Service Delivery Manager

World Rugby is the world governing and law-making Body for the sport of Rugby Union. It is responsible for the regulation and governance of Rugby and, in addition, organises a number of international tournaments and events including the Rugby World Cup and World Rugby Sevens World Series. 

World Rugby wishes to appoint a Financial Accountant to join their team.  The Financial Accountant role will have a strong focus on month-end and year-end close processes and will play a vital role in the efficiency and productivity of the Finance Team. This successful candidate will report into the Head of Financial Reporting and will work closely with the Director of Financial Control and Operations and be responsible for a number of entities within the World Rugby group

SERVICE DELIVERY MANAGER

**Closing date for applications -  Tuesday 23rd June**

Overview

The technology used by teams across the Federation and in the running of Events has increased many fold over the last number of years. The Technology function is on a journey to consolidate and unify the systems, applications and data across World Rugby to enable greater efficiencies, drive more capability for the business and reduce operating costs.

In this role, you will lead the technology service delivery function, ensuring reliable, high-quality support across federation operations and events. The role partners with business stakeholders, technical teams, and key strategic vendors to deliver effective service management, resolve issues quickly, and drive continuous improvement. 

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Operational Leadership

• Lead technology service delivery for World Rugby, ensuring reliable, high-quality support for users and stakeholders, with a clear focus on service levels, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence
• Mentor and grow a team of two delivering services including Cloud, CyberOps, Network, Service Desk and Event IT provision

Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage strategic vendors and outsourced service partners, holding them accountable to contractual commitments and performance KPIs
• Own relationships and lead the partnership with the MSP and MSSP and hardware/software vendors: negotiate contracts, SLAs and governance forums
• Implement vendor performance frameworks, quarterly business reviews and escalation processes to maximize value and risk mitigation
• Oversee service performance reporting, monitoring, and governance so that issues, trends, risks, and improvement opportunities are visible and acted on

Service Delivery & Governance

• Ensure 24×7 availability and performance of core corporate systems (the various World Rugby platforms, and third-party collaboration suites and applications) under defined SLAs
• Embed ITIL-based processes for incident, problem and change management—balancing agility with control for both operational and event contexts and ensure effective coordination during critical issues

Major Event Technology Delivery

• Oversee technology support for major events, competitions, and time-critical operational periods where service continuity and rapid incident response matter most
• Lead planning and deployment of internal Corporate Technology Systems to ensure that, when required, they are “tournament-grade” and able to seamlessly connect to remote networks, scoring platforms and accreditation services

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:

• 8+ years leading technology operations and multi-vendor environments, including hands-on delivery for large-scale live events or tournaments
• Proven track record in contract negotiation, vendor governance and performance management
• Bachelor’s Degree in IT, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• Certifications such as ITIL Expert, PMP or Prince2 Practitioner are highly desirable
• Deep understanding of cloud, networking, security and event-grade IT architectures
• Exceptional stakeholder management and executive communication
• Strategic thinker with strong commercial acumen and risk-management capability
• Ability to thrive under pressure, balancing fixed timelines, budgets and shifting priorities

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

World Rugby is committed to building a diverse workforce and therefore strongly encourages applications from underrepresented groups. We are committed to equality and inclusion and welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of their background. We strive to be a diverse and inclusive workplace, which reflects the global sport we want to be and where everyone can be themselves and feel they belong.

Flexible Working:

Most of our roles offer hybrid working.  We ask colleagues to work:

• Three (3) days a week “out of home”.  Two (2) “core” office days (Tuesday & Wednesday) and a third day of your choice to be with stakeholders. “Out of home” can mean working in a World Rugby office/hub, working from a venue or face to face meetings with partners/suppliers/agencies/teammates or other rugby family stakeholders. 
• The remaining two (2) days are flexible to work from home (or the office). This applies to our Dublin & London offices.