Service Desk Manager

Centurion Growth Recruitment Services; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Centurion Growth Recruitment Services in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa seeks a Service Desk Manager to lead a 6-person team, ensure ITIL-aligned operations, and drive continuous improvement across incidents, requests, and escalations.

You will report to the Operations Manager and manage P1/P2 incidents while upholding ISO 27001:2022 and POPIA requirements. This permanent, on-site role demands a senior leader with 10+ years in IT Service Desk/IT Operations and 5+ years in management.

Qualifications

• Relevant IT Diploma or Degree (Mandatory).
• ITIL v3 or v4 Certification (Mandatory).
• ISO 27001 exposure or certification (Advantageous).

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a 6-person Service Desk team.
• Act as final escalation point for critical incidents (P1/P2).
• Govern SLAs/OLAs and ensure adherence to ITIL standards.
• Oversee incident, request, problem and escalation workflows.
• Drive RCA, trend analysis, and continuous service improvements.
• Liaise with clients, engineers, ISPs, OEMs and vendors during incidents.
• Produce weekly/monthly performance dashboards and runbooks.

Skills

ITIL knowledge

ITSM tooling

Leadership

Incident management

SLA/KPI governance

Stakeholder communication

Team coaching

Education

Diploma or Degree in IT

ITIL Certification

Tools

ServiceNow

ITSM tooling

Job description

Service Desk Manager Centurion Growth Recruitment ServicesMidrand, Gauteng, South Africa

Service Desk Manager

Position Type: Permanent, on-site

Department: Operations (Information Technology)

Reporting To: Operations Manager

About Our Client

Our client is an award-winning, holistic technology services company with a national footprint and an unwavering focus on service excellence. They specialise in delivering secure, scalable, and innovative ICT solutions that enable businesses to operate with confidence and agility.

Built on a high-performance culture, the organization empowers its people to take ownership, go the extra mile, and take pride in delivering world-class customer experiences. Equal emphasis is placed on people, performance, and strict adherence to industry governance standards.

Role Overview

As the Service Desk Manager, you will hold overall leadership, operational performance, and continuous improvement responsibility for the Service Desk function.

Reporting directly to the Operations Manager, you will ensure the Service Desk operates as a stable, scalable, and world-class engine supporting an enterprise managed services portfolio. This role requires a customer-centrics leader who can manage high-pressurer major incidents while maintaining alignment with ITIL best practices, ISO 27001 compliance, and team development goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, manage, coach, and develop a dedicated team of 6 Service Desk technical resources. Oversee shift coverage, workload distribution, and performance management.
• Service Delivery & Escalation Management: Act as the final escalation point for critical (P1/P2) incidents, managing high-pressure situations calmly and decisively.
• SLA & OLA Governance: Ensure Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs) are consistently met or exceeded.
• Operational Discipline: Oversee daily Service Desk operations across Incident, Request, Problem, and Escalation Management workflows aligned to ITIL standards.
• Continuous Service Improvement (CSI): Drive root cause analysis (RCA) investigations, trend analysis, and proactive process enhancements.
• Customer & Vendor Liaison: Maintain clear, professional, and proactive communication with clients during incidents. Liaise with internal engineering teams, ISPs, OEMs, and third-party vendors.
• Reporting & Quality Assurance: Produce weekly and monthly performance dashboards and KPI reports. Maintain accurate runbooks, knowledge base articles, and ticketing system data.
• Governance & Compliance: Ensure all Service Desk activities adhere to ITIL, ISO 27001:2022, POPIA, and internal policies. Support audit and governance reviews.

Mandatory Job Requirements

Education & Certifications:

• Relevant IT Diploma or Degree (Mandatory).
• ITIL v3 or v4 Certification (Mandatory).
• ISO 27001 exposure or certification (Advantageous).

Experience:

• Minimum 10+ years' total experience in IT Service Desk / IT Operations roles.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in a Service Desk Manager or senior leadership role (Mandatory).
• Proven track record within an ICT Managed Services Provider (MSP) environment (Mandatory).
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing teams of 5–10 technical resources.

Core Competencies & Skills

• Technical Competencies: Deep understanding of ITIL service management frameworks, ITSM ticketing platforms, SLA/KPI metrics, and general working knowledge of networking, connectivity, cloud, and cybersecurity services.
• Operational Excellence: Strong risk identification, root cause analysis, trend monitoring, and document management capabilities.
• Behavioural Traits: Highly customer-centrics, calm and decisive under pressure, ethical, structured, and detail-oriented with high personal accountability.

Disclaimer:

This job description outlines the primary responsibilities and qualifications required for the position and is not an exhaustive list of all duties. Responsibilities may be amended based on operational requirements. The client reserves the right to amend or withdraw this job advert without notice. By responding to this advertisement or submitting your personal information, CV, or supporting documentation, you explicitly consent to the processing, storage, and retention of your personal information in accordance with relevant data privacy legislation. We will only be corresponding with shortlisted candidates. Should you not receive any feedback within 2 weeks after the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.