FM Helpdesk Manager

Thrive SW; West of England; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great Benefits

Job summary

Thrive SW is seeking a proactive FM Helpdesk Manager in Bristol to lead the Helpdesk function, ensuring efficient and high-quality technical support for all users. You will oversee day-to-day operations, manage SLAs and drive continuous improvement across processes, systems and customer experience.

The role emphasizes coaching and developing the support team, prioritising incidents, and coordinating with engineers and contracts to maintain service levels. 40-hour week with great benefits.

Qualifications

• Previous management experience within Facilities Management, maintenance, engineering or service delivery Helpdesk environments.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor, coach and performance-manage a busy operational team.
• Strong understanding of reactive and planned maintenance environments and the management of contractual SLAs and KPIs.
• Excellent customer service skills and ability to make decisions under pressure.
• Good knowledge of IT and CAFM systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage in-hours and out-of-hours Helpdesk teams, setting clear objectives, KPIs, SLAs and performance standards to deliver high operational performance and customer service.
• Monitor performance, conduct appraisals and quality audits, providing constructive feedback.
• Identify training gaps and develop Helpdesk Administrators' confidence and problem-solving skills.
• Promote accountability and ownership, ensuring jobs are managed from receipt to completion with consistent processes.
• Manage workloads, holiday cover and out-of-hours resources to maintain service levels.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Contract Managers, engineers, Finance and other teams to drive continuous improvement.
• Develop and implement Helpdesk policies, procedures and call-handling scripts to improve service delivery.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Coaching

Customer service

Incident management

IT proficiency

Tools

simPRO

Job description

FM Helpdesk Manager Bristol Based 40 hours per week Great Benefits

Are you working within the Facilities Management sector on the Helpdesk and looking for a new role / step into Management. Thrive SW are supporting a rapidly growing Facilities Services business based in Bristol that are recruiting for a new Helpdesk Manager,

The Helpdesk Manager is responsible for leading and managing the Helpdesk function, ensuring the delivery of efficient, responsive, and high-quality technical support to all users. The role oversees the day-to-day operation of the Helpdesk, manages service performance against agreed SLAs, drives continuous improvement in processes, systems, and customer experience, and leads, coaches, and develops the support team to ensure the effective prioritisation and resolution of incidents and service requests.

Main Duties:

Leadership, Team Management & Development

• Lead, mentor and manage in-hours and out-of-hours Helpdesk teams, setting clear objectives, responsibilities, KPIs, SLAs and performance standards to deliver consistently high operational performance and customer service.
• Monitor individual and team performance, conducting regular one-to-ones, appraisals and quality audits providing constructive feedback.
• Identify training and competency gaps, developing Helpdesk Administrators' confidence, decision-making, ownership and problem-solving skills while reducing unnecessary escalation.
• Promote a strong culture of accountability and ownership, ensuring Administrators manage jobs from receipt through to satisfactory completion while maintaining consistent processes and service standards.
• Manage workloads, staffing levels, holiday cover and out-of-hours resource, reallocating responsibilities as required to maintain service levels and operational continuity.
• Lead regular team meetings and cross-functional collaboration with Contract Managers, engineers, Finance and other operational teams to address issues, review client feedback and drive continuous improvement.
• Lead by example, recognising strong performance and addressing underperformance fairly and promptly, while maintaining professionalism, urgency, accountability and a customer-focused approach.

Service Delivery

• Oversee the end-to-end workflow of reactive, planned, quoted and project-related works, ensuring all requests are accurately logged, categorised, prioritised and promptly allocated to the appropriate engineer, specialist team or subcontractor.
• Proactively manage emergency, priority, overdue and SLA-risk jobs, ensuring timely escalation, effective follow-up and resolution in line with client requirements, contractual obligations and company procedures.
• Ensure Helpdesk Administrators take full ownership of jobs from instruction through to completion, managing client communication, engineer coordination, documentation, follow-up actions, quotations, remedial works and return visits while minimising stalled or aged work orders.
• Monitor and optimise Helpdesk workflow, mailbox activity and engineer schedules, ensuring workloads are appropriately distributed, productivity is maximised, SLAs are achieved and effective handovers are maintained across Helpdesk, Contract Managers, engineers, subcontractors and out-of-hours teams.
• Monitor and manage contractual KPIs and SLAs, including call answering performance and adherence to approved scripts, identifying risks and implementing corrective actions to maintain consistently high service levels.
• Ensure accurate administration of projects, customer portals and purchase order processes, including correct costs, cost centres, variations and completion documentation, while reducing invoice queries and supporting smooth financial processes.
• Develop and implement Helpdesk policies, procedures and call-handling scripts, driving continuous improvement, process consistency, service delivery and operational efficiency across the Helpdesk function. Ensuring all SLA & KPI Measures are managed and achieved

Quality

• Ultimate responsibility for CAFM System & Project Management Interface
• Manage all data input/flow into and out of simPRO.
• Oversee the quality of client interactions handled by Helpdesk Administrators, using call monitoring, feedback, and coaching to ensure consistently professional, effective, and customer-focused communication.

Health & Safety, Compliance & Escalation

• Ensure the Helpdesk team follows the correct procedures for reporting and recording accidents, incidents, near misses and other Health & Safety concerns.
• Ensure serious service failures, compliance concerns, high-risk incidents or risks to contractual performance are immediately escalated to the appropriate manager.
• Develop and maintain clear escalation procedures for emergency, high-risk, high-value and service-critical incidents.
• Ensure Helpdesk continuity during staff absence, system outage, high call volumes or major incidents, with clear contingency arrangements and handovers.

Qualities and Requirements:

• Previous management experience essential, ideally within a Facilities Management, maintenance, engineering or service delivery Helpdesk environment.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor, coach and performance-manage a busy operational team.
• Strong understanding of reactive and planned maintenance environments and the management of contractual SLAs and KPIs.
• Excellent customer service skills
• Able to prioritise work, remain calm and make effective decisions during periods of high and sustained operational pressure.
• Flexibility with hours of work to cope with work demands
• Self-motivated and capable of working within a team environment with excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills
• Good knowledge of various IT & CAFM Systems