Service Desk Manager
4 days ago
Aylesbury
The Opportunity We are working exclusively with a well-regarded and growing business to appoint an IT Service Desk Manager. This is a key leadership hire within a business that takes genuine pride in the quality of its service, its team culture and its commitment to doing things the right way. The business has a strong set of values — success, passion, care, integrity and teamwork — and they are looking for someone who naturally embodies these. If you are a technically strong IT professional who is ready to step into or build on a leadership role, and you want to be part of a team that genuinely cares about both its people and its customers, this is worth a serious look. The Role The IT Service Desk Manager will lead and actively participate in the delivery of technical support across a team of 6 to 8 support staff, providing high-quality service to contracted customers and internal employees. The role combines operational leadership with genuine hands-on technical involvement — this is not a purely managerial position. You will act as the senior escalation point for complex or high-priority issues, set the standard for best practice across technical processes, service delivery, security controls, documentation and customer engagement, and foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and professional development within the team. Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Management • Lead, mentor, support, and develop helpdesk staff in both technical and customer service skills, • Oversee daily ticket allocation, prioritisation, and workload balancing across the team, • Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching sessions, and team meetings, • Support recruitment, onboarding, and ongoing staff development plans, • Promote a collaborative and positive team culture with clear expectations for service quality Hands-On Service Delivery & Escalation • Act as the primary 3rd-line technical escalation point, troubleshooting and resolving complex or high-impact incidents directly, • Lead by example, working alongside engineers to demonstrate best practice in both troubleshooting and support techniques, • Take ownership of priority incidents, managing response, communication, and escalation, • Perform periodic reviews of ticket handling quality, troubleshooting standards, and customer communication, coaching the team based on real examples, • Shadow support engineers on selected tickets to observe workflow, guide approach, and reinforce best-practice methods in real time, • Engage directly with customers during priority incidents or sensitive escalations to manage expectations and ensure positive outcomes, • Ensure consistent technical standards across device builds, onboarding processes, patching, backup, and security controls, working to refine and improve where needed Service Delivery Management • Ensure support requests are worked and resolved in line with SLA commitments, • Monitor ticket queues, response times, resolution quality, and customer satisfaction, • Maintain and improve internal knowledge base content, runbooks, and documentation, • Oversee internal IT support for employees in line with internal SLAs What We're Looking For Essential • Experience leading a technical support or helpdesk team, • Strong Microsoft 365 and Windows endpoint administration skills, • Excellent understanding of networking fundamentals and security best practices, • Excellent organisational, analytical, and communication skills, • Customer-centric mindset with the ability to remain calm under pressure Desirable • Experience in an MSP or IT services organisation, • ITIL Foundation or equivalent certification, • Experience using PSA/ITSM platforms such as HaloPSA Personal Attributes • Strong communication skills — clear, professional and personable, • Highly organised with the ability to manage competing priorities, • Able to use initiative and make sound decisions independently, • Presentable and professional in client-facing situations, • Strong team player with genuine leadership capability, • Flexible, reliable and punctual