Director of Service Delivery

Overview

Director of Service Delivery Jobs in Johannesburg Metropolitan Area at Apache Associates

Title: Director of Service Delivery

Company: Apache Associates

Location: Johannesburg Metropolitan Area

We are working with a leading SaaS software house to recruit an experienced Director of Service Delivery to take ownership of a large-scale, global service delivery capability based in South Africa.

This is a senior leadership role for someone who understands the unique demands of delivering support and service operations within a SaaS / software product environment. You will combine operational excellence with strategic vision, bringing structure, accountability and continuous improvement to a complex, technology-led service organisation.

The successful candidate will come from a SaaS, software product or similarly technology-led environment and will be comfortable operating at both the strategic and operational level — engaging with senior executives and customers while also understanding the detail of service management, operational processes, technology and team performance.

The Role

As Director of Service Delivery, you will be responsible for developing and maturing the service management capability supporting a global SaaS platform and customer base.

You will establish and embed effective Incident, Problem and Change Management disciplines, creating clear ownership, robust processes and a culture focused on prevention rather than simply responding to issues.

A key part of the role will be developing a more automation-led service operation, identifying opportunities to remove repetitive and manual activity through automation, orchestration, self-service and AI-enabled support.

You will also lead the continual improvement agenda, using operational data, customer insight and technology to identify opportunities to improve service quality, efficiency and the overall customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation and continued development of an ITIL-aligned service management framework across the SaaS organisation.
• Establish consistent and effective Incident, Problem and Change Management practices.
• Drive root-cause analysis and the permanent resolution of recurring service issues.
• Strengthen change governance, risk management and release processes.
• Own the service catalogue, SLAs, XLAs and wider service governance framework.
• Develop an automation-first approach to service delivery, including orchestration, self-healing and automated runbooks.
• Expand self-service, knowledge management and AI-assisted support to improve the customer experience.
• Establish a structured Continual Service Improvement (CSI) programme.
• Use data and operational trends to identify service improvements and areas of inefficiency.
• Build strong relationships with customers and ensure a genuine service-management culture exists throughout the support organisation.
• Provide leadership across global service delivery teams, managing capacity, demand and operational coverage.
• Benchmark the organisation against global service management best practice and introduce proven approaches where appropriate.
• Engage with senior executives, customers and partners on service strategy, investment, roadmap and business outcomes.
• Shape the longer-term target operating model, tooling strategy, automation roadmap and service maturity programme.
• Lead, coach and develop Service Delivery Managers, Support leaders and process owners.
• Build a culture that moves the organisation from reactive ticket management towards proactive, prevention-led service ownership.

We are looking for an established Service Delivery / Service Management leader with experience within a SaaS or software product business.

This background is essential. You will understand the challenges of supporting a technology product used by multiple customers, including the relationship between service delivery, product development, engineering, releases, customer experience and commercial outcomes.

You will have significant experience operating at scale, ideally within a global or multi-site SaaS/software organisation, and a proven track record of implementing or maturing service management practices within a live environment.

You should have substantial experience across Incident, Problem and Change Management, together with a strong understanding of service governance and SLA/XLA-based operating models.

Experience of driving automation, self-service and AI-enabled service improvements is particularly important. We are looking for someone who sees automation as a fundamental part of modern service delivery rather than simply an additional technology initiative.

Your Skills & Experience

• Extensive experience leading IT Service Delivery or Service Management within a SaaS, software product or technology-led organisation.
• Proven experience implementing or improving ITIL practices.
• Strong operational understanding of Incident, Problem and Change Management.
• Experience managing large, geographically distributed teams.
• A track record of delivering service improvement and operational transformation.
• Experience introducing automation, orchestration, self-service or AI into service operations.
• An understanding of the relationship between Software Engineering, Product, Customer Support and Service Delivery within a SaaS environment.
• Strong commercial and strategic awareness.
• The ability to communicate effectively with technical teams, customers, partners and senior executives.
• Excellent leadership, coaching and stakeholder management skills.
• A data-driven approach to operational decision-making.
• The ability to influence cultural and organisational change.
• ITIL 4 certification; Managing Professional or Strategic Leader certification would be advantageous.
• A relevant degree or equivalent professional experience.

This is an opportunity to take a significant leadership role in the transformation of the service delivery function within a successful global SaaS software house.

You will have the scope and influence to shape how service is delivered, how teams operate, how technology and automation are used, and how customers experience the organisation.

If you are an experienced Service Delivery leader from a SaaS or software product background, who combines strong operational credentials with a passion for automation, continual improvement and modern service management, we would be very interested in speaking with you.