Pioneer Search Ltd

Senior IT Service & Operations lead £100,000-£110,000 + 25% bonus Permanent An established global insurance group is seeking a Senior IT Service & Operations lead to take accountability for the operational health and performance of business-critical applications within it's the Insurance business. This is a high impact, standalone leadership role operating at a senior level and directly in the IT Director. You will act as the escalation point for major incidents, provide cross team service oversight, and ensure operational stability across multiple technology functions. This is not a line management position. It is a senior service governance role requiring credibility, influence, and deep operational experience within an insurance carrier environment. The Role You will take ownership of the end-to-end service life cycle across a portfolio of in house built and vendor platforms, ensuring performance, resilience and continuous improvement. Key responsibilities include: Oversight of application service health, stability and cost control Monitoring ticket volumes, ageing, SLA/OLA adherence, and service KPIs Leading incident and problem governance, including root cause analysis Acting as escalation authority for high-severity incidents Ensuring effective change and release control with minimal production impact Partnering with Scrum Masters to embed Agile discipline within support environments Driving transparency through clear stakeholder reporting Holding third-party vendors accountable for contractual service obligations Representing the IT Director where required You will operate across multiple established technology teams, providing oversight and challenge without direct line management responsibility. What We Are Looking For This role requires an experienced service leader. It is not a developmental step-up opportunity. You will demonstrate: Proven experience as a Service Owner, Application Support Lead or similar within an insurance carrier Strong grounding in ITIL disciplines: Incident, Problem, Change and Release Management Experience overseeing both in-house applications and vendor platforms A track record of improving SLA performance and reducing service backlog Experience working within Agile environments and supporting Scrum-based delivery Vendor and outsourced supplier management capability Gravitas to influence senior stakeholders and Embedded technical managers Financial awareness and experience managing IT service budgets You must be comfortable operating at senior level without direct reports, influencing laterally and driving accountability across established teams. Why This Role? Senior-level autonomy and visibility Clear operational ownership across critical systems Exposure to enterprise-level stakeholders Strong remuneration and bonus structure Genuine second-in-command position This is a strategic service execution role for someone who thrives on operational excellence, governance discipline and cross-functional leadership within a complex insurance technology environment. For a confidential discussion, please get in touch.

Applications Service Lead (Specialty Insurance) Type: Permanent Salary: £75,000 Location: London (Hybrid, 3 days onsite) We are seeking an experienced Applications Service Lead or Service Owner with a background in specialty insurance or the London Market to take ownership of service delivery for a suite of core underwriting and claims platforms. This is a role for someone who can coordinate across vendors, product owners, and technical leads to ensure stability and smooth BAU support for business-critical systems. The Opportunity You will oversee applications such as Eclipse, Sequel Claims and Guidewire. Your focus will be on ensuring these systems remain stable, incidents are resolved quickly, and releases are delivered seamlessly. This is not a hands-on technical role, but one that requires strong service management, vendor coordination, and insurance domain expertise, ideally within the London Market or Lloyds of London. You'll work closely with Engineering Delivery Leads (EDLs), Product Owners, and offshore managed service providers. The role sits within a product-centric model, meaning you'll align service management directly to application "products" rather than generic IT functions. Key Responsibilities Manage BAU support for core underwriting, claims, and document management applications. Act as the bridge between offshore vendors, Product Owners, and EDLs. Oversee high-priority incidents (P1/P2) and ensure timely resolution. Track defects, sprints, and releases using Azure DevOps. Apply ITIL-aligned service management practices via ServiceNow. Provide oversight and coordination of vendor performance, service quality, and escalations. Maintain knowledge base and manage risk/vulnerability exceptions. What We're Looking For Strong background in specialty insurance IT service management (essential). Experience supporting claims, policy administration, or underwriting applications. Proven vendor management skills, ideally with offshore MSPs. Familiarity with Agile/DevOps ways of working, including Azure DevOps. ITIL knowledge and ServiceNow experience. Ability to coordinate delivery and support without direct line management responsibility. What Will Make You Stand Out Demonstrated success in managing application service delivery in the London Market. Examples of bridging between vendors, product leads, and delivery teams. Experience ensuring BAU stability while supporting product-centric transformation. Why Apply? This is a unique opportunity to work at the centre of a product-centric transformation, ensuring the smooth running of core systems that underpin specialty insurance. You'll gain exposure to a wide range of applications, work closely with product and engineering leads, and play a key role in ensuring stability and delivery in a global environment.

Interaction Designer - Government Project Outside IR35 | £450-£500 per day | Initial 3 months (scope for extension) | Hybrid working An experienced Interaction Designer to join a leading technology consultancy, working on a high-profile Government Alpha phase project. You will play a key role in shaping and prototyping new user journeys, ensuring services are designed to meet user needs and align with Government Digital Service (GDS) standards. The Role Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to design and iterate user journeys in line with GOV.UK design principles Collaborate closely with stakeholders, acting as a business-facing consultant on behalf of the consultancy Apply your knowledge of Alpha/Beta service design, prototyping, and content design to create clear, accessible, and user-focused services Contribute to shaping the approach and direction of the project during its early discovery and Alpha stages Requirements Strong experience in interaction design and prototyping within GDS/GOV.UK frameworks Background in designing services across Alpha and Beta phases, including content design Immediately available with a valid BPSS clearance Previous Government/public sector project experience is required

Full Stack Integration Developer - Azure, .NET, NextJS Full Stack Integration Developer - Azure, .NET, NextJS - Active SC Clearance is ESSENTIAL A leading technical consultancy is seeking a Full Stack Integration Developer for an Outside IR35 contract. This hybrid role (London-based) offers and requires SC Clearance. You'll play a key role in a large-scale digitisation program, developing and integrating modern web applications within an Azure ecosystem. While primarily hands-on, you'll also contribute to architectural design and strategy. Key Responsibilities: Application Development: Build and maintain scalable web applications using .NET (C#, ASP.NET Core) and Azure Functions. Front End Development: Develop modern UIs using NextJS and other JavaScript frameworks. Integration & Backend: Work with Azure Service Bus, Event Grid, and Static Web Apps. Design and optimize SQL Server databases, stored procedures, and APIs. DevOps & Infrastructure: Create and manage CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or Jenkins. Architecture Support: Contribute to high- and low-level design documentation and advise on integration strategy. Skills & Experience: Strong experience with .NET, Azure Functions, Azure SQL, Service Bus, and Event Grid. Proficiency in NextJS or similar JavaScript frameworks. Solid understanding of CI/CD and infrastructure automation. Experience integrating third-party APIs and services. Ability to contribute to architectural decisions and communicate effectively with stakeholders. Requirements: Active SC Clearance. Experience working in government or GDS environments

Applications Service Manager (Specialty Insurance) Type: Permanent Salary: £75,000 Location: London (Hybrid, 2-3 days onsite) We are seeking an experienced Applications Service Manager with a background in specialty insurance or the London Market to take ownership of service delivery for a suite of core underwriting and claims platforms. This is a role for someone who can coordinate across vendors, product owners, and technical leads to ensure stability and smooth BAU support for business-critical systems. The Opportunity You will oversee applications such as Eclipse, Sequel Claims, Guidewire (Professional Risks), ImageRight, and NewGen. Your focus will be on ensuring these systems remain stable, incidents are resolved quickly, and releases are delivered seamlessly. This is not a hands-on technical role, but one that requires strong service management, vendor coordination, and insurance domain expertise, ideally within the London Market or Lloyds of London. You'll work closely with Engineering Delivery Leads (EDLs) , Product Owners, and offshore managed service providers (Coforge, NTTData, NewGen). The role sits within a product-centric model , meaning you'll align service management directly to application "products" rather than generic IT functions. Key Responsibilities Manage BAU support for core underwriting, claims, and document management applications. Act as the bridge between offshore vendors, Product Owners, and EDLs. Oversee high-priority incidents (P1/P2) and ensure timely resolution. Track defects, sprints, and releases using Azure DevOps . Apply ITIL-aligned service management practices via ServiceNow. Provide oversight and coordination of vendor performance, service quality, and escalations. Maintain knowledge base and manage risk/vulnerability exceptions. What We're Looking For Strong background in specialty insurance IT service management (essential). Experience supporting claims, policy administration, or underwriting applications. Proven vendor management skills, ideally with offshore MSPs. Familiarity with Agile/DevOps ways of working, including Azure DevOps. ITIL knowledge and ServiceNow experience. Ability to coordinate delivery and support without direct line management responsibility. What Will Make You Stand Out Demonstrated success in managing application service delivery in the London Market. Examples of bridging between vendors, product leads, and delivery teams. Experience ensuring BAU stability while supporting product-centric transformation. Why Apply? This is a unique opportunity to work at the centre of a product-centric transformation , ensuring the smooth running of core systems that underpin specialty insurance. You'll gain exposure to a wide range of applications, work closely with product and engineering leads, and play a key role in ensuring stability and delivery in a global environment.