Job Title- Service Delivery Manager (SDM) Azure Managed Services
Location- Dallas, TX- Onsite
Type- Contract
Duration- 12+ Months
Role Summary
The Service Delivery Manager (SDM) is the single point of accountability for end to end delivery of Azure Managed Services. The SDM ensures that all contracted services are delivered in line with SLA commitments, governance standards, security requirements, and customer expectations, while driving service stability, continuous improvement, and stakeholder satisfaction.
The SDM will oversee transition, steady state operations, incident/problem/change management, reporting, and governance, coordinating across customer stakeholders, engineering teams, and third party vendors.
Key Responsibilities
- Service Delivery & Governance
Own overall service delivery for Azure Managed Services, ensuring alignment with the RFP, SOW, and agreed service levels.
Act as the primary escalation point for service issues, risks, and SLA breaches.
Establish and run governance cadence, including:
o Daily/weekly operational reviews
o Monthly service review meetings (MSR)
o Quarterly business reviews (QBR)
SLA & Performance Management
Ensure adherence to mandatory SLA commitments (P1 P4 response and resolution times as defined in the RFP).
Proactively track and manage:
o Availability and reliability metrics
o Incident volumes and trends
o Root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective actions
Drive continuous SLA improvement through automation, tooling optimization, and operational rigor.
- Incident, Problem & Change Management
Oversee 24x7 incident management and on call processes across onshore and offshore teams.
Ensure:
o Proper incident triage and prioritization
o Timely communication to customer stakeholders
o Post incident RCAs and preventive action plans
Govern problem management to eliminate recurring issues.
Coordinate and approve change and release activities, ensuring minimal business disruption and change success rates.
- Transition & Knowledge Management
Lead transition from incumbent vendor (where applicable) into steady state operations.
Ensure transition plans, KT documentation, runbooks, and SOPs are created and maintained.
Validate readiness for go live and steady state support.
- Stakeholder & Customer Management
Serve as the trusted advisor to customer IT and business stakeholders.
Provide clear, transparent communication on:
o Service health
o Risks and dependencies
o Improvement initiatives
Collaborate with customer teams across Cloud, Security, Application, and Compliance domains.
- Reporting & Compliance
Own delivery of operational and executive reports, including:
o SLA dashboards
o Incident & problem summaries
o Capacity and risk reports
Ensure compliance with customer and regulatory requirements (e.g., SOC2, ISO, security controls applicable to Azure environments).
- Financial & Commercial Oversight
Monitor service consumption, effort utilization, and cost drivers.
Support T&M or managed service commercials, ensuring adherence to contracted scope.
Identify opportunities for service optimization, automation, and value realization.
Required Skills & Experience
Experience
8 12+ years of overall IT service delivery experience.
5+ years in a Service Delivery Manager or similar role in Cloud Managed Services / MSP environments.
Strong experience managing enterprise Azure environments.
Prior experience handling fixed scope / SLA driven managed services.
Technical & Functional Skills
Strong understanding of Azure services, cloud operations, and shared responsibility models.
Hands on experience with ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Change, Request, Service Level Management).
Familiarity with monitoring, ticketing, and observability tools (e.g., Azure Monitor, ITSM platforms).
Experience managing 24x7 support models with onshore offshore teams.
Soft Skills
Excellent stakeholder communication and executive presence.
Strong risk management, decision making, and conflict resolution skills.
Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in high pressure environments.
Certifications (Preferred)
ITIL v3 / ITIL 4 Certification
Microsoft Azure Fundamentals / Administrator / Architect (preferred)
PMP or equivalent project management certification (nice to have)
Delivery Model & Availability
Works closely with US based customer stakeholders and India based offshore delivery teams.
Accountable for 24x7 service availability, with appropriate escalation and governance coverage.