Primary Job Purpose:

The Deputy Head of Shared Services will support the Head of Shared Services in the effective operational delivery, stability, and continuous improvement of the Group Shared Services function. The role is responsible for providing strong, visible, and hands-on leadership across multiple operational and customer-facing teams, while ensuring consistent service delivery aligned to agreed service levels and business priorities.

The role requires significant experience operating in global shared services or multinational environments, leading diverse, high-activity teams and working closely with senior stakeholders to support business growth and operational stability.

Key Responsibilities:

Operational Leadership & Service Delivery:

- Lead day-to-day Shared Services operations across customer service, operations, and other teams within the Shared Services portfolio, ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery.

- Ensure SLA adherence through effective capacity planning, workload balancing, and proactive operational management.

- Act as the primary escalation point for complex operational, customer, or stakeholder issues, ensuring timely resolution and appropriate senior engagement.

- Step in hands-on during peak periods, transitions, or resourcing gaps to ensure service continuity and stability.

- Own operational risk management and business continuity planning across the Shared Services function.

People Leadership & Culture:

- Lead, coach, and develop managers and team leads, building leadership capability and accountability at all levels.

- Drive a professional, inclusive, and performance-oriented culture, setting clear standards for behaviour, delivery, and ownership.

- Support workforce planning, succession management, onboarding, and performance management in line with current and future scale.

- Act as a visible role model for leadership presence, discipline, and professionalism across the floor.

Cross-Functional, Stakeholder & Executive Engagement:

- Act as a senior operational interface and primary point of ownership for key internal stakeholders across Sales, Technical, Marketing, HR, Finance, and other relevant functions, ensuring alignment of priorities, expectations, and delivery outcomes.

- Own and proactively manage stakeholder relationships, expectations, and escalations, addressing concerns and resolving conflicts through clear communication, data-led insight, and pragmatic problem-solving.

- Partner effectively with Sales, Technical, Marketing, HR, and other relevant teams to deliver seamless, end-to-end services while balancing service delivery, capacity, and organisational priorities.

- Prepare and present executive-ready operational updates, insights, risks, and recommendations to senior leaders and C-suite stakeholders, confidently influencing and challenging where required.

Governance, Controls & Quality:

- Ensure operational processes are documented, compliant, and well governed in line with organisational standards.

- Support quality assurance frameworks, risk management, and data integrity across Shared Services.

- Promote a strong control environment with clear ownership, accountability, and audit readiness.

Integration & Change Management:

- Work closely with the Head of Shared Services to support the smooth integration of additional services into Shared Services, as directed, ensuring operational readiness and stakeholder alignment.

- Lead operational change initiatives, including standardisation, transition management, and post-transition stabilisation.

- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service quality, efficiency, and scalability of operations.