Service Delivery Manager

Thales people architect solutions at the heart of the defence-security continuum. Interoperable and secure information and telecommunications systems for defence, security, and civil operators, are based upon innovative use of radiocommunications, networks, and cybersecurity. We are ground breaking new digital technologies such as 4G mobile communications, cryptography, cloud computing and big data for use in physical protection systems, and critical information systems. We have been present in Qatar for over 35 years and with over 350 employees to date and we are growing rapidly. Thales in Qatar is part of our Middle East business that has 1,800 people across Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, KSA, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and UAE. Our people are working on two major urban rail projects; the Doha Metro and Lusail Tramway and providing security and communications systems for Hamad International Airport and Doha Port as well as delivering world-class In-Flight entertainment and Connectiivity systems. JOB OBJECTIVE • The Service Delivery Manager will be leading the Thales project support team in Qatar working for Digital ID Project Operations Support and Maintenance, you will be responsible for ensuring that our operations and support team delivers an exceptional customer experience and sustained operational excellence that will result in increased business engagement and customer satisfaction. You will also be in charge of various responsibilities, including maintaining excellent customer relationships, people management, project team leadership, progress monitoring, contract and budget management, and performing the role of PKI director and Policy compliance. In addition, one of the key roles will be to closely monitor project risks in order to mitigate the negative impact of risks and also transform positive risks into opportunities in order to maximize the business and ensure upselling opportunities are well captured. ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES • Maintain positive relationships with customers at all project phases. • Lead the Project support team, managing conflict, and ensuring the team's processes and tasks are carried out efficiently fostering a positive working environment. In addition to identify successor and deputy in case of absence. • Ensure operations 24x7 as per contractual SLA while managing the different team members rotated shifts. • Identify customer needs and overseeing service delivery within the business context. • Assess customer needs and feedback and using creativity to establish, improve, and refine processes to ensure that services are delivered efficiently and effectively. • Remain highly organized and meeting deadlines while monitoring daily and overall progress. • Take ownership of critical incidents, coordinating with resolution parties, and establishing effective communication between stakeholders for post-incident reviews. • Manage relationships with contractors and service providers and ensuring that third party costs are kept within budget. • Manage finances and budgets for service delivery, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively, to ensure that service delivery stays within budget and aligns with financial goals. • Participate in technical and contract related meetings with client. • Execute the role of PKI Director and Policy compliance. • Plan and manage the deployment of appropriate development projects and solution evolutions. • Provide and present accurate and regular reports to the customer and internal management on performance of the service delivery, including client interactions and issues. • Use data and metrics (KPIs) to drive decision-making and improvements. • Develop and/or validate Change Requests and ensure successful and timely implementation. • Keep abreast of new technological developments in IT and present proposals with recommendations which would benefit the organization and the customer. • Set performance expectations for team members and monitor their progress. • Plan, manage and finalize the hiring of the project support team and their trainings as and when required. WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS • Minimum of 12 years of experience in enterprise systems support demonstrating high level of responsibility supporting applications, infrastructure, networks, Database, information security and governance. • Innovative thinking and leadership with an ability to lead and motivate cross-functional, interdisciplinary teams. • Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation skills and high level of personal integrity. • Experience with Private Cloud computing across virtualized and containerized environments. • Demonstrable experience delivering a high level of customer service and leading a team within a large organization. • Must have experience working with 3rd party contractors and having managed service providers. • Experience with managing Installation and maintenance of IT systems typically of a high degree of complexity. • Having worked with operations and support teams to deliver and maintain Infrastructure Support Services such as Servers, Network, Data Center Operations. • Working knowledge on PKI concepts, Certificates Management (infrastructure & architecture). • Good knowledge on budgeting, analysis, and forecasting. • Thorough knowledge of Service Management principles and Project Management principles (e.g., business case development). • Strong understanding of ITIL functions, processes, and roles. • Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to troubleshoot complex issues in a distributed environment.