Service Transition Lead
At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.
Job title: Service Transition Lead
Contract type: Fixed Term (24 Months)
Location: Manchester
Salary: Manchester £55,000 - £60,000
Working arrangements: Hybrid, with a minimum of 2 days per week in the office
Support the successful transition of critical technology services that support millions of learners across the UK.
This is an opportunity to take a leading role in the delivery of technology change across AQA. You'll work with senior technology leaders, project teams and operational stakeholders to influence how services are introduced, ensuring change is delivered successfully and sustainably across a complex technology landscape. If you're an experienced service transition professional looking to operate at a strategic level and shape best practice, this role offers both challenge and impact.
You'll support the successful introduction of technology change into live service, ensuring operational stability while enabling business transformation.
Purpose of the role
As Service Transition Lead, you'll be responsible for ensuring new, changed and retired services are transitioned effectively into and out of live operation. You'll provide expert oversight, governance and challenge across multiple workstreams, working closely with senior technology leaders, operational teams and third-party partners to identify risks, drive readiness activities and ensure successful outcomes. This role is suited to an experienced service transition professional who can influence stakeholders, provide constructive challenge and support the successful delivery of service transition activities across a complex technology landscape.
Key responsibilities
- Support the successful transition of technology services into live operation, ensuring they are operationally ready, supportable and aligned to business objectives.
- Provide governance, challenge and strategic oversight across a portfolio of technology change initiatives, influencing decisions at all stages of the delivery lifecycle.
- Drive service readiness activities, identifying and mitigating risks to ensure smooth implementation with minimal impact on operations.
- Partner with senior stakeholders, project teams, service owners and suppliers to embed service transition best practice and deliver successful business outcomes.
- Chair go-live and acceptance into service reviews, providing assurance that services meet agreed operational, support and governance requirements.
- Validate future operating models and support arrangements, ensuring services can be sustained effectively as technology and business needs evolve.
- Contribute to the ongoing maturity of the Service Transition function, driving continuous improvement across processes, governance and service delivery practices.
You’ll thrive in this role if you have
- Experience in service transition, service management or IT project delivery, or a similar governance role
- Strong knowledge of ITIL service management principles, service acceptance processes and operational readiness frameworks.
- Experience managing multiple stakeholders across project delivery, operational support and supplier environments.
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication and decision-making skills, with the confidence to provide constructive challenge and drive successful outcomes.
- Experience working within complex, enterprise-scale or regulated environments where governance, service stability and business continuity are critical.
- An ITIL Foundation qualification, with higher-level ITIL certifications, PRINCE2, Agile or other recognised delivery qualifications being advantageous.
What’s in it for you
- A platform to influence education nationally and represent AQA at key events
- Career development and professional growth in a leading education charity
- Hybrid working and flexibility to support work-life balance
- Comprehensive benefits including Bupa Health Insurance, Health Care Cash Plan, Life Assurance and an Electric Vehicle Leasing scheme, generous, combined pension contributions up to 18.5% and 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and extra closure days at Christmas
- An inclusive culture that welcomes new perspectives, values collaboration and encourages innovative thinking to improve how we support teachers and students
Diversity and inclusion
At AQA, we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact. We foster an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with respect, has access to opportunities to grow and contribute, and feels able to be themselves. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.
Provide the leadership and oversight that turns technology change into operational success, ensuring services are ready, supportable and built for the future.
Application process
To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining your suitability for the role.
- Application deadline: 4th November 23:59
- Short application questionnaire
- Interview Process:
- 1st stage: Face to Face with a task to complete, which will be shared in advance. Interviews will take Interview between 16th – 18th November in Manchester.
Successful candidates will be unable to maintain an Associate role with AQA or any other exam board.
Reference code: #STEC #LI-JM1
Recruitment Agencies
We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place.
Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.
Full Job Description
Summary
Purpose
The Enterprise Technology department delivers IT services across AQA. The Service Transition Lead ensures that new, changed or retired services are effectively transitioned into or out of live operation.
This includes assessing service readiness against agreed acceptance criteria, coordinating with delivery teams and ensuring that support functions are fully prepared to manage and sustain the service.
Reporting to the Service Transition Manager, the role requires strong collaboration across delivery and operational teams, with a focus on ensuring that services are introduced in a controlled, consistent, secure and supportable manner.
The Service Transition Lead also contributes to the ongoing development and maturity of the Service Transition function, supporting continuous improvement and alignment with AQA’s strategic goals.
As a Service Transition Lead, you will
- Collaborate closely with Business Change Hubs including Programme and Project Management and the PMO, to ensure timely delivery of service-related documentation.
- Engage early with programmes, projects, and initiatives to assess service transition requirements and estimate the effort needed for successful implementation.
- Provide recommendations on go-live readiness, early-life support and service acceptance.
- Ensure service acceptance criteria are clearly defined, communicated and understood across IT Operations and relevant business areas.
- Confirm service acceptance criteria and secure sign-off at appropriate stages of the delivery lifecycle.
- Ensure service transition activities are aligned with IT Operations and business expectations, enabling a smooth transition into live service and handover of support.Landscape:
The Enterprise Technology Department, part of the Global Corporate Services Division, enables the centralised delivery of core corporate services and works closely with Assessment Technology and Programme Management to deliver the full IT service portfolio.
Enterprise Technology comprises the following functions
Service Delivery (including Service Desk)
Enterprise IT Services (Desktop, Systems & Infrastructure)
Enterprise Applications
Enterprise Architecture
Security, Risk & Data Protection
Service Transition Leads will play a pivotal role in ensuring that new, changing, or retiring services are transitioned effectively and in alignment with established processes. Working closely with projects and programmes to monitor transition progress, escalate issues where necessary and ensure service readiness.
Activities
Ensure services are transitioned according to defined processes, escalating risks or issues as needed.
Drive delivery of transition activities, ensuring appropriate resourcing and alignment with service plans.
Conduct weekly, monthly, and ad hoc reviews of programmes and projects to assess the state of service transition and identify risks or gaps.
Act as a key liaison for Enterprise Technology, supporting complex portfolio activities with clear service transition planning.
Confirm service acceptance criteria, securing sign-off at appropriate stages.
Schedule and chair Go Live Readiness and Acceptance into Service checkpoints to confirm Enterprise Tech requirements met and obtain approvals.
Collaborate with internal teams and suppliers to execute transitions and hand over services for ongoing management.
Ensure knowledge transfer and documentation updates are completed as part of transition.
Engage with business stakeholders, including Business Owners, Product Owners & Service Owners to ensure service transition aligns with operational expectations and readiness.
Engage with Enterprise and Assessment Architecture teams to ensure alignment between service transition planning and architectural direction.
Support strategic planning for future support models and organisational design, ensuring prioritisation and scheduling of service impacts.
Review and feed into project risk logs, working with workstream leads to identify and mitigate service-related risks...