Service Owner
A service owner is responsible for the overall quality of a service. They make sure all parts of the service work well together, across different products and channels.
What they do
- own the quality and performance of the service end-to-end
- make key decisions on service strategy and governance
- manage stakeholder relationships and governance structures
- ensure the service aligns with policy goals and business objectives
- oversee project and approval processes to ensure compliance
- identify and manage risks
- promote service adoption and continuous improvement
- ensure teams collaborate effectively across functions
Key outputs
- Service strategy – defines the service vision and objectives
- Governance framework – sets out decision-making structures
- Business case and funding models – ensure the service is viable
- Risk assessments – identify and mitigate threats
- Legal and policy compliance documentation – ensure regulatory compliance
Project tasks
- Discovery - define service scope and identify key stakeholders
- Alpha - test service concepts, allocate resources, and check compliance
- Beta - scale the service, monitor performance and satisfaction and promote digital take-up strategies
- Live - lead continuous improvement and ensure long-term sustainability
Hiring considerations
Before hiring, consider whether the skills already exist in your organisation. Training or reallocating staff might be a more effective way to fill gaps.
- When to hire - if multiple teams need a single point of accountability for service performance and governance
- When to upskill - if someone in the organisation has strong strategic leadership skills, is confident making service-level decisions, and understands governance frameworks
- Essential skills - governance, strategic leadership, budgeting, stakeholder management
- Common tools - Microsoft Power BI (for service performance monitoring), Miro (for stakeholder mapping), Confluence (for governance documentation)