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Manager, IT Application Managed Services
manager · Operations
Position Overview
The Manager – IT Application Managed Services (AMS) is accountable for the governance and performance management of external service providers delivering AMS for a defined application portfolio. This role ensures vendors meet contractual commitments and service levels, provides oversight of operational delivery (without directly managing day-to-day incident/problem execution), and drives continuous improvement, cost optimization, and service maturity. A key focus is enabling cross-vendor collaboration to support end-to-end business process outcomes across integrated application landscapes. Success in this role requires strong, proactive alignment with two critical stakeholder groups: the IT Service Center (front-line intake, triage, and user experience) and Product Teams (roadmaps, releases, and product health). The Manager partners with Product, Application Owners, Infrastructure, Security, and Finance/Procurement to ensure vendor-delivered services align to business priorities and technology standards.
Key Accountabilities
Vendor Governance & Service Performance Management:
Act as the primary IT point of contact for AMS service providers for assigned application scope.
Establish and run vendor governance routines (weekly operational reviews, monthly service reviews, quarterly business reviews).
Monitor vendor performance against SLAs and contractual KPIs (availability, responsiveness, backlog, change success rate, knowledge quality), ensuring corrective actions are executed.
Review vendor RCA reports and improvement plans; challenge quality and timeliness of deliverables and ensure closure of actions.
Ensure vendors maintain appropriate documentation (runbooks, SOPs, knowledge articles) and operational readiness artifacts.
Financial & Commercial Management:
Lead/participate in commercial negotiations with vendors for new scope, changes in service conditions, and pricing, diligently pursuing a continuous productivity practice to ensure value for money and alignment to service expectations.
Identify and deliver cost optimization opportunities while maintaining service quality.
Manage AMS financial administration for the scope: budget planning, forecasting, cost tracking, and variance explanations.
Validate vendor invoices for accuracy and correct allocation (projects vs. run, GL coding) in line with company policy.
Support contract lifecycle activities with Procurement/Vendor Management (SOWs, renewals, rate cards, scope changes).
Review and challenge vendor proposals, assumptions, and effort estimates; negotiate deliverables, acceptance criteria, and commercial terms in partnership with Procurement and Legal as required.
Cross-Vendor Collaboration & End-to-End Service Delivery
Drive cross-vendor operating rhythms (shared governance, joint triage, integrated reporting) to ensure seamless service across multi-vendor environments.
Facilitate collaboration between vendors supporting different applications/technology towers to resolve handoffs, reduce “swivel-chair” support, and improve end-to-end business process performance (e.g., order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, inventory-to-fulfillment).
Define and enforce clear RACI, escalation paths, and cross-vendor accountability for integrated services and shared outcomes.
Lead cross-vendor initiatives to improve knowledge sharing, reduce recurring cross-system issues, and strengthen integration support.
Service Improvement & Standardization
Drive continuous improvement initiatives with vendors (process adherence, shift-left, automation opportunities, reduction of recurring issues, improved documentation quality).
Define and track service improvement plans (SIPs) and ensure measurable outcomes.
Promote standard ways of working across vendors (templates, reporting, governance cadence, escalation paths).
Stakeholder Alignment: IT Service Center & Product Teams
Foster strong day-to-day partnership with the IT Service Center to ensure effective intake, routing, escalation paths, knowledge availability, and a consistent end-user support experience.
Maintain tight alignment with Product Teams to anticipate roadmap-driven support impacts, ensure operational readiness for releases, and align vendor priorities to product health and business outcomes.
Establish clear engagement models (RACI, escalation, communications) between vendors, IT Service Center, and Product Teams to reduce friction and improve time-to-resolution across the service chain.
Provide clear, business-ready reporting on vendor performance, risks, and improvement progress to IT leadership and stakeholders.
Ensure effective escalation management and timely stakeholder communications for service risks and chronic issues (without owning operational execution).
Collaborate with Security, Risk, and Compliance teams to ensure vendors meet required controls, access standards, and audit needs.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field (or equivalent experience).
8–10+ years of IT experience with significant exposure to Application Managed Services / outsourcing models.
2–3+ years of experience managing vendors/service providers and holding them accountable to SLAs and deliverables.
Strong understanding of IT service management concepts (ITIL-aligned incident/problem/change processes) sufficient to govern vendor execution.
Demonstrated experience with budgeting, forecasting, invoice validation, and financial tracking for managed services.
Demonstrated capability to negotiate scope, service conditions, and commercials/pricing with vendors (in partnership with Procurement/Legal where applicable).
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including executive-level reporting and negotiation.
Experience with service management tools (e.g., ServiceNow) and reporting/metrics.
Preferred Qualifications
ITIL Foundation certification.
Experience managing AMS for SaaS and subscription-based services.
Experience in global, multi-region environments and working with offshore/onshore delivery models.
Familiarity with governance frameworks, vendor scorecards, and service improvement planning