M365 Intelligent Service Lead - #2168427

Job Profile Summary

Reporting to the Head of Engineering, this senior role leads the operational management, service design, governance and delivery of Chaucer's Cloud Microsoft 365 intelligent services function. It shapes the overall direction and evolution of M365 services and is accountable for the Power Platform estate, Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, the company Standard Operating Environment (SOE), and the reliable delivery and continuous improvement of M365 platform services.

The role requires a service-focused technology leader who combines M365 platform ownership, service design, operational control, engineering oversight and stakeholder engagement. It leads the development of M365 intelligent services, standards, patterns [DC1.1][SC1.2]and roadmaps within the M365 platform domain, working in partnership with the Architecture team to ensure alignment with enterprise direction. The role ensures M365 services are secure, resilient, compliant, supportable and aligned to business priorities while enabling responsible automation, low-code development and AI-assisted ways of working.

The role leads internal and third-party resources and provides senior M365 platform design leadership. It works closely with the Architecture team for enterprise design assurance and with the M365 Collaboration & Productivity team, responsible for SharePoint and core M365 productivity tools, to ensure shared standards, service boundaries, roadmaps and dependent changes deliver a coherent end-to-end M365 experience. It also works closely with the Integration, Data and Azure Cloud Operations teams where M365 services depend on enterprise APIs, orchestration services, data platforms or Azure AI capabilities.

Job Description

• Own the M365 service architecture, M365 cloud operations roadmap and service plan, aligning platform direction and priorities to business demand, agreed enterprise architecture, security requirements, technology strategy and the wider CTG operating model.
• Provide end-to-end service ownership for the Power Platform estate, including Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages and Dataverse, covering governance, administration, environment strategy, lifecycle management, support and operational assurance.
• Own the operational platform and service management [DC2.1][SC2.2]of Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Studio, including readiness, controlled adoption, licence and capacity oversight, support, monitoring and continuous improvement.
• Lead the delivery, transition and operational acceptance of new or changed M365 cloud services, ensuring requirements, controls, support models, documentation and ownership are established before go-live.
• Lead M365 platform design and establish service patterns, guardrails, standards and decision frameworks[DC3.1][SC3.2], seeking Architecture team assurance for material or cross-enterprise decisions.
• Define the Power Platform environment, data, connector, solution and application lifecycle management approach, including appropriate separation of development, test and production services.
• Ensure Copilot and low-code capabilities are introduced responsibly, with controls for identity, data access, privacy, information protection, records management, auditability and human oversight.
• Provide operational leadership as an escalation point for incidents, problems[DC4.1][SC4.2], service risks, capacity constraints, platform health and technical debt across the owned services.
• Drive automation, standardisation and self-service where these improve employee experience, operational efficiency and control effectiveness.
• Act as the senior platform adviser and escalation point for M365 services, shaping service design and bringing material architecture decisions through the appropriate assurance forums.
• Attend change, risk, service and technology governance forums [DC5.1][SC5.2]as required to provide assurance on service health, delivery, adoption, risk and business value.
• Shape the M365-side integration and orchestration approach for business processes that span Power Platform, Copilot, enterprise applications and shared data services, working with the Integration and Architecture teams on cross-enterprise patterns and assurance.
• Coordinate the use of Azure AI capabilities that extend M365 and Copilot services, ensuring clear ownership, support boundaries, security controls and operational readiness with the Azure, Data and AI platform teams.

Leadership and Strategy

• Demonstrates a high level of self-awareness through a commitment to continuous personal improvement and learning.

• Translates organisational vision into clear M365 service designs, platform choices, roadmaps, measurable goals and delivery priorities.

• Provides leadership and direction to M365 cloud operations, M365 platform configuration, [DC6.1][SC6.2]administration and support resources, including third parties.

• Creates an inclusive, accountable and service-oriented culture focused on reliable delivery, engineering discipline, customer experience and continuous improvement.

• Anticipates changes across the Microsoft cloud roadmap and assesses their implications for service design, security, operations, licensing, adoption, skills and business value.

• Balances pace of adoption with resilience, cost, risk, supportability and platform sustainability.

• Builds strong partnerships across Security, Architecture, Data, Service Management, End User Computing, Product, TMO/Change[DC7.1][SC7.2] and business teams.

• Motivates the team to deliver high-quality services and takes accountability for operational outcomes and decisions.

M365 Service Design and Architecture

Define and maintain the M365 service architecture, reference patterns and strategic roadmap, working with the Architecture team to ensure alignment with enterprise architecture, security, data and integration strategies.

Provide senior platform design leadership across the M365 service landscape, including services owned by this role and dependencies with SharePoint and core productivity tools.

Shape the future M365 service portfolio by assessing Microsoft roadmap developments, business demand and emerging capabilities, and translating them into investment choices and sequenced roadmaps.

Lead M365 service design decisions and coordinate design assurance for material changes, working through the Architecture team and relevant governance forums where decisions have enterprise or cross-domain impact.Define M365-specific design principles and patterns for identity, information protection, data, integration, automation, extensibility, endpoint managemen