Mainframe Application Support Team Leader (COBOL)

TL;DR

Mainframe Application Support Team Leader (COBOL/Mainframe): Leading a team of professionals supporting critical mainframe systems for the UK Rail Industry with an accent on BAU support and modernization initiatives. Focus on managing team workload, ensuring SLA compliance, and delivering application enhancements in high-availability environments.

Location: Remote (Mainland UK based), with mandatory monthly collaboration days in Chester and occasional visits to customer/hirify.global sites.

Company

hirify.global is a global leader in payment and transactional services providing critical infrastructure for various industries.

What you will do

• Lead onshore and offshore teams to support business-critical mainframe systems for the UK Rail Industry.
• Manage team workload to ensure 98%+ of ServiceNow tickets are handled within SLA requirements.
• Contribute to BAU support tasks and drive strategic application modernization and replacement projects.
• Conduct monthly service reviews with customers and represent the team at Change Approval Board (CAB) meetings.
• Perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) investigations and participate in the on-call support rota.
• Mentor junior team members and conduct performance reviews in a psychologically safe manner.

Requirements

• Must be based in Mainland UK.
• 5+ years of expertise in COBOL (Batch and CICS) and JCL programming.
• 2+ years of experience leading remote teams and managing diverse workforces.
• 5+ years of experience delivering application support for critical mainframe services in 24/7 SLA-driven environments.
• Experience capturing user requirements and creating technical specifications.
• Proven experience providing on-call support as part of a rota.

Nice to have

• ITIL Foundation certification (Version 3+).
• Experience with ServiceNow, JIRA, and Confluence.
• Background in Mainframe Transformation or Migration projects.
• Domain knowledge in UK Rail or the Transport sector.
• Knowledge of IBM Assembler, ADABAS, NATURAL, or IBM MQ interface development.

Culture & Benefits

• Remote-first working arrangement within the UK.
• Collaborative environment with monthly team synchronization days.
• Focus on psychological safety and professional growth through regular 1:1s.
• Opportunity to work on high-impact modernization projects for major infrastructure customers.