Japan Service Delivery Manager

Job Summary

The Service Delivery Manager (Japan) is responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of IT Infrastructure Managed Services for the Japan business, acting as the primary interface between customer stakeholders, service tower leaders, vendors, and the global delivery organization. The role provides local leadership and operational governance across all infrastructure domains, including Digital Workplace Services, Core Technology Services, Network Services, Security Services, and Cloud & DevOps Services.

The Service Delivery Manager will be accountable for service quality, customer satisfaction, SLA achievement, major incident management, operational governance, risk management, and continual service improvement. The position plays a critical role in ensuring seamless coordination between Japan-based stakeholders and global delivery teams while supporting the transition, transformation, and modernization objectives outlined in the managed services operating model.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Relationship Management
•    Serve as the primary point of contact for customer stakeholders within Japan for all service delivery matters.
•    Develop and maintain trusted relationships with business leaders, technology stakeholders, and service owners.
•    Facilitate regular service reviews, governance meetings, operational updates, and executive reporting sessions.
•    Ensure customer priorities, business requirements, and operational concerns are appropriately represented within the delivery organization.
•    Drive customer satisfaction and promote a culture of service excellence.
Service Delivery Governance
•    Govern end-to-end service delivery across all infrastructure towers and support functions.
•    Monitor service performance against SLAs, OLAs, KPIs, and contractual commitments.
•    Lead monthly operational reviews, service improvement reviews, and governance forums.
•    Provide visibility into service health, operational risks, performance trends, and improvement opportunities.
•    Ensure compliance with agreed governance processes and reporting requirements.
Operational Service Management
•    Oversee Incident, Problem, Change, Service Request, Availability, Capacity, and Major Incident Management activities.
•    Coordinate resolution of high-priority incidents and business-critical service disruptions.
•    Ensure root cause analysis and corrective actions are completed for recurring or major service issues.
•    Drive proactive service management practices utilizing operational analytics and service intelligence.
•    Collaborate across service towers to maintain end-to-end service accountability.
Transition & Transformation Leadership
•    Support transition activities associated with service onboarding, knowledge transfer, and operational readiness programs.
•    Ensure successful adoption of new service delivery processes, tools, and operating models.
•    Drive transformation initiatives involving automation, AI-enabled operations, self-service capabilities, and service modernization.
•    Track transformation milestones and ensure business outcomes are achieved.
•    Facilitate change management activities across customer and delivery teams.

Key Responsibilities (continued)

Risk, Compliance & Service Resilience
•    Identify and manage operational risks impacting service delivery.
•    Ensure compliance with security, regulatory, audit, and governance requirements.
•    Support business continuity, disaster recovery, and operational resilience activities.
•    Maintain visibility of service risks and remediation activities.
•    Ensure operational readiness for audits, inspections, and governance reviews.
Financial & Commercial Oversight
•    Support service financial management, forecasting, and operational reporting.
•    Monitor service delivery costs and identify efficiency opportunities.
•    Assist with contract governance, service reporting, and commercial reviews.
•    Ensure service delivery activities align with agreed commercial commitments.

Required Skills & Experience

Education
•    Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business Management, or a related discipline.

Professional Experience
•    8-12 years of experience in IT Service Delivery, Managed Services, Infrastructure Operations, or Technology Support environments.
•    Minimum 5 years of experience managing enterprise service delivery within complex infrastructure environments.
•    Experience working with global delivery models and geographically distributed delivery teams.
•    Proven track record of managing customer relationships and service performance within a multi-vendor environment.
•    Experience supporting infrastructure transformation, transition, or modernization programs.

Technical & Service Management Expertise
•    Strong understanding of IT Service Management (ITSM) frameworks and practices.
•    Hands-on experience managing Incident, Problem, Change, Request, and Major Incident processes.
•    Knowledge of enterprise infrastructure services.
•    Experience with service management tools such as ServiceNow and operational reporting platforms.
•    Understanding of automation, analytics, AI-enabled operations, and modern managed service delivery models.
•    Familiarity with governance, supplier management, and service integration practices.

Leadership & Business Skills
•    Excellent customer-facing communication and stakeholder management skills.
•    Strong facilitation and presentation capabilities, particularly with executive and senior management audiences.
•    Proven ability to manage priorities within high-pressure service delivery environments.
•    Strong problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills.
•    Ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional, multicultural, and globally distributed teams.
•    Strong negotiation, conflict resolution, and relationship management skills.

Required Skills & Experience (continued)

Language Requirements
•    Fluent Japanese (business-level speaking, reading, and writing).
•    Strong English communication skills to support collaboration with offshore and global delivery teams.
•    Ability to translate business and operational requirements between local and global stakeholders.

Certificaitons

Preferred Certifications
•    ITIL Foundation, Managing Professional, or Strategic Leader certification.
•    PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent project management certification.
•    SIAM Foundation or Professional certification.
•    ServiceNow certification preferred.
•    Microsoft Azure, AWS, or other cloud certifications advantageous.
•    Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.

Success Measures
•    Achievement of SLA, KPI, and customer satisfaction targets.
•    Effective management of major incidents and service escalations.
•    Successful coordination between Japan-based stakeholders and global delivery teams.
•    Delivery of measurable service improvements and operational efficiencies.
•    Successful execution of transition, transformation, and modernization initiatives.
•    Strong customer confidence, stakeholder engagement, and business alignment.
•    Effective governance and supplier performance management.