IT Service Manager (Incident, Change & Release Management) (f/m/d)

Your Mission

The Digital, Information & Technology (DIT) team is introducing and optimizing digital solutions in all areas. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Incident and Escalation Manager to join our team.

You will be responsible to manage all Incident queues, Major Incident bridges and escalated tickets. This includes managing communication with internal delivery teams, providers and users.

You will monitor and report the Incident resolution performance and SLA’s. Your role will be vital in maintaining high-quality performance and delivery while upholding our core values of trust, transparency, collaboration, customer focus, ownership, and value centricity.

In addition you will support our Change and Release Management process. In this role you will be responsible for ensuring the smooth and efficient delivery of updates, upgrades, and new features across our diverse portfolio of applications and infrastructures.

This includes managing communication, risk identification and mitigation, schedule adherence, downtime, decision gates, and release approvals.

Your Role

Function 1 : Incident Management (Primary)

• Understand Klöckner’s business structure to align Incident resolution between all involved delivery teams.
• Manage the day-to-day activities of the incident management process
• Monitor and control the detection, recording, assignment, escalation, and resolution of incidents
• Manage Major Incidents during your periodical Manager On Duty shift
• Review incidents to check for quality and completeness
• Identify and initiate improvements for Incident and Major Incident processes
• Drive the efficiency and effectiveness of the incident management process
• Establish, monitor and report KPIs and SLAs
• Manage relationship to regional ITs, internal delivery units and different provider teams to ensure global Incident resolution at good quality
• Ensure that teams are briefed on incident management procedures and know their roles within them

Function 2 : Escalation Management (Primary)

• Monitor and manage escalated tickets
• Manage communication with affected users and resolving delivery units
• Monitor user satisfaction trends and evaluate negative feedback for potential improvements
• Establish, monitor and report KPIs and SLAs
• Identify and initiate improvements

Function 3 : Change and Release Management (Secondary)

• Coordinate with application teams to plan and schedule release activities, considering dependencies, resource availability, and business priorities
• Conduct risk assessments to identify potential issues or roadblocks, and develop mitigation strategies to minimize impact on project timelines and business operations
• Serve as the central point of contact for all change and release-related communications, both internally and externally, ensuring effective stakeholder management
• Facilitate decision gates and release approvals, working closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure alignment with organizational standards and best practices
• Monitor and track release progress, providing regular updates to the global delivery and operations manager and other key stakeholders
• Collaborate with the development, testing, and infrastructure teams to streamline and automate release processes, promoting continuous improvement and efficiency
• Champion the adoption of DevOps principles and agile methodologies within the change and release management function, driving a culture of collaboration and innovation
• Stay up to date with industry trends and emerging technologies related to change and release management, recommending relevant improvements or tools to enhance the overall process
• Provide leadership, guidance, and support to the change and release management team, fostering a positive work environment and promoting professional growth and development.
• Establish end-to-end test management processes and practices, ensuring proper test planning, execution, and documentation across all application releases
• Manage a change board to oversee change requests, assess their impact, and make informed decisions on whether to approve or reject them
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to establish release schedules and planning, taking into account dependencies, resource availability, and business priorities
• Develop and implement release reporting mechanisms to track key metrics, provide visibility into release progress, and support data-driven decision-making
• Coordinate incident management activities related to releases and changes, ensuring prompt identification, escalation, and resolution of any issues or disruptions

Function 4 : Other ITSM Disciplines

Support other processes like Problem Management, Knowledge Management, Asset Management and others.

Your Profile and Qualifications

Must haves :

• ITIL Foundation (or comparable)
• 3+ years with common ITSM suites on the market
• 5+ years in IT operations, Incident and Problem management
• Exceptional motivation, training and negotiation skills
• Strong self-starter and self-developer mentality
• Strong willingness to take over ownership and drive for results
• Professional English language skills
• Readiness to take the role of Manager on Duty with night shifts and on weekends

Nice to have :

• ITIL Practitioner
• Experience in infrastructure and / or application operations
• Professional German language skills

Your Work Atmosphere and Perspectives

You report to the ITSM lead who report to the VP Global Infrastructure & Service Management. You work closely with all internal and external IT teams and providers.

• Hybrid with about 2 days onsite per week
• Preferred : Duisburg / from 2025 : Düsseldorf
• Valid alternatives : Berlin and Remote

About us

Klöckner & Co is one of the world's largest producer-independent steel and metal distributors and one of the leading steel service companies.

Klöckner & Co serves over 90,000 customers through its distribution and service network with around 160 locations in 13 countries.

By expanding its portfolio of CO2-reduced materials, services and logistics under the new umbrella brand Nexigen®, the company is underscoring its role as a pioneer of a sustainable steel industry.

At the same time, as a pioneer of digital transformation in the steel industry, Klöckner & Co has set itself the goal of digitizing and largely automating its supply and service chain.

In this way, the company aims to become the leading one-stop store for steel, other materials, equipment and processing services in Europe and America.

In our Digital Hub kloeckner.i GmbH, we are bundling all projects geared to this under one roof. With currently 150 employees, we work hybrid at the Berlin and Duisburg sites.