Service Management Manager

FUNCTION

The Service Management Manager ensures effective delivery, assurance, and end-to-end lifecycle management of Vodacom Business services across diverse technologies and customer segments. This role leads a team of Service Managers to achieve operational excellence, meet or exceed SLA commitments, and deliver superior customer experience. All activities are executed in alignment with telecommunications industry standards and best practices, including ITIL, eTOM, and TM Forum frameworks.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Service Management Manager is responsible for leading a team of Service Managers to deliver best-in-class service performance, customer experience, and operational excellence across Vodacom Business. The role ensures that services are provisioned, assured, and managed in line with contractual SLAs and telecom industry standards. While programme management skills are required, they are applied primarily to support service readiness, continuous improvement, and transformation initiatives. The focus is on ensuring customers receive reliable, high-quality services while driving operational efficiency and retention.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Service Managers to deliver outstanding performance.
• Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and customer obsession.
• Ensure workforce capability development in line with emerging telecom technologies, digital transformation trends, and AI-driven service management frameworks.
• Champion continuous learning and adoption of automation, analytics, and digital tools to enhance service operations and decision-making.

Service Delivery & Assurance

• Oversee end-to-end service delivery and assurance for Vodacom Business customers across multiple technologies (fibre, SD-WAN, MPLS, LTE, Internet, mobile, cloud, and converged services).
• Ensure SLA compliance and manage proactive service assurance, incident, problem, and change processes in line with ITIL and eTOM standards.
• Oversee root cause analysis and implementation of corrective and preventative measures to ensure high service availability and reliability.
• Ensure seamless service activation, handover, and lifecycle management across OSS/BSS systems.
• Leverage AI, automation, and predictive analytics to enhance monitoring, fault detection, and service restoration efficiency.

Customer Experience & Relationship Management

• Act as senior escalation point for service-related issues and customer concerns.
• Drive continuous improvement of customer experience metrics (NPS, surveys, churn drivers) through data-driven insights and process enhancements.
• Engage regularly with enterprise customers, sales teams, vendors, and partners to strengthen trust, manage expectations, and ensure service excellence.
• Promote digital engagement and self-service capabilitiesto improve responsiveness and customer satisfaction.

Operational & Strategic Accountability

• Align service management practices with business objectives, regulatory obligations, and customer commitments.
• Provide service performance reporting and insights to senior stakeholders, highlighting SLA compliance, risks, and trends.
• Manage vendor and partner performance to ensure contractual and service obligations are consistently met.
• Drive service improvement and digital transformation initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, agility, and customer outcomes.
• Integrate AI-driven insights and automation into operational decision-making and service optimization strategies.

Programme & Change Enablement

• Support service-related programmes, including new service introductions, migrations, and operational readiness.
• Ensure programme outcomes are integrated into ongoing service delivery operations.
• Apply programme and project management methodologies (Agile/PRINCE2/PMP) to deliver change initiatives without compromising service quality.
• Champion technology transformation programmes leveraging AI, automation, and digital platforms to modernize service management and enable smarter operations.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Deep expertise in service provisioning, activation, assurance, and lifecycle management, with a focus on automation and digital optimisation.
• Strong knowledge of SLA compliance, penalty mitigation, and service quality frameworks, supported by data analytics and AI-driven insights.
• Hands-on experience with observability, incident, problem, and change management (aligned to ITIL/eTOM), including the use of predictive analytics and AIOps platforms for proactive assurance.
• Solid understanding of IP networking, fibre, SD-WAN, MPLS, LTE, Internet, and mobile solutions, and how these integrate within digital and cloud ecosystems.
• Awareness of emerging technologies such as cloud, IoT, edge computing, AI, and converged services, and their evolving service and commercial models.
• Familiarity with OSS/BSS systems and digital enablement platforms, including the use of automation and data intelligence to enhance service delivery.
• Skilled at managing enterprise customer relationships and service escalations through a digital-first, data-driven approach.
• Experienced in monitoring and improving customer experience metrics (NPS, churn) using analytics, automation, and AI-based insights.
• Proficiency in managing vendor and partner performance against SLAs and contractual commitments, ensuring alignment with digital transformation objectives.
• Strong governance and reporting capabilities to track performance, operational trends, and transformation outcomes.
• Working knowledge of project and Programme management methodologies (PRINCE2, Agile, PMP) and their application in digital transformation initiatives.
• Ability to support service-related programmes (new service launches, migrations, operational readiness) with emphasis on digital enablement and AI-driven efficiency.
• Ensures new programmes and technologies are seamlessly integrated into service operations and continuous improvement frameworks.
• ITIL certification (essential); eTOM and TM Forum standards (desirable).
• Knowledge of ISO 20000, AI and automation governance, and other telecom service management best practices.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications, IT, Computer Science, or Business Administration (essential).
• 8+ years' experience in Service Delivery/Service Management within the telecommunications industry.
• Proven leadership experience in managing Service Delivery or Service Assurance teams.
• Strong knowledge of telecom technologies: IP networking, transport (fibre/MPLS), mobility, cloud, IoT, and converged services.
• Certifications: ITIL (essential), PRINCE2/PMP or Agile (advantageous), Cisco CCNA/CCNP (advantageous).
• Knowledge of telecom frameworks (eTOM, TM Forum, ISO desirable.