Service Manager - Payments

Service Manager – Payments (Manchester)

Agency: Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency

Client: Co-op

Location: Manchester City Centre (Hybrid working policy: split time between home and the office twice a week)

Salary: £50,000 - £60,000 per annum + excellent benefits (Work Level 5)

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time (37.5 hours per week)

Closing Date: 06-11-2026

About the Role

Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency is proud to partner with Co-op to recruit an experienced Service Manager – Payments to join their expanding Digital, Technology and Data team in Manchester city centre.

In this vital role, you will take ownership of business-critical payment platforms and services, ensuring millions of customer transactions are processed securely, reliably, and efficiently across stores and digital channels. You will work closely with technical teams, business stakeholders, and third-party suppliers to maintain service health, manage operational risk, and drive continuous improvement.

What You’ll Do

• Service Ownership: Take full ownership of the day-to-day performance, stability, resilience, and continual improvement of one or more payment services.

• Incident & Major Incident Management: Act as an escalation point for incidents, lead service recovery activities during major incidents, and work alongside suppliers and technical teams to minimise user impact.

• Performance & Risk Management: Monitor service performance, trends, and compliance/security requirements to keep systems secure and resilient.

• Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong relationships with technical teams, business stakeholders, and external suppliers, leading service reviews to shape improvement priorities.

• Operational Readiness: Support change management and operational readiness activities to ensure new enhancements are fully supported in live environments.

What We Are Looking For

To be successful in this role through Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency, you should bring:

• Experience: Proven experience managing or supporting business-critical technology services in a service management, operations, or service delivery environment.

• Domain Knowledge: Direct experience working with payment services, financial transaction processing platforms, or other high-availability customer-facing services.

• Relationship Management: Strong stakeholder and supplier management skills with the ability to build effective partnerships and drive service performance against expectations.

• Problem-Solving Skills: Strong analytical capabilities to investigate service issues, interpret data/insights, and drive positive user outcomes.

• Frameworks: A solid understanding of service management principles and best practices (such as ITIL, ITIL 4, or equivalent).

(Note: Co-op values inclusive hiring; if you are excited about the role and your background is a close match, we strongly encourage you to apply!)

Why Join Through Us? (Candidate Benefits)

Working with Co-op means joining a purpose-driven organization that puts people and communities first. Perks and benefits include:

• Competitive Salary: £50,000 - £60,000 per year, plus an annual performance-based bonus.

• Health & Wellbeing: Private healthcare, virtual GP appointments, mental health support, nutritional/fitness advice, and access to a subsidised onsite gym at the Manchester HQ.

• Time Off: 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays.

• Financial Security: Pension scheme with up to 10% employer contributions, plus Wagestream (early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn).

• Employee Perks: 30% discount on Co-op products, 10% off other brands, cycle-to-work scheme, and 24/7 colleague support services.

• Career Development: Ongoing training and support for professional growth.