IT Service Desk Manager

First Group; Southampton, London; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic leader to enhance its IT Service Desk function. This role involves overseeing daily operations, ensuring efficient support aligned with business goals, and fostering a user-centric culture. You will lead a high-performing team, manage service desk tools, and drive continuous improvement initiatives. With a focus on customer service and IT service management principles, you'll play a crucial role in optimizing service delivery. If you're passionate about technology and leadership, this opportunity offers a chance to make a significant impact in a vibrant organization.

Benefits

Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services

75% discount on other train companies

Excellent pension scheme

Full training and support

Exclusive retail offers

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing an IT service desk in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of coaching and developing teams.
• Solid understanding of IT infrastructure and support operations.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of the IT Service Desk, ensuring SLAs and KPIs are met.
• Monitor service performance and implement improvements.
• Manage incidents and ensure timely resolution to minimize disruption.

Skills

IT Service Management

Leadership

Customer Service

Analytical Skills

Communication Skills

Education

ITIL Certification

Project Management Certification

Tools

ServiceNow

BMC Remedy

Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Active Directory

Job description

Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to improve quality of life, by bringing people together to get the most out of life.

About the job

The purpose of this role is to lead and optimise the IT Service Desk function, ensuring efficient customer focused support aligned with business goals.

Your mainresponsibilities will be:

• Oversee the daily operations of the IT Service Desk, ensuring service requests and incidents are managed in line with agreed SLAs and KPIs.
• Monitor and report on service performance, identifying areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions.
• Ensure continuous improvement of service desk processes, tools, and procedures.
• Motivate team and drive standards through coaching and proactive performance management at an individual and team level.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, manage staff development, and implement training plans.
• Manage and escalate incidents, ensuring timely resolution while minimising business disruption.
• Identify trends and root causes of recurring issues, facilitating long-term solutions through problem management.
• Liaise with technical teams and other stakeholders to ensure efficient problem resolution.
• Manage the configuration and administration of the Service Desk toolset.
• Ensure accurate recording and classification of incidents and service requests within the ITSM system.
• Evaluate and implement new tools or upgrades to enhance service delivery and efficiency.
• Provide regular performance and trend reports to management.

You'll need:

• Proven experience managing an IT service desk or technical support team in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of coaching, developing, and motivating high-performing teams.
• Solid understanding of IT infrastructure, systems, and support operations across desktop, network, and application environments.
• In-depth knowledge of IT service management principles; ITIL certification (Foundation or higher) preferred.
• Exceptional customer service focus, with the ability to drive a user-centric culture and improve service delivery.
• Experience managing incident, problem, and request workflows, with a strong grasp of SLAs and KPIs.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of engaging with technical teams, stakeholders, and senior leadership.
• Experience with enterprise-level IT systems and platforms such as Active Directory, Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Intune) or Entra ID.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to produce reports, identify trends, and lead service improvement initiatives.
• Experience managing service desk tools and platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, BMC Remedy, FreshDesk)

It would be beneficial if you have:

• Experience supporting remote and hybrid working environments, including VPNs and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
• Project management knowledge or certification (e.g., PRINCE2, PMP) to support service improvement and change initiatives.
• Understanding of cybersecurity best practices and experience contributing to IT security and compliance efforts.
• Familiarity with IT change management processes and tools.
• Experience with service automation tools, AI-powered support technologies, or workflow optimisation.

About the Location:

This role will require travelacross our network, primarily, you will work from Overline House & our Head office in South Bank Central.

South Western Railways HQ is based on the 4th Floor at South Bank Central, a stone's throw from the River Thames and a 10 minute walk from our busiest station, Waterloo. It is local to many well-known attractions, restaurants and retail facilities and is easily accessible by public transport.

Overline House is conveniently situated overlooking Southampton Central Station and is easily accessible by public transport. The station is very local to West Quay, a hub for retailers and restaurants, and providesan excellent link between London, Coastal areas and the Isle of Wight.

Working pattern

You will work an average of 37 hours per week across 5 days, typically, office hours, Monday - Friday.

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
• 75% discount on many other train operating companies
• Full training and support with development
• Large range of exclusive retail offers
• Excellent pension scheme

We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/