Manager, Incident Management & Operational Readiness

Position Summary

• The Manager, Incident Management & Operational Readiness is responsible for leading the end-to-end operational response and service stability framework across the Reliability Engineering & Operations organization.
• This role drives major incident execution, executive communications, and operational governance while advancing service maturity, reliability, and readiness.
• As the central point of coordination during critical service events, this leader ensures rapid restoration, transparent stakeholder communication, and disciplined root cause management.
• The role also partners closely with SRE, Production Support, and Service Delivery teams to strengthen operational processes, improve service performance, and reduce recurring incidents.

Role

Major Incident Leadership 

• Lead and coordinate Major Incident (Sev1/Sev2) response, including command of incident bridge calls and cross-team mobilization. 
• Drive timely service restoration with a bias toward action and clear accountability. 
• Ensure proper escalation, communication flow, and stakeholder alignment during high-impact events.

Executive & Stakeholder Communications 

• Deliver clear, concise, and timely updates to executive leadership and business stakeholders. 
• Develop and standardize communication templates and reporting practices across incident lifecycles. 
• Serve as the primary operational communications lead during critical incidents and service disruptions.

Incident & Problem Management Governance 

• Establish, govern, and continuously improve Incident, Problem, and Request Management processes aligned to ITIL principles. 
• Facilitate governance forums including Incident Reviews, Problem Review Board (PRB), and RCA sessions. 
• Ensure adherence to service management standards, SLAs, and operational policies.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) & Problem Management 

• Lead post-incident reviews and enforce high-quality root cause analysis practices. 
• Track corrective and preventive actions through closure with clear ownership and accountability. 
• Analyze trends to proactively identify systemic issues and eliminate recurring incident patterns.

Operational Readiness & Service Excellence 

• Partner with SRE and Production Support Engineering to improve operational maturity and resilience. 
• Drive runbook development, operational preparedness, and readiness reviews for new and existing services. 
• Conduct workshops to reinforce process understanding, SLA accountability, and operational consistency.

Metrics, Reporting & Continuous Improvement 

• Develop and maintain dashboards tracking MTTR, incident volume, SLA compliance, and operational KPIs. 
• Compile, analyze, and present service performance metrics to leadership and stakeholders. 
• Identify process gaps and lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service reliability and efficiency.

Service Delivery & Process Oversight 

• Monitor incident, problem, change, and request lifecycle metrics (including aging and SLA adherence). 
• Collaborate with Service Delivery Managers to ensure accurate SLA reporting and proactive performance management. 
• Act as a subject matter expert for service management processes, tools, and standards.

Success Measures 

• Measurable reduction in MTTR and improved service restoration outcomes. 
• 100% completion and quality compliance of Sev1/Sev2 RCAs. 
• Reduction in repeat incidents and improved problem resolution effectiveness. 
• Increased stakeholder satisfaction with incident handling and communication. 
• Demonstrated improvement in SLA compliance and operational maturity. 

Required Qualifications 

• 5+ years of experience in Incident Management, IT Operations, Service Management, or related discipline. 
• Proven experience leading major incident response and facilitating executive-level communications. 
• Strong working knowledge of ITIL (v4 preferred) frameworks and service management processes. 
• Hands-on experience with ServiceNow (incident, problem, and reporting modules). 
• Experience with operational metrics, reporting, and data analysis (SQL/reporting tools preferred).

Technical & Professional Skills 

• Strong understanding of Incident, Problem, Change, and SLA Management practices. 
• Advanced reporting and analytical skills with the ability to interpret operational data and trends. 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and reporting tools. 
• Ability to develop, document, and standardize processes and procedures. 
• Solid understanding of service delivery models and customer support operations.

Leadership Characteristics 

• Calm, decisive, and highly effective under pressure. 
• Strong facilitator with executive presence and the ability to influence across all levels. 
• Ownership mindset with a bias toward action and results. 
• Customer-focused with a strong commitment to service excellence. 
• Continuous improvement mindset with the ability to identify and drive meaningful change.

Additional Expectations 

• Applies independent judgment and decision-making in high-impact operational scenarios. 
• Identifies process gaps and drives solutions to moderately complex operational challenges. 
• Participates in and leads process improvement initiatives and operational projects. 
• Builds strong partnerships across engineering, operations, and business teams. 
• Acts as a trusted advisor on service management practices and operational readiness.