Job Description

On behalf of the MOD, we are looking for a Service Readiness Analyst (Inside IR35) for a 6 month contract based Remote with occasional need to attend the office based in Bristol as and when required.



This is an exciting opportunity to join the MOD's Defence Office for Small Business Growth, supporting the Department's strategic agenda to enhance SME participation in the UK defence supply chain. This initiative responds directly to recent Prime Ministerial direction and aims to drive economic growth by enabling small businesses to engage more effectively with defence procurement.



In this pivotal role, you will ensure that new IT services supporting the Defence Office are fully prepared for launch and operational use as part of Initial Operating Capability (IOC). You'll work within a blended team of Civil Servants and Fixed Term Contractors to define functionality and operational requirements, ensuring services are robust, tested, and aligned with user needs.



You'll collaborate closely with the Project Manager and Service Transition Manager to coordinate delivery timelines and readiness activities. You'll also work alongside the Digital Product Manager to ensure tool development aligns with service requirements, and with the Change Manager to support training, documentation and operational handover.



SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.



As a Service Readiness Analyst, your main responsibilities will be:

Support the Service Transition Manager in designing processes, governance, and work instructions for Defence Office staff, ensuring consistent and high-quality handling of Contact Centre requests. Collaborate with project, IT, and business teams to assess and confirm service readiness prior to IOC deployment. Ensure service acceptance criteria, documentation, training materials and support models meet MOD standards. Conduct readiness assessments and gap analyses to identify and address issues before launch. Support the development and execution of testing, cutover, and early-life support plans, engaging relevant technical and operational stakeholders. Coordinate service handover and knowledge transfer to operational teams. Monitor and report on service readiness progress, escalating issues and risks to transition and leadership teams, as needed. Maintain and update service readiness checklists, templates, and artefacts in line with MOD policies, ITIL practices, and best practice frameworks. Facilitate lessons learned and improvement actions post-launch to continuously refine service readiness processes.

Essential:

Experience in IT service readiness, transition, or operations roles, ideally within MOD, defence, or public sector settings. Knowledge of service management frameworks (e.g. ITIL) and service lifecycle processes. Strong attention to detail and organisational skills for coordinating acceptance, documentation, and support arrangements. Ability to identify and resolve readiness gaps through proactive analysis and stakeholder engagement. Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with experience working across technical and non-technical groups. Understanding of MOD standards for IT service security, accessibility, and compliance. Critical thinking and adaptability to work in dynamic, changing environments.

Essential Skills:

IT Service Readiness and Launch Preparation: Experience in ensuring new IT services are fully prepared for go-live, including readiness assessments, gap analysis, and pre-launch validation. Service Acceptance & Documentation: Ability to develop, review, and manage service acceptance criteria, user documentation, operating procedures, and training materials to support operational handover. Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration: Strong communication and teamwork skills with an ability to work effectively with technical teams, business stakeholders, support personnel, suppliers, and SME representatives. Testing & Operational Assurance: Experience supporting or leading testing, cutover, and assurance activities to confirm service performance, security, and compliance before launch. Process Improvement & Lessons Learned: Experience using lessons learned and feedback to improve readiness processes for future service deployments.

Desirable:

Experience supporting SMEs or working in supply chain environments. ITIL certification or equivalent experience. Prior experience supporting SMEs or supply chain-related IT services. Change management, service transition or risk assessment experience.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.



Disability Confident



As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the MOD guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.



This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.



Armed Forces Covenant



The MOD guarantees to interview?veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we?will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.



In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.