Service Manager

Job Description: Service Manager

Location: South Africa

Reports to: Head of Delivery

About ADG

ADG (Accelera Digital Group) is a global strategic technology firm accelerating digital and AI transformation across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. As a Tier-1 partner to Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft, and Oracle, we operate at the intersection of high-stakes strategy and world-class engineering. With an aggressive global growth trajectory, ADG maintains active operations across the UAE, South Africa, Kenya, the UK, and Bahrain, with imminent expansion into KSA, Angola, Ethiopia, and the DRC.

The Opportunity

As the Service Management Lead for Managed Services, you will be accountable for defining, deploying, and maintaining a robust, scalable, and commercially agile service delivery framework. You will drive operational excellence across Products, Customer services, and Internal services, ensuring high performance, stability, and continuous improvement for ADG and its customers. You will take ownership once a service enters Pre-Production / Hypercare / BAU.

Key Responsibilities

1. Service Delivery & Operations

• Accountable for system uptime, health, and meeting defined Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Experience Level Agreement (XLA) targets.

• Standardize and enforce ITIL processes including Incident Management, Change Management, Problem Management, and Request Management.

• Oversee service stabilization, proactive maintenance (patch management & upgrades), and Continuous Service Improvement (CSI).

• Implement and manage automation, AI-Ops, and reporting dashboards for proactive monitoring and insights.

• Define and manage service scope, operating model, and hand-off points for Managed Services across Products, External services, and Internal services.

2. Service Strategy

• Define the Service Catalog and SLA/XLA Frameworks.

• Oversee the Service Onboarding and Transition Plan.

• Control change processes to ensure all service scope modifications are approved in advance.

• Cost of Service (CoS) Reporting: Develop and maintain reporting on the true cost of service delivery across Products, Customer services, and Internal services to inform pricing and strategy.

3. Commercial Management

• Define Commercial & Consumption Models (Fixed Fee, Retainer/T&M, Penalty structures).

• Manage annuity invoicing and, where applicable, administer penalties for service level non-compliance.

• Service Budget Management: Own and manage the operational expenditure (OpEx) budget for the Managed Services delivery function, driving cost-optimization initiatives without compromising service quality.

• Annuity Growth: Strategically identify opportunities for expanding existing managed services contracts and contribute to achieving annuity revenue growth targets.

4. Partner & Service Provider Management

• Manage relationships with OEMs, technology partners, and external Service Providers (SPs) to ensure quality and adherence to service delivery parameters.

• Enforce contractual accountability for scope and schedule on partners and SPs.

• Coordinate L1, L2, and L3 support across ADG, customers, and external Service Providers (SP).

• Establish clear escalation paths involving ADG, Service Providers, and OEM support.

• Resolve partner and service provider satisfaction issues to maintain a high-quality service ecosystem.

5. Leadership & Team Development

• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Develop a high-performing service management and operations team, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement (CSI), and customer focus.

• Performance Management: Set clear goals, objectives, and KPIs for the service team, conducting regular performance reviews and ensuring effective resource utilization.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Act as the primary liaison between the Service Delivery team and internal stakeholders, including Sales, Engineering, and Product teams, to ensure seamless service alignment and solution design.

6. Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Risk Management: Establish and manage a Service Risk Register, actively mitigating risks related to service interruptions, security vulnerabilities, and platform dependencies.

• Compliance & Audit: Ensure all service delivery operations and ITIL processes adhere to relevant global and regional regulatory standards, including security certifications (e.g., ISO 27001) and data privacy laws.

• Internal Governance: Enforce internal governance frameworks, ensuring strict adherence to configuration standards, security baselines, and operational mandates across all managed services environments.

Qualifications

• Education: Degree in Business, Engineering, or Technology from a top-tier global institution. PMP, Prince2, or equivalent professional certification is highly preferred.

• Service Delivery Management (ITIL)

• People Change Management

• Experience in Agile Project Management Methodology

• Systems Analysis & Design experience

• Project experience in complex technology global transformation programmes

• Experience in implementing Cloud solutions

What We Offer

• A leadership role with significant influence over the global trajectory and structural integrity of an award-winning firm.

• The chance to be part of a global delivery function during a phase of rapid international expansion.

• High-impact engagement with a portfolio of Tier-1 enterprise customers across the EMEA digital economy.