Service Desk Manager

Rank Group; Bolton; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Rank Group in Bolton is seeking an experienced Service Desk Lead to manage day-to-day operations and 24/7 coverage. You will monitor performance, optimise rotas, coach the team, and drive continual improvement through automation and better reporting.

This role requires strong ITSM knowledge, people leadership, and the ability to deliver high-quality customer support in a fast-paced environment. Join a busy, customer-focused IT function that values proactive problem solving, data-driven decision

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing a Service Desk, IT support, or technical support team.
• Good understanding of IT service management, incident management, request fulfilment, SLAs, and escalation processes.
• Experience with ITSM tools, phone systems, reporting, and performance monitoring.
• Strong people management, coaching, analytical, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing rotas and teams within a 24/7 support environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily Service Desk operations, ensuring calls and tickets are handled efficiently and within agreed service levels.
• Monitor key performance measures including call volumes, answer rates, abandoned calls, agent availability, SLA performance, ticket quality, and backlog.
• Ensure effective 24/7 coverage through rota planning, shift management, absence cover, and fair allocation of shifts.
• Monitor individual and team performance, providing coaching, feedback, and support alongside the Service Desk Team Lead.
• Act as an escalation point for operational issues affecting service delivery or customer experience.
• Produce monthly performance reviews and provide clear updates to the Head of SMO and Service Desk team.
• Maintain dashboards and real-time reporting to improve visibility of workload, priorities, and service performance.
• Drive continuous improvement, including identifying opportunities to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
• Ensure work completed within and outside ServiceNow is appropriately captured and reported.

Skills

Service Desk management

IT service management

Incident management

SLA management

Performance monitoring

People management

24/7 support

Tools

ITSM tools

Phone systems

Reporting tools

Performance dashboards

Job description

Job Purpose

Lead the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, ensuring effective 24/7 coverage, strong service performance, high-quality customer support, and continuous improvement.

Main Responsibilities

• Manage daily Service Desk operations, ensuring calls and tickets are handled efficiently and within agreed service levels.
• Monitor key performance measures including call volumes, answer rates, abandoned calls, agent availability, SLA performance, ticket quality, and backlog.
• Ensure effective 24/7 coverage through rota planning, shift management, absence cover, and fair allocation of shifts.
• Monitor individual and team performance, providing coaching, feedback, and support alongside the Service Desk Team Lead.
• Act as an escalation point for operational issues affecting service delivery or customer experience.
• Produce monthly performance reviews and provide clear updates to the Head of SMO and Service Desk team.
• Maintain dashboards and real-time reporting to improve visibility of workload, priorities, and service performance.
• Drive continuous improvement, including identifying opportunities to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
• Ensure work completed within and outside ServiceNow is appropriately captured and reported.

Knowledge & Experience

• Proven experience managing a Service Desk, IT support, or technical support team.
• Good understanding of IT service management, incident management, request fulfilment, SLAs, and escalation processes.
• Experience with ITSM tools, phone systems, reporting, and performance monitoring.
• Strong people management, coaching, analytical, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing rotas and teams within a 24/7 support environment.

Personal Qualities

• Accountable, proactive, and customer-focused.
• Confident managing priorities and making operational decisions.
• Supportive and effective at coaching and developing others.
• Data-driven, organised, and detail-focused.
• Calm under pressure and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.
• Collaborative and committed to continuous improvement and automation.