IT Service Desk Team Leader

Focus Group (UK); Shoreham-by-Sea; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday & birthday leave

Hybrid working

Parental leave

Volunteering day

Benefits package

Job summary

Focus Group is looking for an experienced Service Desk Team Leader to join our Operations team and deliver an exceptional support experience for our customers. This role leads a team of Service Desk Engineers, ensuring high service levels and ongoing development.

You will coach the team, manage workloads, and drive improvements in customer outcomes while collaborating with other operations teams in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Experience leading service desk or helpdesk teams.
• Proven ability to meet KPIs and SLAs.
• Strong coaching and development skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Experience with shift rotas and workforce planning.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Service Desk Engineers and manage day-to-day operations.
• Ensure service levels and KPIs are consistently achieved and escalations are handled.
• Plan leave, shifts, and workload distribution across the team.
• Deliver regular meetings, coaching, and performance reviews.
• Collaborate with senior engineers and other operations teams to improve customer outcomes.
• Identify training opportunities from performance data.

Skills

Service Desk Leadership

Team Coaching

KPI Management

Ticket Management

Workforce Planning

Escalation Handling

Stakeholder Communication

Change Management

Analytical Thinking

Customer Service

Job description

IT Service Desk Team Leader

Department: Service Operations

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Multiple Locations

Compensation: £36,500 - £40,000 / year

Description

Location: Based from Shoreham, Exeter, Birmingham or Manchester
Salary: Competitive
Contract: Permanent

Focus Group is looking for an experienced Service Desk Team Leader to join our Operations team and play a key role in delivering an exceptional support experience for our customers.

This is an exciting opportunity for a people-focused leader who thrives in a fast-paced service environment and is passionate about coaching teams, driving performance, and continuously improving customer outcomes.

Reporting to the Service Desk Manager, you'll be responsible for the day-to-day leadership of a team of Service Desk Engineers, ensuring service levels are achieved, customer satisfaction remains high, and team members receive the support and development they need to succeed.

Key Responsibilities

As a Service Desk Team Leader, you'll oversee the operational performance of your team, ensuring tickets are managed effectively, workloads are balanced, and customers receive a consistently high standard of service.

You’ll act as a key escalation point, support team development, drive service improvements, and work closely with wider operational teams to ensure a seamless customer experience.

This role combines people leadership, operational management, customer service excellence, and performance improvement within a busy and rewarding environment. Key Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop a team of Service Desk Engineers.
• Oversee day-to-day service desk operations, ensuring service levels and KPIs are consistently achieved.
• Manage annual leave, absence tracking, shift rotas, and workforce planning.
• Monitor ticket queues and ensure workloads are distributed effectively across the team.
• Drive performance against key metrics including response times, resolution times, customer updates, and call handling targets.
• Act as an escalation point for customer issues and service-related concerns.
• Work closely with Senior Engineers to ensure technical escalations are managed effectively.
• Ensure smooth handovers between day and night support teams.
• Review customer feedback and investigate negative CSAT responses, implementing improvement plans where required.
• Deliver regular team meetings, coaching sessions, and performance reviews.
• Identify training and development opportunities through ticket and performance analysis.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and customer excellence.
• Monitor ticket quality and ensure adherence to documented processes and quality standards.
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders across Operations and the wider business.
• Keep Service Desk Managers informed of major incidents, escalations, and support requirements.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

Essential Skills & Experience

• Previous experience in a Service Desk Team Leader, Helpdesk Team Leader, or similar support leadership role.
• Proven ability to lead, motivate, and develop customer support or technical support teams.
• Experience working within a KPI-driven service environment.
• Strong understanding of service desk operations and ticket management processes.
• Excellent organisational and workload management skills.
• Ability to delegate tasks effectively and fairly across a team.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence in handling escalations and difficult customer situations.
• Ability to remain calm and composed under pressure.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to service quality.
• Adaptable and able to lead teams through change and process improvements.
• Customer-centric mindset with a passion for delivering exceptional service.

You’ll play a key role in driving performance against important service metrics, including:

Job Benefits

• Holiday Allowance - 24 days + bank holidays + birthday leave.
• Hybrid working options - performance depending.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
• Paid volunteering day * regular charity events.
• Wider company benefits across health, financial wellbeing, Pension etc.

Internal job reference: Specialist/Team Leader