Head of IT Service Management (m/f/d)

About the job

The service centre "IT Service Management" comprises the areas "IT Education Services", "IT Enterprise Services" and "IT Web Services" and, with its 16 employees, forms the backbone for academic applications, digital workplace solutions and web platforms of the University of St.Gallen. The centre is facing an exciting transformation: within the framework of the rectorate's AI strategy, it will in future play a key role in the integration of AI agents in teaching, research and administration.

• You take over the management of the IT Service Management service centre in the IT department and are responsible for the service lifecycle management for IT services from the areas of Academic Applications, Enterprise Workflow/M365 platform and CRM systems – and ensure compliance with SLAs and service quality together with the other three service centres
• You manage the budget of your service centre, participate in the procurement of software and licences, and support IT controlling in cost planning
• You are the contact person for faculty, services, rectorate and translate requirements from teaching, research, continuing education and services into viable IT services

• You build the governance structures for the responsible use of AI services at HSG
• You promote the development of AI-supported teaching and examination formats (e.g. Study Agents, Research Agents) in close cooperation with your team leaders and the faculty
• You actively contribute to the rectorate's AI strategy, especially in the fields of teaching & examinations as well as research & competence development
• You support the establishment of cross-functional knowledge communities (guilds) that enable AI collaboration across all service centres

• Disciplinary and professional leadership of around 16 employees including team leaders in the areas of IT Education Services, IT Enterprise Services and IT Web Services as well as promotion of a learning-oriented team culture focusing on personal responsibility, further development and the safe handling of AI technologies
• Management of resource and capacity planning within the service centre as well as ensuring a balanced distribution between operations, project work and innovation initiatives
• Conducting target agreement and development discussions, supporting employees in change processes and active succession and competence planning
• Representation of the service centre in the overarching leadership and coordination committees of the IT department, including PI plannings and guild structures
• Building and maintaining cross-functional collaboration with the three other service centres as well as the AI Strategy & Governance staff

• At least 5 years of experience in leading IT teams (at least 10 employees), ideally in a university or public environment.
• Sound knowledge of ITIL/ITSM processes and experience with ITSM tools, ideally ServiceNow.
• You bring a good understanding of current AI technologies (LLMs, multi-model platforms, AI agents) and can assess their opportunities and risks.
• Experience in data protection, compliance or IT governance is desirable. You know how to develop usage frameworks and guidelines that enable rather than hinder innovation.
• Familiarity with agile frameworks (SAFe, Scrum) and willingness to work in PI plannings and iterative cycles.
• You communicate confidently in German (native speaker or C1) as well as English and can "translate" technical contexts understandably for lecturers, researchers and service employees.
• You enjoy transformation and know how to accompany teams through change processes without jeopardising stability.

"A place that creates knowledge" - As one of the leading business universities in Europe, the University of St.Gallen (HSG) is committed to educating over 10,000 students and offers an attractive and innovative environment in research, teaching, continuing education and administration to around 3,500 employees as one of the largest employers in the region."