Global IT Service Desk Lead (Manchester Area)

Global IT Service Desk Lead

Location: Manchester (occasional office visits)

Contract: 1 May 2025 – 31 December 2025

Setup: Contract Daily Rate (inside ir35)

Role Overview

We are seeking a seasoned Global IT Service Desk Lead to oversee multi-site IT Service Desks across six locations in a multi-vendor landscape. You’ll harness ITIL best practices to drive ITSM processes, leverage the ServiceNow platform for seamless service request management and integrations, and forge strong stakeholder and vendor relationships to underpin a world-class employee experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Service Management & Strategy: Lead the end-to-end Service Desk strategy, aligning roadmaps to business and IT priorities; embed ITIL-based workflows and SLA/OLA frameworks.
• ITSM & Tools: Utilise ServiceNow Products (including incident, problem and change modules) to automate ticketing, reporting and service improvement plans; bonus points for deep ServiceNow skillset.
• Performance & Reporting: Define and manage KPIs (CSAT, SLA adherence, volume metrics); analyse trends to drive continuous improvement and root-cause analysis.
• Budget & Cost Management: Own the Global IT Service Desk budget; track spend vs. forecast; negotiate contracts to maximise value and efficiency.
• Stakeholder & Vendor Management: Build and maintain relationships with regional IT Directors, Business Technology Groups and external suppliers; coordinate support, escalations and continuity planning.
• Collaboration: Partner with Incident Management and Command Centre teams to ensure rapid resolution; support problem management in implementing remedial actions.

Must-Have Skills

• Budget and cost management
• ITIL v3/v4 certification
• ITSM service request management
• Hands-on experience with ServiceNow Products
• Stakeholder management across senior levels
• Vendor selection, negotiation and performance oversight