Operational Enhancement Assessment - Incident, Change & Release Management SME

Role Summary:

The ITSM Process SME will be the lead expert responsible for evaluating the current design, execution, governance, and tooling related to Incident, Change, and Release Management. Leveraging deep expertise in these specific ITSM disciplines and the ITIL framework (particularly ITIL 4), the SME will analyze current practices, identify areas of inefficiency, risk, or ineffectiveness, and develop prioritized recommendations for process improvements, automation, tooling optimization, and reporting enhancements. The goal is to improve operational stability, agility, control, and alignment with business needs.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Process Assessment & Analysis:
• Conduct a comprehensive review of existing Incident, Change, and Release Management process documentation, policies, and procedures.
• Facilitate workshops and interviews with process owners, managers, operational teams (Service Desk, Infrastructure, Applications), developers, and business stakeholders to understand current workflows, challenges, pain points, and requirements.
• Observe processes in action and analyze process data/metrics to understand real-world execution and performance.
• Evaluate the maturity and effectiveness of each process against ITIL 4 best practices and guiding principles.
2. Tooling Evaluation:
• Assess the configuration, utilization, and effectiveness of the ITSM toolset(s) (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, BMC) supporting these processes.
• Identify opportunities for better tool utilization, configuration improvements, or automation within the existing platform(s).
3. Gap Analysis & Findings:
• Identify specific gaps between current practices and ITIL 4 / industry best practices.
• Pinpoint inefficiencies, bottlenecks, control weaknesses, communication issues, and areas of risk within and across the Incident, Change, and Release processes.
• Analyze existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics for suitability, accuracy, and effectiveness in driving performance and improvement.
4. Enhancement Recommendation Development:
• Develop clear, specific, and actionable recommendations for enhancing process efficiency, effectiveness, control, and user experience.
• Recommendations may include process re-design, policy updates, role clarifications, tooling optimizations, automation opportunities, reporting improvements, training requirements, and governance adjustments.
• Prioritize recommendations based on potential impact, feasibility, and alignment with strategic goals.
5. Documentation & Reporting:
• Create detailed assessment reports documenting the current state analysis, key findings, identified gaps, and prioritized enhancement recommendations.
• Develop high-level roadmaps or action plans for implementing the proposed enhancements.
• Prepare and deliver presentations summarizing findings and recommendations to stakeholders at various levels.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Deep ITSM Process Expertise: Minimum 7+ years of significant hands-on experience and deep functional knowledge specifically within Incident Management, Change Management/Enablement, and Release Management in complex enterprise IT environments.
• ITIL Framework: Strong understanding and practical application experience of the ITIL framework, with a clear preference for ITIL 4 knowledge and certifications (ITIL 4 Foundation minimum; ITIL 4 Managing Professional or relevant Specialist modules highly desirable).
• Process Improvement & Design: Proven ability to analyze ITSM processes, identify improvement opportunities, and contribute to the design of optimized workflows. Experience with process mapping techniques.
• ITSM Tooling Experience: Significant experience working with and configuring major ITSM platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, BMC Remedy/Helix, Cherwell) specifically for Incident, Change, and Release modules.
• Metrics & Analysis: Experience in defining, implementing, and analyzing ITSM KPIs and metrics for these specific process areas to drive insights and improvements.
• Assessment & Consulting Skills: Demonstrable experience conducting process assessments, maturity evaluations, or similar consulting engagements focused on ITSM.
• Stakeholder Management: Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively interview, facilitate workshops, and manage relationships with diverse stakeholders (technical teams, process owners, management).
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills, capable of producing high-quality documentation and presenting complex information clearly and persuasively.
• Analytical Thinking: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate processes objectively and identify root causes.

Qualifications:

• Relevant third-level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
• Essential: Strong ITIL v3 Expert or, preferably, ITIL 4 Managing Professional / Strategic Leader (or multiple relevant ITIL 4 Specialist certifications).
• Verifiable track record of working deeply within Incident, Change, and Release Management functions and driving improvements.

Benefits

- Per-diem

- Travel expenses

This opportunity is only 8 weeks with 2 trip onsite (10nights) to customer site