What does a Service Delivery Manager do?

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Service delivery managers play an important role in any organization as they are in charge of keeping clients happy with the companies’ services. Learn more about their day to day responsibilities, skills needed and more!


What does a Service Delivery Manager do?

Service Delivery Manager Role

Service Delivery, as the name suggests, is about the delivery of services to clients of a company. This is done through managing projects, correcting reliability issues, tracking progress and KPIs, managing budgets, and ensuring the proper delivery of services by professionals in charge.

The overall duty of a service delivery manager may differ based on the type of company they work for. For instance, a service delivery manager in charge of retail logistics may find themselves dealing with inventory checks and analysis of the supply chain.

On the other hand, an IT Service Delivery Manager may be responsible for troubleshooting basic technical issues, assisting with contracts, and or dealing with service agreements.

Regardless of the work industry, a service delivery manager is someone who can harbor positive and meaningful relationships with those on their team and – more importantly – with their clients.
 

Responsibilities

Service Delivery Manager Responsibilities

In general, the responsibilities of a Service Delivery Manager cover a wide range of applications including but not limited to:

  • Service Delivery
  • Meeting Support
  • Technical service
  • Performance and quality

As mentioned above, these services change based on the field of specialization or the industry the company belongs to.

What are the day to day tasks of a Service Delivery Manager?

  • Providing a service plan to companies that manage and aggregate all relevant services.
  • Leading the service delivery team, managing conflict, and ensuring the team’s processes and tasks are carried out efficiently.
  • Honing and leading improvement team for the delivery infrastructure
  • Maintaining positive relationships with customers by identifying customer needs and overseeing service delivery within the company context.
  • Managing finances and budgets.
  • Determining ways to reduce costs without sacrificing customer satisfaction.
  • Assessing customer feedback and using their expertise to establish, improve, and refine services.
  • Building partnerships and liaising with team leaders to determine the company’s services, delivery criteria, and solutions for issues that may arise.

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Skills needed by Service Delivery Managers

Service Delivery Manager Skills

Service Delivery requires a certain set of skills. As a position of immense responsibility, having and developing the following skills will help greatly with your career:

Technical skills:

  • Good computer skills and the ability to use business support software.
  • Expert knowledge of ITIL disciplines
  • Managing company budget and finances
  • Ability to manage conflict and offer suitable resolutions
  • Strong customer service, project management, and quality control skills.
  • Resource planning skills
  • Experience of managing 3rd parties and 3rd party delivered services
  • Conflict management and resolution

Soft Skills:

  • Keen sense of time management
  • Excellent leadership and customer service skills.
  • Strong teamwork skills and attention to detail.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Willingness to support and mentor junior staff
  • Able to manage sensitive and sometimes confidential information
  • Self-motivation and able to take responsibility

Background

In general, service delivery positions often require candidates to have an appropriate business-related degree, and ideally up to 5 years experience in customer service, leadership, and logistics.

Service Delivery Managers are also expected to obtain an ITIL certification.

ITIL, aka Information Technology Infrastructure Library, refers to the best practices within the IT Service Delivery Management and is utilized globally by big organizations such as HSBC, IBM, and even NASA.

Here are a few certification options to consider:

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Salary

How much do Service Delivery Managers make?

While individual salaries can vary depending on the size and location of the company, service delivery managers generally start their careers with an annual salary of just under $95,000. Senior managers can earn up to $155,000. On average, they earn around $125,000 a year.
 

Junior $95,000
Average $125,000
Senior $155,000
Average rate Service Delivery Managers (2022) $91/hr

According to freelancermap’s price and rate index in September 2022, freelance Service Delivery Managers charge $91/hour on average.

Freelance rates in Service Delivery Management range between $61 and $111 for the majority of freelancers.

If we consider an 8-hour working day at $91/hour, the daily rate for freelance Service Delivery Managers is around $728/day.


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Natalia Campana

Natalia is part of the international team at freelancermap. She loves the digital world, social media and meeting different cultures. Before she moved to Germany and joined the freelancermap team she worked in the US, UK and her home country Spain. Now she focuses on helping freelancers and IT professionals to find jobs and clients worldwide at www.freelancermap.com

By Natalia Campana

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