IT Service Business Partner

The role

The IT Service Business Partner plays a pivotal role in aligning IT service delivery with the strategic and operational needs of our firm. This role is not only responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the IT Service Desk but also for acting as a trusted liaison between IT and the business. The IT Service Business Partner ensures that technology services are responsive, reliable, and tailored to support business requirements.

This position is instrumental in driving service quality, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and ensuring that IT support contributes to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the legal teams. The role requires a proactive approach to stakeholder engagement and a commitment to delivering high standards of communication and service. With a hybrid working model of four days in the office, the IT Service Business Partner is well-positioned to maintain close collaboration with colleagues while also supporting flexible work practices.

Role responsibility

1.    Service Desk Team Management

• Lead and Develop the Team: Manage a team of five Service Desk Analysts, providing day-to-day leadership, coaching, and support to ensure a high-performing, motivated, and customer-focused team.
• Performance Monitoring: Track and report on service desk performance using KPIs and SLAs. Identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to enhance service delivery and colleague satisfaction.
• Service Culture: Foster a proactive, service-oriented culture that prioritises first-time resolution, professionalism, and responsiveness.
• Tool and Platform Oversight: Administer and monitor the firm’s ITSM platform (Halo), ensuring accurate ticket categorisation, timely resolution, and meaningful reporting. Use data insights to identify trends, recurring issues, and opportunities for automation or process improvement.
• Knowledge Management: Ensure the team maintains up-to-date documentation, FAQs, and self-service resources to empower colleagues and reduce support demand.

2. Business Engagement

• Stakeholder Relationship Management: Act as the primary IT contact for legal departments, building strong, trusted relationships with partners, associates, and business support teams.
• Needs Analysis: Engage with legal teams to understand their workflows, challenges, and technology needs. Translate these into actionable IT service improvements or initiatives.
• Service Reviews: Organise and lead regular service review meetings with key stakeholders to discuss performance, gather feedback, and agree on improvement actions.
• Legal Technology Alignment: Ensure IT services and support are tailored to the legal environment, including familiarity with platforms such as iManage, Elite 3E, and time recording tools.
• Compliance and Confidentiality: Collaborate with legal operations and compliance teams to ensure IT services support regulatory, confidentiality, and data protection requirements.

3. Communication and Change Support

• Service Communications: Manage clear, and timely communication around service incidents, planned maintenance, and system changes.
• Change Management: Support the rollout of new technologies and upgrades by coordinating user communications, training, and feedback collection.
• User Advocacy: Represent the voice of the user within IT, ensuring that service design and delivery reflect the needs and expectations of legal professionals.

About you

Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience in IT service management or business relationship management, ideally within a legal or professional services environment.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing a small to mid-sized support team.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Familiarity with legal technology platforms and the unique demands of legal professionals.
• Working knowledge of ITIL framework and service management tools.
• ITIL Foundation certification (or higher) is desirable.
• Understanding of legal compliance, confidentiality, and data protection standards.

Key Competencies:

• Business Relationship Management – Building trusted partnerships and aligning IT with business goals.
• Service Delivery Oversight – Ensuring IT services meet agreed standards and expectations.
• Customer Focus – Delivering high-quality, colleague-centric support.
• Communication – Explaining technical issues clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Problem Solving – Identifying and resolving service issues effectively.
• Change Management – Supporting smooth transitions during upgrades or changes.
• Analytical Thinking – Using data and feedback to drive improvements.
• Collaboration – Working closely with IT and business teams to deliver value.
• Strategic Thinking – Aligning service delivery with long-term business needs.
• Attention to Detail – Maintaining high standards of service quality and colleague experience.
• Influencing Skills – Gaining buy-in and driving positive change.

Please note that we are not accepting applications via agencies for this role at this time. Before sharing any named candidate CVs, please contact your recruitment representative. If any named CVs are sent from agencies without approval from our recruitment team, they will not be deemed valid introductions, and no agency fee will be paid.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 25 days annual holiday
• Permanent Health Insurance
• Life Assurance
• Interest free Season Ticket Loan
• Private Healthcare
• Pension Scheme
• Staff Introductory Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme

About us

With almost 200 lawyers in one location, we ensure our clients have the right team to help them get from where they are to where they want to be. We advise major corporates and institutions as well as entrepreneurial, ambitious enterprises which are often privately or family owned, or private equity backed. As well as our significant business law capability, we are one of only a few London-based law firms with a large private wealth offering. Our clients find our straightforward approach a compelling alternative to larger, less personal firms.

Whether you are an ambitious and talented individual wanting to hit the ground running from day one, or an established professional looking for a new opportunity, Howard Kennedy is the firm where you can really make it happen.

We have earned a strong reputation for our exceptional and uniquely talented people who between them deliver outstanding results for clients. In a firm of our size, our strong team dynamic creates a thriving culture of creativity and entrepreneurialism. Howard Kennedy is a pragmatic and non-hierarchical environment where success is shared, and you are proactively encouraged to thrive at your own pace.

Our distinctive culture is built on fairness and respect. Guided by the firm’s values of talk straight, think smart and be yourself, everyone in the firm holds equal value, and everyone plays their role in supporting, encouraging and inspiring colleagues to do their best work.

At the same time, we recognise and reward individualism, celebrating the diversity of our people and supporting them to grow their practice and drive their own career advancement.

As well as client work, there is opportunity to broaden your horizons at the firm with fulfilling pro bono and charity projects. We have a regular social calendar full of wellbeing activities, charitable and social events too.