Fractional and interim ITSM consultant for IT teams under pressure
I'm Greg Spanner, an ITSM consultant with more than 15 years stabilising and leading IT service delivery teams. I step in as fractional or interim leadership when a service desk is struggling, a leadership seat is empty or a supplier change is coming, and I leave the process and capability in place when I go.
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Results from previous roles.
ITIL 4 Managing Professional·ISO/IEC 27001·BCS·ILM·Based in the North West, onsite or hybrid
When it makes sense to bring in an ITSM consultant
Organisations usually need an ITSM consultant when IT service management has stopped keeping up with the business. It tends to look like one of these:
- 01The service desk is missing its SLAs, the backlog keeps growing and customer satisfaction is falling.
- 02Every analyst works a different way because there's no consistent process.
- 03A head of service or IT operations lead has left, or is off long term, and the role can't sit empty while you recruit.
- 04You're changing IT supplier and a badly run transition would hit the people who rely on the service.
- 05Leadership can't see how the function is performing because there are no meaningful KPIs.
- 06The function is under scrutiny from the board, a parent company or ahead of a contract re-tender.
If one of those sounds familiar, an outside view with hands-on experience is usually the quickest way to steady things.
Three ways I can help
Each engagement is built around one problem, so you only pay for the leadership you need.
IT Service Desk & Operational Team Rescue
For desks that are missing SLAs, losing people or under review. I run a structured health check of people, process and tooling, then rebuild what's needed and coach the team so the improvement sticks.
Helpdesk and service desk rescueInterim & Fractional ITSM Leader
Experienced ITSM leadership from day one, interim or fractional, with no ramp-up required. I take ownership of the function, keep service delivery stable and report to the board in business language, as full-time cover while you recruit or for set days each week.
Fractional or interim service delivery manager coverSupplier Manager
Safe, structured transitions in and out of IT suppliers. Onboarding, offboarding, new system selection and the governance that holds a supplier to its service levels afterwards.
IT vendor management and supplier transitionsYou can see all three side by side, along with the coaching and roadmap work I offer on its own, on the ITSM consultancy services page.
How I work: The Marathon Way
Every engagement follows the same five phases: Assess, Shape, Deliver, Embed and Refine. It starts with an honest look at how the function is running today and ends with a clean handover, so you're never left depending on me.
1. Assess
Getting under the hood of your processes, people, toolsets and culture to find the root cause.
2. Shape
A report on where things stand and a roadmap to where they need to be, presented to senior leadership.
3. Deliver
Making the changes, whether that's to toolsets, process or team structure.
4. Embed
Training, coaching and documentation, so people are bought in and the change holds.
5. Refine
Dashboards, reporting and KPIs that keep improvement moving, driven by real data.
The approach is practical, aligned to ITIL best practice and sized to your team rather than copied from a textbook. Whether the work starts with a workshop, a diagnostic or a supplier review, the end point is the same: a function your own people can run.
About Greg
I've spent more than 15 years in IT service delivery and ITSM leadership, including senior roles as Head of Modern Workplace and IT End User Services Manager at established service providers. My track record is in stabilising underperforming functions, leading teams through change and embedding process discipline that holds up after I've gone.
- ITIL 4
- Managing Professional
- ISO/IEC 27001
- Lead Implementer
- BCS
- Problem Management and SIAM
- ILM
- Coaching and Mentoring
Why Marathon
With Marathon, I'm with you for the long run. Solving what's in front of you today is only part of the job. I also leave the process and capability in place, so you can keep moving long after I've gone. We'll do the hard miles together.
A lot of consulting stops at a report. I'd rather work alongside your team, fix the operational problems in front of us and coach your team leads as we go. Documentation, dashboards and a maturity roadmap stay with you when the engagement ends, so the capability is left behind rather than walked out the door.
That matters more now that most ITSM platforms ship with automation and AI features. A new tool implementation only helps when the service management underneath is sound, and sorting that out is where most of my time goes.
What people say about working with me
The Technology Service Desk transformed under Greg's leadership. He built a fantastic team and implemented a high-quality approach to the services provided. The service levels achieved were impressive, but more importantly the customer feedback was consistently superb.
In the three years I've worked alongside Greg, I've seen him transform the Technology Service Desk into one of the most efficient and focused teams in the business.
Greg is a professional IT Services manager with the ability to transform service processes in migrating both his team and business to significantly better service outcomes.
Questions I'm often asked
What does an ITSM consultant do?
An ITSM consultant looks at how your IT services are run, from the service desk to change and supplier management, and improves them. My work is hands-on: I lead the function or the change myself, rather than handing over a report and leaving you to implement it.
What's the difference between fractional and interim?
Interim means I cover a leadership role for a fixed period, usually while you recruit. Fractional means you get senior ITSM leadership for part of the week without a full-time hire. Both are available, and we'll pick the right fit on the first call.
Is ITSM the same as ITIL?
No. ITSM is the practice of running IT as a service to the business. ITIL is the best-known framework for doing it. I'm ITIL 4 certified and use it as a guide, sized to your organisation rather than applied wholesale.
How quickly can you start?
Usually within one to two weeks of agreeing the engagement, depending on the service.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the scope, so I don't publish rates. After a consultation call I'll send a short proposal setting out the approach, timescales and costs.
Let's talk about your requirements
Tell me what's going on and I'll tell you honestly whether I can help. The first call is a conversation, with no obligation and no hard sell.
Book a consultation call