello@iquw.com     w: www.iquw.com

Our cover is underwritten by IQUW (syndicate 1856) at Lloyd’s. The syndicate is managed by Arch Managing Agency Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.