Associate Director - Senior Incident / Problem Manager

Business Introduction GSK remains committed to achieving bold commercial ambitions for the future. By 2031, we aim to deliver £40 billion in annual sales, leveraging our existing strong performance momentum to significantly increase our positive impact on the health of billions of patients globally. Our Ahead Together strategy is centred on early intervention to prevent and alter the course of disease, thereby protecting people and supporting healthcare systems. Our diverse portfolio consists of vaccines, specialty medicines, and general medicines. Through continuous innovation and a dedicated focus on scientific and technical excellence, we strive to develop and launch new, groundbreaking treatments that address critical health challenges. Job Purpose GSK's Digital & Tech estate operates 24x7x365 and disruption directly impacts patient supply, research and colleague productivity. This senior role sets, monitors and governs the quality and delivery discipline of incident and problem management across Digital & Tech, ensuring comprehensive identification of improvement opportunities, robust root cause analysis (RCA) and rigorous follow-up of corrective and preventive actions. Alongside this core accountability, the role provides authoritative senior Major Incident Management capability for complex or high-impact P1/P2 events: taking end-to-end control when required, directing resolver teams and third parties at pace, and managing senior stakeholders through clear, timely, business-focused communications. The role governs to outcome using data and applies strong ITSM/ITOM analysis to assess current state and drive cross-functional improvement. It works across internal teams, strategic partners and managed service providers to raise standards without duplicating supplier management accountability. Key Responsibilities Major Incident Management Support Take end-to-end control of complex or high-impact P1/P2 Major Incidents when senior intervention or additional capacity is required, acting as the single point of operational control through restoration and stabilisation. Direct resolver teams, subject-matter experts and third parties at pace, testing assumptions, maintaining focus on service restoration and balancing urgency against operational and compliance risk. Manage senior business and technology stakeholders during critical incidents, providing accurate, timely and audience-appropriate communication on business impact, recovery progress, risk and realistic restoration expectations. Maintain disciplined incident command, including clear decision-making, action ownership, escalation, structured handover and an accurate chronology suitable for subsequent review. Ensure the incident record captures sufficient technical evidence, decisions, impact and recovery detail to enable effective Problem Management, RCA and prevention activity. Problem Management Oversight & Assurance • Provide oversight and support to P1 and P2 problem records to ensure comprehensive identification of improvement opportunities and robust, evidence-based RCA. • Ensure related corrective and preventive actions are owned, tracked and driven to closure, challenging where quality or pace falls short. • Identify recurring themes and fragile services, and feed these into prevention and improvement initiatives. Data-Driven Governance & Reporting • Report on incident and problem data to govern to quality outcome across Digital & Tech, providing clear, fact-based insight to leadership. • Set and monitor quality expectations, standards and delivery discipline for incident and problem management across internal and partner teams. • Analyse service performance data, operational metrics and incident / problem outcomes to identify Tech team (internal or external service provider) operational performance concerns, review findings with Product / Service Owners, and escalate material or persistent issues through appropriate governance and management channels. ITSM/ITOM Analysis & Continuous Improvement • Use ITSM/ITOM and related data analysis to assess current state and to recommend and drive improvements internally and cross-functionally. • Partner with product, platform and reliability teams to close gaps in monitoring, alerting, knowledge and runbooks. Responsible AI, Automation & Guardrails • Work with the Automation Acceleration Hub to apply AI-enabled analysis, RCA assistance and automation that shorten time to detect, diagnose, resolve and prevent, in line with GSK's AI-powered ITSM direction. • Ensure AI and automation are used responsibly, with appropriate security, compliance, human review and change control before operational use. Professional Qualifications Bachelor's or Master's degree in a relevant field (e.g. Computer Science, IT or Engineering), or equivalent experience. ITIL Foundation required; ITIL Intermediate / Managing Professional desirable. Certification in enterprise ITSM tooling (e.g. ServiceNow) or data analysis desirable. Certification in structured root cause analysis methodologies (e.g. 5 Whys, Kepner-Tregoe Problem Analysis) desirable. Area of Specialisation Deep knowledge of ITSM and the ITIL framework, specialising in Incident, Major Incident and Problem Management, with the authority and judgement to lead complex, business-critical incidents. Strong command of major incident governance, bridge leadership, stakeholder communications, escalation, structured handover and the evidential standards needed for effective post-incident review and RCA. Strong capability in ITSM/ITOM data analysis to assess current state and drive improvement. Understanding of enterprise technology landscapes, monitoring and observability, and how service disruption translates into business impact in a global, regulated environment. Experience Required 15 Overall and 10 years+ in IT service operations within a large, complex, global organisation, including substantial Incident, Major Incident and Problem Management experience. Proven track record of taking control of complex, high-impact P1/P2 incidents, directing multiple resolver teams and third parties concurrently through restoration and stabilisation. Experience communicating with senior business and technology stakeholders (up to SVP level) under pressure, translating technical detail into clear business impact, risk, recovery progress and realistic expectations. Track record of driving high-quality RCA and corrective and preventive actions to closure across multiple teams and third parties. Demonstrable strength in ITSM/ITOM data analysis, reporting and governing to measurable outcomes. Experience working in 24x7 operational environments, including disciplined incident handover and on-call support. Hands-on experience of enterprise ITSM tooling (ServiceNow preferred) and monitoring/observability platforms. Experience in a regulated industry (pharmaceutical, life sciences, financial services or similar) desirable. Skills/Background Composure, sound judgement and personal authority under pressure, including when leading specialists and suppliers who do not report to the role. Excellent communication, moving fluently between technical detail and concise senior-stakeholder updates on business impact, recovery and risk. Strong facilitation and questioning skills to keep incident bridges focused, eliminat