IT Service Desk Manager
IT Service Desk Manager
- London (Hybrid)
- Contract – 6 months
- Rate: £450 - £500 PD - Inside IR35
Overview
We are seeking an experienced IT Service Desk Manager to lead and develop a high-performing Service Desk function within a fast-paced and innovative digital environment. This is an exciting opportunity for a customer-focused IT leader with strong operational management experience, a passion for service excellence, and a proactive approach to driving continual service improvement.
You will play a key role in ensuring the delivery of efficient, reliable, and customer-centric IT support services across the organisation, while working closely with both technical and business stakeholders to maintain high service standards and an exceptional end-user experience.
Role & Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the IT Service Desk as the central point of contact for all IT support and service requests
- Oversee day-to-day 1st and 2nd line support operations, ensuring excellent customer service and consistent SLA performance
- Manage Service Desk analysts and support engineers, including workload allocation, performance management, mentoring, and career development
- Monitor Service Desk KPIs, trends, and customer satisfaction metrics to drive operational excellence and service improvements
- Ensure effective incident, request, problem, and escalation management processes are followed in line with ITIL best practices
- Drive proactive problem management and trend analysis to identify recurring issues and implement preventative solutions
- Own and optimise Service Management platforms such as ServiceNow and associated support tooling
- Coordinate and lead Major Incident communications and escalation activities where required
- Collaborate with infrastructure, application, security, and project teams to improve service stability, availability, and user experience
- Manage relationships with third-party suppliers and support providers, ensuring agreed service levels and contractual obligations are met
- Maintain and enhance knowledge management processes, including documentation and self-service support content
- Support IT service continuity, operational resilience, and disaster recovery activities
- Ensure operational compliance with internal controls, security standards, and governance requirements
- Identify opportunities for automation, process optimisation, and service enhancement across the Service Desk function
- Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and customer-focused team culture
Skills & Experience
Essential
- Proven experience managing an IT Service Desk or End User Support function
- Previous people management and team leadership experience within a service-driven environment
- ITIL Foundation certification or equivalent IT Service Management qualification
- Strong understanding of ITSM best practices, including Incident, Request, Problem, and Change Management
- Experience managing and improving Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and operational KPIs
- Hands-on experience with Service Management platforms such as ServiceNow, Freshservice, TopDesk, or similar
- Experience working within Agile and/or DevOps environments
- Familiarity with digital experience monitoring tools such as Nexthink
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
- Experience managing third-party suppliers and outsourced support providers
- Excellent analytical, organisational, and problem-solving capabilities
- Budget, resource planning, and operational management experience
Desirable
- Lean or Continual Service Improvement experience
- Knowledge of collaboration and workflow platforms such as SharePoint and Confluence
- IT Asset Management experience
- Familiarity with Intent-Based Leadership principles
- Experience driving self-service adoption and support automation initiatives