How to hire a service delivery manager

How to hire a service delivery manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step service delivery manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a service delivery manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new service delivery manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a service delivery manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your service delivery manager job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a service delivery manager for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A service delivery manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, service delivery managers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents service delivery manager salaries for various positions.

   Type of Service Delivery Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Service Delivery Manager	Computer and information systems managers, often called information technology (IT) managers or IT project managers, plan, coordinate, and direct computer-related activities in an organization. They help determine the information technology goals of an organization and are responsible for implementing computer systems to meet those goals.	$35-67
   Information Technology Director	An information technology (IT) Director is a professional responsible for the management, strategy, and execution of an organization's IT infrastructure. He/She supervises a team of workers while working with the organization's management and external vendors and advisors... Show more	$46-94
   Director Of Managed Services	A director of managed services is in charge of overseeing the business processes in an organization, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around setting goals and objectives, managing the workforce, spearheading projects and campaigns, devising strategies to optimize services, and coordinating with analysts to identify new business opportunities... Show more	$38-87

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Service Delivery
   • Project Management
   • Cloud
   • Customer Service
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Client Facing
   • Infrastructure
   • Continuous Improvement
   • ITIL
   • SAN
   • Slas
   • Service Management
   • Technical Support
   • Level Agreements

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and maintain VCE Vblock, Cisco networking, EMC storage, and VMware server / desktop infrastructure.
   • Manage internal global IPVPN network services, comprise of approximately 1.6K routers / switches / Wi-Fi access points.
   • Manage the back office PBX for VoIP customers which includes porting of phones and ordering new hardware from 3rd party vendors.
   • Leverage the SDLC incremental release model to manage the design and implementation of a new integrate billing and check processing system.
   • Manage and execute ERP implementation and optimization work.
   • Manage virtualization of two data centers and 72 disparate satellite locations.

   More service delivery manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your service delivery manager job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A service delivery manager salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, service delivery managers' average salary in wyoming is 32% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level service delivery managers earn 47% less than senior-level service delivery managers.
   • Certifications. A service delivery manager with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a service delivery manager's salary.

   Average service delivery manager salary

   $102,213yearly

   $49.14 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level service delivery manager salary

   $74,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average service delivery manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Connecticut	$115,094	$55
   2	Massachusetts	$114,069	$55
   3	California	$113,572	$55
   4	North Carolina	$109,086	$52
   5	New York	$108,659	$52
   6	Michigan	$107,568	$52
   7	Pennsylvania	$105,495	$51
   8	Washington	$105,460	$51
   9	Arizona	$105,288	$51
   10	New Jersey	$103,821	$50
   11	District of Columbia	$103,703	$50
   12	Virginia	$103,653	$50
   13	Ohio	$103,393	$50
   14	Missouri	$102,661	$49
   15	Maryland	$102,096	$49
   16	Texas	$102,078	$49
   17	Georgia	$101,764	$49
   18	Florida	$100,733	$48
   19	Illinois	$98,822	$48
   20	Oregon	$98,364	$47

   Average service delivery manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	McKinsey & Company Inc	$156,309	$75.15	1
   2	Mayo Clinic	$149,698	$71.97	5
   3	Citi	$145,626	$70.01	5
   4	First Republic Bank	$140,250	$67.43
   5	Genentech	$138,322	$66.50	9
   6	Capgemini	$136,614	$65.68	15
   7	Deutsche Bank	$136,356	$65.56
   8	Unisys	$136,120	$65.44
   9	Cloudera	$134,184	$64.51
   10	Credit Suisse	$133,921	$64.39
   11	Aeris Communications	$133,594	$64.23	1
   12	F5	$132,308	$63.61	2
   13	Apple	$130,616	$62.80	14
   14	Cargill	$129,915	$62.46
   15	Intuit	$128,503	$61.78	11
   16	Northern Trust	$126,958	$61.04
   17	Alexion Pharmaceuticals	$124,954	$60.07
   18	Franklin Templeton	$123,573	$59.41	2
   19	P&G	$123,107	$59.19	6
   20	UBS	$122,286	$58.79	5

4. Writing a service delivery manager job description

   A good service delivery manager job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a service delivery manager job description:

   Service delivery manager job description example

   Description The Senior Service Delivery Manager - Technical, is responsible for the management of internal and external teams within various towers, management of the delivery of services within the towers including the managed services organizations, ensuring the timing and quality of deliverables within the towers, and ensuring that both the technical and financial objectives are met by our service delivery teams. Principal Responsibilities and Duties:
   
   This role will lead the Technical responsibilities of Network and Security towers within the Infrastructure as well as lend expertise in other towers as backup,
   
   Focus on the technical roadmap for the network and security infrastructure with alignment to the services the infrastructure group has ownership and accountability.
   
   Develop and maintain technical documentation, including diagrams, Operational and Engineering standards, project and transition documents.
   
   Manage and coordinate IT services and activities to assure effective enterprise resources are provided to the organization with in-house and commercial service management staff,
   Analyze key performance indicators to ensure services are delivered within SLA's, Accountable for the development and measurement of SLAs with both internal and external contract providers, Manages multiple programs and deliverables, and the coordination and direction of third-party partner relationships, Studies problems and capabilities, and develops solutions and strategies for improved operating procedures, alternate processing methods, communications, information flow, management reporting, and operational efficiency, Responsible for identifying, evaluating, and maintaining continual improvement opportunities from service desk and enterprise systems; improving quality and reducing costs. Prepare, document, and communicate various reports of production, operation, performance, and down time, Recommends changes in programs, processes, routines, and quality control standards, Responsible for the development of enterprise communication and training materials, Key Stakeholder in the development of and use of technology policies. Position Requirements:
   10 years of relevant IT services delivery experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience in technology, service management, and operations. 10 years of experience managing and leading teams, contractors, delivery professionals in an in-house, on-shore, and near/off-shore environment. Strong functional, analytical, presentation, documentation, training, inter-personal and customer relationship skills. Ability to establish priorities and work independently, on site and remotely. Educational & Experience Requirements
   Bachelor of Science Degree or higher; Management and/or Computer Science major desirable or 10+ years of proven work experience. Strong technical experience with the following areas: Firewall-WAF, IDS/IPS, Cloud Security, DNS (Route53), Load balancing, Route/Switch, VPN, NAC, SDWAN. Additional infrastructure engineering experience as it relates to interfacing with the Security and Network environments. Life Cycle management and planning through EoL/EoS and NextGen initiatives. Knowledge of cloud (Microsoft Azure, AWS and Office365) environments, along with the IaaS, PaaS and SaaS models. Experience engineering and deployments of enterprise-wide systems, services and applications utilizing IT project management best practices and methodologies. Understanding of IT Service Management (ITSM), ITIL v3, and continuous improvement. Implementation and management of ITIL Service Transition and Operations processes, Expert in managing services in an environment with pre-negotiated Service Level Agreements and establishing continuous improvement of those agreements. Familiar with asset and license management and related budget activities This is a great company who is looking for Top Talent! If that's you, APPLY NOW!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right service delivery manager for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with service delivery managers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit service delivery managers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your service delivery manager job on Zippia to find and recruit service delivery manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with service delivery manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new service delivery manager

   Once you've selected the best service delivery manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new service delivery manager first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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