Service Delivery Manager

As a Service Delivery Manager you are responsible for ensuring that IT or business services are delivered to agreed standards, maintaining service level agreements (SLAs) and keeping clients satisfied. You act as the main point of contact between your organisation and its customers or internal stakeholders, overseeing incident management, problem resolution, and continuous service improvement. Day to day you monitor service performance metrics, chair review meetings, coordinate with technical teams, and escalate issues when necessary. You work closely with project managers, IT operations staff, vendors, and senior business leaders to keep services running smoothly and efficiently.

Entry into this role typically requires an NFQ Level 8 Honours Bachelor degree in a relevant discipline such as Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Information Technology, or IT Management, available at universities such as UCD, DCU, TU Dublin, and UL. A Level 7 Ordinary Bachelor degree combined with significant IT service experience can also provide a route in, though Level 8 is increasingly the norm. Postgraduate qualifications at NFQ Level 9, such as an MSc in IT Management or a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management, are common among those advancing into this role. Industry certifications carry considerable weight: ITIL 4 Foundation and higher-level ITIL Managing Professional certification are widely expected by Irish employers, alongside frameworks such as PMP or PRINCE2. Some professionals move into this role after gaining substantial hands-on experience in IT support, systems administration, or project coordination, supplemented by professional certifications. Leaving Certificate subjects such as Mathematics, Business, and Computer Science provide a useful foundation for the analytical and operational demands of the role.