WHAT DOES AN IT SERVICE MANAGER DO?

Published: Oct 28, 2025 - The Information Technology (IT) Service Manager partners with stakeholders to define service requirements, align processes with strategic goals, and coordinate across infrastructure and application teams. This role leads incident response, risk mitigation, and service improvement initiatives while driving readiness for major events. The manager also analyzes performance data, ensures clear communication with leadership, and promotes continuous service optimization.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for IT Service Manager

1. IT Service Manager Duties

  • IT Strategy Support: Working directly with the CIO to ensure the secure, efficient operation of IT services globally
  • System Monitoring: Proactively monitoring the systems and suppliers to identify and mitigate service risks
  • Cloud Ecosystem Management: Orchestrating a modern ecosystem of SaaS/cloud-based service providers
  • Service Optimization: Driving service improvement and optimization
  • Security Incident Management: Acting as primary contact for external SIEM and/or SOC security event escalations
  • Technology Evaluation: Assisting with the evaluation of opportunities and risks associated with new technologies
  • Cloud Governance: Advocating for flexible but secure operating practices governing modern cloud services
  • Process Documentation: Assisting with the documentation of procedures and processes to minimize key man risks
  • System Configuration: Be responsible for certain aspects of a more advanced system configuration
  • Cost Management: Management of the monthly IT cost allocation and recharging process
  • Staff Training: Providing periodic training for staff on more advanced aspects of the core systems
  • Project Support: Opportunities to support special projects within the region and globally

2. IT Service Manager Responsibilities

  • Reporting Administration: Gather daily/weekly/monthly reporting data and overall administrative tasks
  • Project Planning: Develop or update project plans, which would include information such as project objectives, technologies, systems, information specifications, schedules, funding, and staffing
  • Deliverable Management: Submit project deliverables, ensuring adherence to quality standards
  • Status Reporting: Prepare project status reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends
  • Communication Planning: Establish and execute a project communication plan
  • Milestone Tracking: Monitor or track project milestones and deliverables
  • Project Execution: Manage project execution to ensure adherence to budget, schedule, and scope
  • Issue Resolution: Confer with project personnel to identify and resolve problems
  • WBS Management: Develop and manage work breakdown structure (WBS)
  • Team Coordination: Direct or coordinate activities of project personnel
  • Task Assignment: Assign duties, responsibilities, and spans of authority to project personnel

3. IT Service Manager Job Summary

  • Process Design: Design and implement a standardized Request Fulfillment process, workflows and supporting documents
  • Policy Enforcement: Promote and enforce adherence to the process and policies associated with Request Fulfillment
  • Activity Coordination: Planning and coordinating all activities to perform, monitor and report on the process
  • KPI Management: Implement and maintain KPI's
  • Process Integration: Work with other process owners (Incident Manager, Asset Manager) to ensure there is an integrated approach to the design and implementation of Request Fulfillment
  • Team Collaboration: Collaborate with the Helpdesk Team Lead
  • Stakeholder Management: Establish and maintain a constructive relationship between stakeholders and operational teams
  • Service Level Management: Propose functional levels of service to be delivered to the customer and document these levels in SLA's
  • Performance Improvement: Realization of service performance reviews and improvement initiatives

4. IT Service Manager Accountabilities

  • Asset Management: Maintain the service catalog, CMDB entries, and technology registers, highlight areas for action, initiate and conclude activities that maintain a healthy view of all IT asset types (hardware, software, data, interfaces, etc.)
  • Service Portfolio Support: Support the Service Delivery Manager in the maintenance of Service Portfolio metadata and all associated records for services, including required Service process documentation
  • Supplier Management: Participate in third-party management processes, support supplier management activities and contract management with support from the senior team
  • Incident Operations: Operate processes in the event of P1 or P2 incidents to ensure good communication flow from vendors, resolver group, Close Brothers colleagues, partners and customers
  • Risk Management: Input into the risk management process, remediate/treat assigned risks
  • Deployment Support: Support the deployment of new business solutions/technologies into the live environment by suppliers is diligently managed and successful
  • Change Delivery: Support and/or deliver small to medium-sized changes in support of general BAU operations
  • Innovation Facilitation: Identify and support innovative solutions to complex problems, to aid delivery of change across the CBAFL estate, excellent facilitation skills and ability to translate complex information, analytical mindset

5. IT Service Manager Functions

  • Team Leadership: Recruit, mentor and develop customer service agents and nurture an environment where they can excel through encouragement and empowerment
  • Agent Management: Manage service center agents from the locations from which they reside
  • Performance Management: Develop measurable and attainable goals for each team member and monitor consistently using key performance indicators
  • Knowledge Management: Spearhead the development of a knowledge repository for more effective ticket resolution
  • Training Development: Develop training plans and training paths for service center agents
  • Project Collaboration: Coordinate and collaborate on internal corporate project-related tasks with other IT resources and team members
  • Service Improvement: Lead Service Center improvement projects by creating project plans and holding resources accountable to assigned tasks and expected outcomes
  • Stakeholder Relations: Continuously build and develop relationships with the business unit and corporate leadership
  • Reporting Management: Prepare periodic status reports, personnel reviews and other management reports
  • Customer Support: Take ownership of customer issues and follow problems through to resolution
  • Service Experience Enhancement: Continually strive to improve the customer’s experience receiving IT services
  • Asset Management: Manage the IT asset management process from deployment through salvage, including laptop deployments for new hires and redeployment
  • Policy Development: Develop and maintain Service Center policies and procedures, and review annually for effectiveness

6. IT Service Manager Job Description

  • Business Understanding: Basic understanding of the business needs in the above-mentioned business services areas
  • TMS Configuration: Set up and maintain the TMS configuration in different modules
  • System Testing: Support and perform system tests on TMS
  • Configuration Maintenance: Maintain and update configuration objects
  • Reporting Validation: Define and run reporting to validate configuration consistency
  • System Monitoring: Ensure system availability and system monitoring
  • Upgrade Management: Prepare, plan, support and test software upgrades (enhancements, major releases, etc.)
  • Event Communication: Monitor and communicate scheduled events (maintenance, updates, major incidents, etc.)
  • Interface Monitoring: Monitor interfaces and logs and react to issues
  • KPI Reporting: Report Helpdesk operation KPIs to be defined

7. IT Service Manager Overview

  • Business Analysis: Work with stakeholders to understand business problem statements and develop business cases, product specifications and requirements
  • Process Improvement: Support multi-functional efforts in process improvement, data capture and analysis, infrastructure support, tool ownership and compliance with procedures, etc.
  • Strategic Direction: Help provide strategic direction to drive prioritization
  • Policy Alignment: Ensure that policies and procedures align with corporate vision
  • Project Facilitation: Organize, lead, facilitate, or participate in cross-functional project teams
  • Data Monitoring: Develop and/or monitor data for measurement, identifying indicators for future improvement opportunities
  • Performance Improvement: Recommend and facilitate improvement efforts to drive KPI or Service Level improvements
  • Management Reporting: Summarize progress to senior management, thereby keeping everyone abreast of progress, changes, or roadblocks
  • Progress Communication: Clearly articulate the status of progress on process improvements, service improvements, or other initiatives

8. IT Service Manager Details and Accountabilities

  • Incident Coordination: Assist or manage the navigation and collaboration between Application/Platform teams and Infrastructure teams when investigating incidents or issues (e.g., WPG Timeouts)
  • Maintenance Planning: Ensure collaboration on finding suitable maintenance periods between the Infrastructure and Application/Platform teams
  • Escalation Management: Manage escalations from key stakeholders, including communications on major incidents and significant changes
  • Data Analysis: Gather data from technical teams to provide comprehensive responses to customers and clients
  • Event Preparation: Drive the engagement of technical teams in preparation for High Volume Events or major new customer onboarding
  • Service Improvement: Conduct continual service improvement by reviewing PRB/INC data and identifying areas for enhancement
  • Risk Mitigation: Assist with the socialization and mitigation of risks to platforms and infrastructure
  • Service Ownership: Capture services with incomplete ownership and work with Technical and Business teams to establish the Service Management process and transition to new owners
  • Service Reporting: Deliver service reviews to Senior Leadership in Merchant Solutions and Technology Shared Services

9. IT Service Manager Tasks

  • Service Delivery: Ensure smooth delivery of IT services and confirm that internal SLAs are met
  • Vendor Management: Manage external vendors (Infrastructure and ERP) and ensure external SLAs are achieved
  • Leadership Partnership: Partner with senior leadership teams from various business units (Finance, Supply Chain, Operations, etc.) to communicate capability roadmaps and delivery strategies for business technology and solutions
  • Digital Transformation: Drive IT digitalization initiatives by leveraging new and emerging technologies and translating them into viable digital implementations to boost revenue and productivity
  • Solution Analysis: Work with cross-functional teams and vendors to analyze requirements, identify solutions, plan and lead enhancements, and implement resolutions
  • Technology Governance: Ensure the business growth plan is supported by modern technologies that comply with security and governance standards
  • Resource Management: Manage budgets and resources, ensuring appropriate allocation to key project initiatives
  • SLA Management: Participate regularly in managing intra-group and external Service Level Agreements for Group entities
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements and O&T policies, maintaining strong internal controls

10. IT Service Manager Additional Details

  • Client Relationship Management: Serve as the primary Concentrix IT contact for the client and ensure overall client IT satisfaction
  • Customer Service: Consistently provide excellent customer service to client accounts and represent client needs and goals within the Concentrix IT organization
  • Business Development: Build relationships with clients to encourage new and repeat business opportunities
  • Internal Collaboration: Build strong relationships within Concentrix (e.g., PE, DPE, IT, Security, PMO) to deliver exceptional IT service to the client
  • Communication Management: Provide regular two-way communication between the client and internal teams to ensure proper expectations and alignment
  • Issue Resolution: Ensure client issues are addressed efficiently and engage or inform appropriate Concentrix Management as needed
  • Project Compliance: Manage all client IT communications, conflict resolution, outage handling, and compliance with client deliverables, ensuring project spend remains within the contracted cost
  • Incident Reporting: Track and report on outages to both the client and Concentrix Management
  • Incident Management: Participate in PD and recovery management of all Sev1 incidents, providing on-call support 24x7 for critical cases
  • Escalation Support: Escalate for additional Sev1 participation or process assistance when necessary
  • Root Cause Analysis: Ensure adherence to the RCA process, providing the client with an RCA within 5 business days

11. IT Service Manager Essential Functions

  • Incident Analysis: Analyze outages, incidents, and changes to identify trends, opportunities, and continuous improvements that reduce cost, minimize downtime, and enhance customer satisfaction
  • Project Delivery: Ensure that IT initiatives are delivered promptly and within the prescribed budget
  • Quality Assurance: Review all major deliverables to confirm quality standards and client expectations are met
  • Process Compliance: Ensure all processes and procedures are completed and adhere to quality standards
  • Project Tracking: Track and report on all client projects, changes, and growth initiatives
  • Status Reporting: Provide regular input on all IT account activities, including project and operational status
  • Change Management: Participate in Change Management with a focus on client and Concentrix requirements while optimizing cost and improving value
  • Contract Compliance: Ensure Concentrix IT meets all client contractual requirements, including security, audits, BCDR, and reporting obligations
  • Cost Optimization: Drive IT cost optimization initiatives without compromising delivery standards
  • Transition Support: Assist the transition manager during new transitions or ramp-ups
  • Solution Support: Support IT solutioners by providing insight into account complexity, current state (AS-IS), and long-term strategic direction

12. IT Service Manager Role Purpose

  • SAP Strategy Development: Work with internal and external stakeholders in IT, vendors, and business to collaboratively develop and drive the strategy and roadmap for SAP services in scope
  • Service Improvement: Understand service requirements, components, and setup to drive continuous service enhancements
  • SLA Management: Take ownership of SAP service level agreements between stakeholders and customers, defining service delivery parameters
  • Incident Management: Manage incident, problem, and change management processes for SAP services on a daily basis in accordance with SLAs
  • Root Cause Resolution: Ensure root cause analysis is performed and permanent fixes are implemented for recurring problems
  • OLA Management: Deliver and maintain operational level agreements (OLAs) with internal departments outlining service provisions
  • Development Prioritization: Drive the service team to establish and align on development priorities and tasks
  • Stakeholder Communication: Communicate, influence, and collaborate with internal and external executives to ensure alignment with the hybrid cloud strategy
  • Hybrid Cloud Advisory: Act as a key advisor and go-to point for data center and hybrid cloud services for internal, partner, and customer teams
  • Support Coordination: Coordinate communication among internal and external support staff to ensure seamless service delivery

13. IT Service Manager General Responsibilities

  • Project Contribution: Contribute to regional and global projects by influencing, building, and maintaining relationships, collaborations, and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders
  • Service Management: Oversee the day-to-day management of tasks and processes related to service operations and deployments
  • ITIL Process Execution: Ensure and participate in ITIL process execution, including asset, incident, change, problem, configuration, release, and knowledge management
  • Operational Leadership: Provide expert operational leadership and IT knowledge to assist internal customers with IT-related challenges
  • Incident Escalation: Serve as the primary point of escalation for major incidents
  • Service Documentation: Maintain up-to-date service documentation in accordance with the SHS ITSM framework
  • Performance Reporting: Provide senior management and service stakeholders with weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports on service performance, SLAs, and related metrics
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Travel to engage with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment of service delivery with SHS IT strategy
  • Service Governance: Ensure compliance with governance standards related to security, costs, data protection, legal, export control, and customs requirements
  • Service Review: Participate in internal service review meetings (within IT and business) and supplier management meetings

14. IT Service Manager Key Accountabilities

  • IT Delivery Management: Manage business-as-usual IT contractual costs, schedules, and deliverables across assets, infrastructure, third-party services, IBM technology organizations, and the client
  • CTO Initiatives: Identify opportunities and drive CTO-led initiatives within the account
  • Process Improvement: Work on IT-enabled processes to initiate and manage Six Sigma (BB/GB/YB) projects for cost reduction
  • Technical Integration: Ensure the formulation, development, implementation, and delivery of technical solutions are fully integrated with business solutions
  • IT Leadership: Provide Account IT leadership to the IT service delivery team, directing efforts to develop and execute program, project, product, and business strategies to meet contractual goals
  • Partnership Management: Manage partnerships between the Project Office, Clients, IBM BPS IT Delivery, and third-party IT delivery organizations
  • Customer Satisfaction: Support and enhance overall customer relationships and satisfaction levels
  • Security Compliance: Oversee security and audit compliance activities, reviews, and required actions
  • Incident Communication: Communicate service interruptions, root cause analyses, action plans, and performance trend reports to agreed IBM or business contacts (in coordination with DPE/PE)
  • Service Request Management: Ensure IMACs and Service Requests are executed in line with contractual commitments
  • Governance Reporting: Present IT governance status updates and reports with PMO, covering actions, RAIL items, incidents, RCAs, changes, service requests, SLAs, audit readiness, and financial management to ensure service delivery meets business needs
  • Documentation Management: Create and update the Account IT Service Delivery Management Wiki, including diagrams and process documentation from transitions
  • Contract Fulfillment: Respond to client IT requirements as outlined in contracts, Statements of Work (SOWs), or through PMO contract change control processes

15. IT Service Manager Roles and Details

  • Role Identification: Identify engineering roles based on organizational needs, Boehringer Ingelheim’s standard technologies, development practices, and methodologies
  • Talent Enablement: Partner with Recruiters, Service Providers, and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Service Centers to enable rapid identification and acquisition of talent
  • Onboarding Management: Define and enhance the end-to-end onboarding process to help engineers quickly become operational in Boehringer Ingelheim initiatives and workflows
  • Knowledge Management: Retain and share knowledge and best practices across executions, continuously updating standards, methodologies, technologies, and frameworks
  • Capacity Management: Manage C4E capacity, scaling, and adjusting team assignments based on demand and skill profiles
  • Reusability Promotion: Identify repetitive engineering efforts and promote the creation of reusable services and technical solutions
  • Process Improvement: Contribute to Boehringer Ingelheim’s process and platform improvements by compiling and sharing engineering experiences with relevant teams
  • Service Level Management: Collaborate with Change Managers to understand and define Service Level Management requirements for new or modified services
  • Performance Reporting: Review and report service performance results against established SLA and OLA criteria

16. IT Service Manager Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Team Management: Manage a technical team to achieve profit and KPI objectives
  • Operational Oversight: Review and direct the day-to-day operations of technical staff to meet client demands
  • Staff Development: Develop and oversee technical staff to ensure growth and performance excellence
  • Client Management: Develop and manage client relationships, oversee projects, and provide continuous support
  • Client Prioritization: Identify and establish priorities aligned with client needs and expectations
  • Process Optimization: Identify and enhance internal processes and procedures for improved efficiency
  • Technology Management: Design and optimize ongoing security and technology solutions for clients
  • Process Lifecycle Management: Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of process improvement initiatives
  • KPI Tracking: Establish and monitor process-related KPIs to ensure measurable success

17. IT Service Manager Duties and Roles

  • IT Management: Serve as a top Information Technology Manager overseeing all IT functions
  • Data Security: Continually monitor, audit, and improve data security across the organization
  • Operations Management: Manage internal IT operations and support services to ensure efficiency and reliability
  • Process Optimization: Streamline current and future business processes through the strategic use of technology
  • Team Development: Focus on developing current internal team members and onboarding new hires effectively
  • Strategic Planning: Develop and implement strategies to drive the organization’s financial growth through technology
  • System Auditing: Verify application results and performance by conducting system audits of implemented technologies
  • Staff Supervision: Provide line management and leadership to IT Support staff
  • Budget Management: Manage departmental investments, including payroll and operating expenses
  • Technical Support: Support employees using laptops, PCs, and servers across all organizational sites

18. IT Service Manager Job Summary

  • Service Ownership: Take end-to-end accountability for the assigned Finance subdomain from an IT perspective
  • Customer Relationship Management: Establish and maintain strong relationships with customers, understanding their IT service needs and managing new service introductions, improvements, reductions, and retirements
  • Service Delivery Leadership: Lead the execution of IS solutions and service delivery by coordinating internal IS teams and external third-party service suppliers under a managed service model
  • Service Quality Improvement: Define and drive improvements to service quality, ensuring alignment with evolving business requirements
  • ITSM Collaboration: Collaborate with other IS units within the IT Service Management (ITSM) framework to ensure standardized processes and effective communication
  • Incident Resolution: Assist in resolving major incidents and critical situations by providing expertise and input on impactful incidents, changes, or projects
  • Cross-Pillar Management: Manage services across multiple pillars to ensure seamless integration and performance
  • Service Catalog Management: Own and maintain the Local Service Catalog throughout the S&OP cycle and collaborate with IT Demand to capture and manage demand signals
  • Supplier Management: Oversee local service suppliers, including Managed Workplace services where applicable
  • SLA Compliance: Ensure service delivery meets SLA commitments, monitor performance, and conduct regular Service Reviews
  • Escalation Management: Act as the first-level escalation point and primary contact for all End Market engagement activities

19. IT Service Manager Functions

  • Regional Communication: Coordinate communications with the business across all sites in the region
  • Staff Management: Manage client support staff members and ensure effective operations across regional teams
  • Software Management: Oversee software package assignments, client OS installations, software monitoring, inventory maintenance, and package testing for client PCs, ensuring smooth information flow between central administration and local sites
  • Infrastructure Monitoring: Manage the monitoring and maintenance of the operations software distribution infrastructure
  • Technical Support: Provide day-to-day client support through the ticketing system and assist with server and network support activities
  • Service Management: Ensure the Service Management process, Operational Agreements, and Service Level Agreements are properly defined and implemented for all vendors and providers
  • Performance Monitoring: Monitor service performance and ensure adherence to established service level targets
  • Service Review Leadership: Chair regular service performance forums with vendors, providers, and internal stakeholders to address and resolve service delivery issues
  • Service Optimization: Proactively identify and resolve service misalignments and weaknesses to ensure optimal user support and service quality
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