Transition Lead

IT Managed Services Transformation & Transition

Location

Role Purpose

Transition Leadership

• Lead the overall outsourcing transition programme across all workstreams including:
• Service Desk
• Infrastructure Operations
• NOC/SOC

• End User Services

• Cloud Operations
• Applications Support
• Vendor Management
• Develop and manage the transition roadmap, mobilisation plan, milestones, dependencies, risks, and governance structure.
• Ensure successful transition from incumbent support teams into the new operating model.
• Drive operational readiness and service acceptance into BAU operations.

Rebadging & Workforce Transition

• Lead the rebadging and integration of client staff into the managed services organisation.
• Ensure compliance with UAE labour regulations, Emiratisation requirements, and contractual obligations.
• Manage workforce communication, organisational change, onboarding, and capability alignment.
• Establish transition training and knowledge transfer plans.
• Work closely with HR and legal teams to ensure smooth employee transition processes.

Service Management & Governance

• Establish ITIL-aligned operational governance frameworks including:
• Incident Management
• Problem Management
• Change Management
• Release Management

• Service Level Management

• Implement operational reporting, KPI tracking, SLA governance, and service review mechanisms.
• Chair transition governance meetings and executive steering forums.
• Manage RAID logs and escalation processes.

Operational Mobilisation

• Coordinate setup and operationalisation of:
• NOC
• SOC
• Helpdesk
• Monitoring platforms
• CMDB
• ITSM tooling
• Service reporting dashboards
• Ensure all operational processes, SOPs, runbooks, and RACI models are documented and signed off.
• Coordinate readiness of offshore and onsite delivery teams.

Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary transition interface between client leadership and delivery teams.
• Build trusted relationships with CIOs, IT leadership, procurement, HR, cybersecurity teams, and business stakeholders.
• Provide executive-level reporting on transition progress, risks, and operational readiness.
• Manage third-party vendor coordination and integration activities.

Risk & Service Continuity

• Ensure no disruption to critical business operations during transition.
• Drive risk mitigation and contingency planning throughout all transition phases.
• Coordinate parallel run, shadow support, and service cutover activities.
• Ensure compliance with cybersecurity, operational resilience, and regulatory requirements.

Continuous Improvement & Transformation

• Identify opportunities for:
• automation,
• offshore optimisation,
• operational efficiency,
• cloud adoption,
• service modernisation.
• Support the transition toward a scalable managed service operating model.
• Drive continual service improvement initiatives post-transition.

Required Experience

• 10+ years of experience in:

• IT Managed Services,

• outsourcing transitions,
• IT operations,
• or large-scale technology transformation programmes.
• Proven experience leading complex managed services transitions within enterprise environments.
• Strong understanding of:
• ITIL,
• service governance,
• outsourcing operating models,
• rebadging/workforce transition,
• and offshore delivery models.
• Experience managing multi-vendor environments and executive stakeholders.
• Strong operational understanding across:
• infrastructure,
• cloud,
• cybersecurity,
• end-user computing,
• and enterprise applications.
• Experience within regulated sectors such as:
• banking,
• government,
• utilities,
• construction,
• or large enterprise environments is preferred.
• Experience operating in the GCC/UAE market strongly preferred.

Required Certifications

• Preferred certifications include:
• ITIL v4 Managing Professional or Expert
• PMP or PRINCE2
• SIAM certification
• ISO20000 / ISO27001 awareness
• Agile / Scrum certifications advantageous

• Executive Stakeholder Management

• Service Mobilisation

• Governance & Reporting

• Operational Transformation

• Risk & Dependency Management

• Vendor Management
• Strong communication and negotiation skills

Personal Attributes

• Calm under pressure
• Highly organised and delivery-focused
• Strong leadership presence
• Excellent communicator at executive and operational levels
• Commercially aware with strong operational discipline
• Collaborative but able to challenge constructively
• Strong bias for execution and outcomes

Success Measures

• The successful Outsourcing Transition Lead will:
• Deliver transition on time and within budget
• Achieve agreed service acceptance criteria
• Maintain operational continuity during transition
• Successfully integrate rebadged staff
• Establish stable BAU managed services operations
• Achieve SLA/KPI targets during stabilisation
• Drive measurable operational efficiencies and service improvements