Service Manager for Managed Security Services

What you will do

A Belgian public-sector organisation is implementing a managed security services platform and needs an experienced Service Manager to lead the governance and prepare the transition from build to operations. You will act as the primary client contact for service governance, organising decisions, clarifying responsibilities and ensuring that commitments, risks, changes, incidents and dependencies are tracked and managed transparently.

Your main responsibilities include:

• Facilitate governance workshops covering the Target Operating Model (TOM), RACI matrices, access models, change management, incident handling and escalation paths
• Prepare decision points, document outcomes and secure formal validation from the appropriate authorities
• Define and maintain governance forums, rituals, participants, mandates, frequencies, agendas and escalation mechanisms
• Ensure coherence across different work packages and track cross-cutting dependencies
• Apply the "comply or explain" principle: any deviation must be documented, analysed, approved, time-limited and monitored

You will also manage the service delivery interface:

• Serve as the client point of contact for the supplier's Service Delivery Manager and internal stakeholders
• Document the existing ServiceNow environment, associated processes and the impact of the shared environment
• Align client and supplier processes for incidents, problems, changes, requests, releases, access and escalations
• Validate processes, use cases, production readiness criteria and support arrangements functionally
• Organise service reviews, analyse KPIs and SLAs, track deviations and steer improvement plans
• Maintain the service catalogue, service ownership, contacts, coverage hours and escalation rules

Operational coordination is a key part of the role:

• Identify required experts, secure their participation and coordinate expected contributions from the organisation
• Track actions, milestones, risks, blockers and dependencies with other work packages
• Coordinate preparations for testing, production releases, operational acceptance and transition to run
• Produce concise governance reports for management and escalade decisions not taken within agreed timescales
• Maintain a clear separation between activities retained by the organisation and those delegated to the managed service provider

You will integrate security, continuity, supplier and compliance risks into service governance:

• Ensure application of least privilege, access traceability and oversight of privileged access, in liaison with the relevant owners
• Contribute to tracking security incidents, vulnerabilities, audit recommendations and corrective actions related to the platform
• Link service reviews with security, compliance, risk management and continuity arrangements
• Prepare factual elements needed for risk acceptance, without substituting for the formally authorised risk owner

What we are looking for

Essential experience

• At least 6 years of professional experience in IT service management, IT governance, operations or cybersecurity
• At least 5 years of recent experience in a Service Manager, Service Delivery Manager or equivalent client-side role
• Demonstrable experience establishing or managing managed services with SLAs, KPIs, service reviews and supplier governance
• Practical experience with ITSM processes: incidents, problems, changes, requests, releases, configuration and continual improvement
• Experience building or validating a TOM, RACI matrix, runbooks and an escalation model
• Experience in a complex cybersecurity environment involving multiple suppliers and stakeholders
• Experience preparing decisions and reporting to management or steering committee level

Technical knowledge and skills

• Mastery of ITIL 4 and service lifecycle management principles
• Good knowledge of ServiceNow or an equivalent ITSM tool, its integration and the challenges of shared environments
• Good understanding of managed cybersecurity services: SOC, SIEM, SOAR, MDR, vulnerability management, network security, identity and privileged access
• Good understanding of access governance principles, RBAC, least privilege, PAM/PIM and traceability
• Operational knowledge of NIS2 requirements, ISO 27001 principles and security risk management
• Ability to read and challenge SLAs, KPIs, RACI matrices, runbooks, service reports, test plans and release documentation
• Ability to translate technical and security constraints into decisions, responsibilities, risks and actions understandable by management

Behavioural competencies