Transition Manager

Inside IR35 - £600 per day.

Location: Birmingham - 1 days per week, onsite presence

Start Date: ASAP, expected start 22/10/2025 with onboarding

End date: 30/09/2026

Hours per week: 40

Project / Programme Background

My client is seeking a Transition Manager to manage and orchestrate the procurement of a Service Management Maturity service. The role will enable the successful onboarding of a new major supplier and the transition out of incumbent supplier(s). It will also establish a roadmap and initiate maturity activities, ensuring effective knowledge transfer and enabling the new supplier to meet their obligations.

The position requires ensuring that organisational obligations are fully understood by stakeholders, functions, and capabilities, enabling effective management and governance of supplier services. This includes setting up the organisation with the inherent controls needed to operate effectively in partnership with chosen suppliers. The Transition Manager will act as a single point of contact for onboarding and transition matters, supporting providers in navigating the organisation and resolving issues swiftly.

The role will provide oversight to the Service Management Maturity Project, supporting the Project Manager to keep scope and development activities aligned to desired outcomes. It will also involve supporting the transition of services and capabilities from incumbent suppliers to the organisation, ensuring successful service take-on whether temporary or permanent, and contributing to the development of requirements, design, and capabilities to ensure best practice operations.

Job Description

The Transition Manager is responsible for overseeing the end-to-end management and delivery of two critical initiatives:

Managing the transition of service management operations from an incumbent supplier to a new service provider, ensuring minimal disruption to business continuity and critical infrastructure operations.

Driving Service Management Maturity Improvement, embedding best practices, and aligning service delivery with the organisation's strategic goals, operational excellence, and ITIL best practices.

This role requires strong project leadership, effective stakeholder coordination, and rigorous risk management to ensure the transition is completed successfully and measurable improvements are achieved in service management capabilities. The Transition Manager will handle detailed planning, execution, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement to ensure delivery on time, within budget, and in alignment with governance frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

Project Leadership and Delivery

Lead and manage the full lifecycle of Service Management Transition and Maturity Improvement initiatives.

Develop and maintain a Transition Management Plan covering governance, scope, schedules, risk, and resources.

Ensure delivery is aligned with governance, security, and compliance frameworks.

Establish project milestones, track progress, and minimise disruption to services.

Service Transition Management

Oversee the smooth transfer of responsibilities, systems, and processes from incumbent to new providers.

Develop and manage cutover plans to ensure business continuity and readiness.

Ensure effective knowledge transfer and documentation handover.

Work with providers to meet contractual obligations, including SLAs and KPIs.

Service Management Maturity Improvement

Assess current maturity using recognised frameworks (ITIL Maturity Model, CMMI, etc.).

Develop and implement a roadmap to enhance service management maturity across Incident, Problem, Change, and Knowledge Management.

Embed continual service improvement (CSI) practices.

Align process improvements with organisational goals to drive operational excellence.

Stakeholder Engagement and Communication

Lead engagement with senior leadership, suppliers, and operational teams.

Develop and deliver a communication plan with regular updates on progress, risks, and changes.

Facilitate collaboration across internal and external stakeholders.

Risk, Issue, and Change Management

Identify and manage risks and issues related to transition and maturity improvement.

Develop mitigation strategies to minimise disruption.

Oversee scope changes and ensure appropriate governance of adjustments.

Governance, Compliance, and Quality Assurance

Ensure compliance with governance frameworks, regulations, and security requirements.

Oversee quality assurance processes to maintain required service standards.

Lead post-transition reviews and contribute to lessons learned.

Resource and Financial Management

Manage project budgets with accountability for cost control and value delivery.

Allocate and manage resources effectively to ensure project success.

Monitor and report on expenditure to remain within approved budgets