Major Incident Manager

About this role

Job Description

We’re looking for a Major Incident Manager to join our IT Service Operations team. If you’re looking for a new challenge with an organisation committed to putting customers first, aiming high and working together, you’ll thrive here.

Job Type: Permanent

*Flexible working:*All of our roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process. You can read more about Phoenix Flex here.

Who are we?

We’re Standard Life, a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement savings and income. We champion the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better, and for more than 200 years, we’ve been helping our customers plan and prepare for their financial futures.

Life today is increasingly complicated, uncertain and unpredictable. People move through different careers, face unexpected moments and navigate important choices. We offer our colleagues flexibility, trust and benefits that work for whatever life brings. In return we expect curiosity, connection, accountability and high standards. We make room for what matters - so you can bring your best, every day.

The role

The Major Incident Manager is responsible for managing and resolving Critical and High IT incidents that significantly disrupt business operations. This role involves coordinating response efforts, minimising downtime, and ensuring effective communication with stakeholders throughout the incident lifecycle. The Major Incident Manager plays a crucial role in restoring normal service operations as quickly as possible while adhering to ITIL best practices and organisational procedures.

Key Accountabilities

• Incident Leadership: Own and coordinate all major incidents from initiation to resolution, acting as the single point of contact for stakeholders.
• Rapid Decision-Making: Assess impact and make critical decisions under pressure, including escalation to Bronze/Silver/Gold command and regulatory bodies (e.g., FCA).
• Stakeholder Communication: Deliver timely, accurate updates to executives, business units, and third-party suppliers throughout the incident lifecycle.
• Third-Party Management: Ensure suppliers (TCS, Cognizant, Servaada, etc.) adhere to SLAs and contractual obligations during incident resolution.
• Regulatory Compliance: Maintain audit-ready documentation and ensure adherence to FCA and other regulatory requirements.
• Post-Incident Reviews: Drive root cause analysis, formal problem reviews, and implement preventive measures to reduce recurrence.
• Governance & Reporting: Produce executive-level reports, track SLA performance, and manage service credits.
• Crisis Management: Activate business continuity plans and coordinate escalation paths during severe disruptions.
• Tooling & Process Ownership: Ensure effective use of incident management tools (e.g., ServiceNow) and alignment with ITIL best practices.
• Leadership Under Pressure: Maintain authority and composure during high-pressure situations, guiding technical teams to swift resolution.
• Process Optimisation: Develop and refine the major incident management process to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

What are we looking for?

• Significant experience as a Major Incident Manager, preferably within financial services, with a proven track record of managing high-impact incidents in complex enterprise environments.
• Experience in designing, developing and implementing a Major Incident Management Framework, ensuring alignment with ITIL best practice and enterprise Service Management Standards
• Expertise in end-to-end incident lifecycle management, ensuring rapid resolution of critical issues to minimise business disruption.
• Skilled in stakeholder communication, root cause analysis, and implementing continuous improvement strategies for incident processes.
• Incident Management Tools: Proficiency in platforms like ServiceNow, Remedy, or similar.

We Want To Hire The Whole Version Of You.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

We’re reviewing applications as they come in, so apply early to avoid missing out.

Find out more about working at Standard Life

• Guide for Candidates: standardlifeplc.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates
• Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.standardlifeplc.com/careers/talk-to-us

About risk & resilience roles for ex-police

Risk management, business continuity and emergency-planning roles. Contingency planning, threat assessment and multi-agency coordination experience from policing is directly transferable.