Service Desk Manager

Southern Water group; Worthing; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Water is seeking a Service Desk Manager to lead the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, delivering high-quality incident and request handling for 4000+ users in a hybrid setting from Durrington, Worthing.

You will manage a small team, drive continuous improvement, maintain ITSM standards and collaborate across Digital and the wider business. ITIL Foundation is essential; ServiceNow training and cyber awareness are desirable.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership and people-management skills.
• Excellent customer service mindset with focus on user experience.
• Solid ITSM knowledge: Incident, Request Fulfilment, Knowledge and SLA management.
• Proven ability to manage queues, escalations and workload planning.
• ITIL Foundation qualification required; ITIL 4/5 preferred.
• Automation experience and ServiceNow training desirable.
• Information security or cyber awareness training desirable.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day operation of the Service Desk and incidents and requests.
• Oversee queue management, ticket progression and workload distribution.
• Ensure tickets are logged, categorised, prioritised, updated and closed to standard.
• Monitor service performance and act on demand/backlogs and major incidents.
• Coordinate rota coverage and shift patterns with Team Leaders.
• Contribute to continual service improvement using QA/CSAT data.
• Prepare for new or changed services including SLAs, support models and training.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Customer service

ITSM

Incident Management

Service Level Management

Communication

Queue management

Education

ITIL Foundation (ITIL 4/5)

Tools

ServiceNow

Job description

Closing Date 2026-09-07 Job Title: Service Desk Manager Location: Durrington, Worthing – Hybrid working (minimum 2 days a week in the office) Contract Type: Permanent Hours: 37 Salary: From £55k based on skills and experience

About the role

The Service Desk Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, ensuring high-quality incident and request handling, effective queue and performance management, and resilient first line I.T support for over 4000 internal and external users. The role provides leadership to 2 Team Leaders and 10 Analysts, driving capability, wellbeing and accountability, while improving customer experience through quality assurance, feedback and continual service improvement.

What you will be responsible for

Working across Digital and the wider business, the postholder uses service insight and demand data to inform planning, represents the Service Desk in governance and change activity, ensures operational readiness for new or changed services, and maintains compliance with security, risk and data protection requirements. You will also be enrolled on the ‘on call’ rota. Manage the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, ensuring effective handling of incidents, service requests, queries and escalations Oversee queue management, ticket progression, aged ticket follow-up, workload distribution and service continuity Ensure tickets are logged, categorised, prioritised, updated, escalated and resolved in line with agreed standards Monitor service performance throughout the day, taking action where demand, backlogs, absence or major incidents affect service levels Work with Team Leaders to ensure appropriate rota coverage, shift patterns, handovers and resource allocation. Ensure the Service Desk provides timely, professional and effective first-line support. Own the Service Desk contribution to the incident lifecycle, including logging quality, updates, escalation paths and closure quality. Ensure operational readiness for new or changed services, including support models, knowledge, resolver routes, SLAs, escalation paths and Service Desk training. Audit a regular sample of calls, emails, portal interactions, chats and ticket updates where applicable. Review professionalism, communication quality, ticket accuracy, troubleshooting approach, knowledge use, escalation quality and closure standards. Use QA and CSAT outputs to improve knowledge articles, scripts, templates, standard responses, onboarding and apprentice support.

What you’ll bring to the role

Strong leadership, coaching and people-management skills Excellent customer service mindset, with a focus on user experience Good understanding of core ITSM practices, especially Incident Management, Request Fulfilment, Knowledge Management and Service Level Management Strong operational management skills, including queue management, prioritisation, escalation and workload planning Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage Analysts, IT teams, suppliers and senior stakeholders Ability to manage performance, support wellbeing and build team capability Good understanding of Service Desk tooling Awareness of information security, access control and data protection responsibilities Continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to simplify processes and improve service quality Essential ITIL Foundation qualification, ideally ITIL 4 or 5 Experience in automation/automating systems Desirable ServiceNow training or certification desirable. Customer service qualification desirable. Information security or cyber awareness training desirable.

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed. You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation. "Our mission is to protect and enhance life through water—and we need passionate people to help us achieve it." You don’t need to meet every criterion; what matters most is your drive to make a difference.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information

In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years. Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre‑employment checks, including security vetting. Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.

Our purpose is big. Our impact is huge. And we know that every single one of us has the power, through our actions, to positively change society and the environment for good. It’s why careers with us have real meaning. Because, if you’re driven and ambitious, we can offer you huge opportunities for personal growth, professional development and constant innovation. Forever evolving. Forever focused on doing the right thing, we empower and encourage everyone to play to their strengths and to help us shape a fair and positive future for all. We believe in Water for Life. If you do too, Dive Right In. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team.

During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position. Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution.