Unilabs is on a multi-year journey to become Europe's leading diagnostics company. To achieve this, we need to operate our markets, build synergies that leverage our size and scale, and ensure we are best setup to meet the evolving needs of patients, medics and healthcare ecosystems.
As part of our ongoing wider transformation journey to build a more agile, efficient, and patient-centred organisation and strengthen our medical, operational and commercial performance, we are looking to centralise core IT services into a Global Shared Service Centre (GSSC) based in Porto, while maintaining local capabilities across markets. This transformation focuses on improving service quality, scalability, and operational efficiency across Europe.
Within this context, the Global IT Transition & Service Readiness Manager plays a critical dual role:
- Acting as a strong deputy to the Head of IT Iberia, supporting operational leadership and execution across Portugal and Spain.
- Supporting the Global Service Delivery agenda, ensuring successful transition and rollout of services into the new operating model.
The role sits at the heart of execution, responsible for ensuring that transformation initiatives are delivered into stable operations, with minimal business disruption.
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Role Purpose
The Global IT Transition & Service Readiness Manager is accountable for planning, coordinating, and executing all IT service transitions across markets, vendors, and technology domains.
The role ensures:
- Smooth migration from current-state to target operating model
- Operational readiness of services before go-live
- Effective coordination across global, regional, and local stakeholders
Additionally, the role acts as a first-line operational proxy for the Head of IT Iberia, supporting prioritisation, execution governance, and escalation management.
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Key Responsibilities
1. Deputy Leadership – Iberia IT Operations
Act as day-to-day deputy for the Head of IT Iberia, supporting:
- Operational decision-making
- Issue resolution and escalations
- Coordination across Iberia IT teams
Ensure alignment between regional priorities and global IT strategy
2. Global IT Transition Strategy & Execution
Define and drive the end-to-end transition strategy and roadmap across:
- Service Desk & End User Services
- Infrastructure, Cloud & Networks
- Applications and platform services
Develop detailed transition plans, cutover strategies, and migration waves
Execute transitions ensuring minimal disruption to business operations
3. Service Readiness & Go-Live Assurance
Establish and enforce service transition acceptance criteria. Ensure readiness across:
- Processes (ITIL, support model)
- Documentation and knowledge transfer
- Tooling and integrations
Lead go-live readiness reviews and hypercare phases
Ensure operational teams (GSSC, NOC, Service Desk) are fully prepared to take ownership
4. GSSC & Service Delivery Enablement
Support the rollout and stabilisation of the Global Shared Service Centre (GSSC)
Ensure successful transition of services into centralised delivery model. Align with:
- Service Management (ITSM, SLAs, KPIs)
- Vendor delivery model
- Global operating model standards
5. Vendor Transition & Partner Management
Lead transition activities with external providers:
- Onboarding new vendors
- Transitioning services from incumbents
- Ensure alignment with:
- Contracts and SLAs
- Commercial and ramp-up/down plans
Act as single coordination point for vendor transition activities
6. Cross-Country Deployment & Change Coordination
Coordinate transition rollout across multiple markets (Portugal, Spain, Europe)
Manage:
- Deployment sequencing
- Local dependencies and constraints
- Workforce transition impacts
Ensure effective communication and alignment with country stakeholders
7. Risk, Governance & Execution Control
Identify and mitigate **transition risks and dependencies
Establish governance mechanisms to track:
- Transition progress
- Service stability
- Issues and escalations
Provide clear reporting to IT leadership (Head of IT Iberia & CITO)
8. Alignment with Target Operating Model (TOM)
Ensure all transitions align with the global IT operating model and transformation goals
Support implementation of:
- Centralised service delivery
- ITSM standardisation
- Scalable and vendor-enabled operating model
Success Measures
- Seamless transition of services with low operational disruption
- On-time delivery of transition milestones across markets
- Successful GSSC onboarding of services
- Service stability post go-live (reduction in incidents)
- Vendor performance aligned with SLAs
- Positive feedback from country leadership and business stakeholders
Requirements
Experience
- 8–12+ years in IT operations, service management, or transformation roles
- Ideally prior hands-on experience of global transitions at least in 2 different settings/ companies
- Proven experience in:
o IT service transitions or outsourcing programmes
o Multi-country IT environments
o Large-scale transformation execution
Skills & Capabilities
- Strong programme and execution management skills
- Excellent stakeholder management across C-level, global, and local teams
- Deep understanding of:
o ITIL / ITSM processes
o Service delivery and operations
- Strong risk management and problem-solving capabilities
- Ability to operate **strategically and hands-on**
Leadership Attributes
- High accountability and ownership mindset
- Ability to lead through complexity and ambiguity
- Strong communication and influencing skills
- Focus on business continuity and customer impact
