Principal Specialist, ITSSC Service Design & Introduction at IHS Towers

IHS Towers is the largest independent mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Founded in 2001, IHS provides services across the full tower value chain – colocation on owned towers, deployment and managed services.

Today IHS Towers has operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia and Rwanda. Following the recent acquisitions of MTN and Etisalat’s tower portfolios in Nigeria, IHS owns over 23,300 towers in Africa.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Specialist, ITSSC Service Design & Introduction

Location: Lagos

Description

IHS Towers are currently recruiting for a Principal Specialist, ITSSC Service Design & Introduction
In this role, you will be responsible for driving efficient transition and introduction of IT services from project phases (plan-build-deliver) to the ITSSC function
You will also ensure that transitioned services deliver business value in terms of utility and warranty requirements.

Key Roles & Responsibilities
Service Design & Transition:

Develop and implement Service Introduction Governance, i.e. policies, processes and standards for assigned projects.
Produce high-quality service designs that are fit-for-purpose, reflecting business requirements and meeting needs of all relevant stakeholders.
Ensure that IT service design and transition processes are robust, fit-for-purpose, and adopted by stakeholders.
Project-mange transition of existing IT organization into a Shared Services Centre (SSC) organization with all processes and activities normally associated with an effective ITSSC.
Collaborate with the Demand Management team to ensure that service designs are accurately captured, aggregated and planned.
Monitor and report on service transition activities as appropriate.
Develop service design documents, e.g. service maps.
Lead transition planning and support activities which consider all aspects of a new or changed service design.
Create the Service Acceptance Criteria for each new and/or changed service as part of the business service catalog that must be met before handover to the support team.
Develop the service design package associated with each service project and ensure all service management activities have been completed through the Service Acceptance Criteria process. Also, produce supporting processes to ensure that service requirements contained in the service design pack are delivered seamlessly into operations.
Work closely with Program and Project Managers to ensure that service design is reflected as intended in the project implementation plan.
Ensure a standardized approach is adopted for moving new and/or amended services from the project phase to acceptance by the Service Support Team.
Build and maintain relationships with Project Managers, Program Managers, Solution Architects, and Demand Managers to influence decisions regarding implementation of new and/ or changed services.
Perform impact, evaluation and risk assessments of new projects from a service management perspective.
Conduct holistic Service Acceptance reviews with support teams to ensure that the support team verifies that all handover requirements have been met and signed-off.
Work alongside technical specialists (applications, infrastructure, and security), service professionals and project managers to implement innovative solutions.
Ensure changes to Service Introduction policies and process are appropriately communicated.
Propose and agree interfaces with Service Management and Enterprise IT.
Inform Director-ITSSC of all project-related risks, issues and known error work-arounds before service acceptance to operations.
Review current ways of working and contribute to the improvement of the Service Transition function and process.

ITSSC Project Management:

Idetify and understand customer requirements.
Manage and ensure successful delivery of operational infrastructure and technology projects within the ITSSC.
Provide weekly progress reports on status of ITSSC projects. Monitor and report actual performance and achievement against plan.
Participate in project planning and development of project initiation documentation (PID).
Maintain ongoing engagement with stakeholders across the ITSSC function (i.e. IT Operations, IT Infrastructure, and IT Security). Also work with ITSSC managers to understand objectives and business benefits targeted by approved projects.
Manage vendors and 3rd parties involved in project execution, including tracking their performance.
Carry out continuous monitoring of project-related risks and minimize/mitigate risk impacts (e.g. by implementing corrective actions to bring project back on track).
Ensure that a coordinated approach in line with the approved project management framework for the larger IT organization is adopted to manage changes to scope, requirements and/or deliverables in a controlled manner.
Perform phase, milestone, and final project review. Ensure job completion is signed off.

Experience & Qualifications Required

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or Information Technology. Masters will provide an added advantage.
+10 years relevant work experience in IT service delivery environment with at least 5 years leading service design and transition projects and initiatives.
Strong understanding of ITIL design & transition processes (including change management) as well as operation/ application support and service ownership.
Demonstrable experience in release coordination, service take-on and transition projects.
Proven expertise in transitioning large-scale projects covering multiple internal teams and vendors, from development into support.

Competencies
Organizational Competencies: