IT Service Desk Manager

About the Directorate

As IT&D, we help to create the University of the future by co-designing new ways of working, enhancing productivity, reducing complexity, supporting innovation, and providing the insights to drive continual improvement. Embracing a digital future in an evolving modern university, you will be working in partnership with our academic and Professional Services colleagues to deliver digital services that help the University achieve its strategic objectives in teaching and research, nationally & globally. 

About the Department

Service Management, consisting of the Service Management Office, Service Delivery, and our Service Desk, leads on all aspects of service, including overseeing the end-to-end delivery of our services, providing first line support for IT & Digital, and managing our service management governance practices.

This is an opportunity to join our Service Management organisation at an exciting time, helping to lead the transformation of our IT services and how we support students and colleague across Professional Services and our Faculties.

About the Team

The IT Service Desk is a team of 14 colleagues, including Team Coordinators, Senior Service Desk Analysts, and Service Desk Analysts, supported by another 10 Service Desk Assistants (current University students working part-time) and an out-of-hours managed service provider to deliver a round-the-clock service to the University.

The team provides first line support across all IT & Digital services, handling over 45,000 incidents and requests a year, 11,000 live chats, circa 20,000 phone calls, and thousands more face-to-face interactions.

The team delivers exceptional levels of service, resolving 73% of tickets at first level, with consistently high SLA and customer satisfaction rates. Our work has been recognised externally - we are currently shortlisted for the Service Desk Institute's Service Desk of the Year (Large Team) and Service Transformation of the Year, as well as winning last year's itSMF PSMA Service Innovation of the Year for our new ITSM platform implementation. 

About the Role

As the Service Desk Manager, you will lead our IT Service Desk. You will champion excellent customer service and the delivery of efficient, reliable, high quality, and low effort support. You will define the strategy for your team, contributing to the wider Service Management and IT and Digital strategies, and supporting the University's drive to deliver joined-up, holistic, end-to-end support for students and colleagues.

You will oversee day-to-day operations, and ensure your team are set-up for success - from people management, through operational processes, to quality assurance. You will be a people focused leader and have a keen understanding of customer service principles. You will be able to work with both technical and non-technical colleagues, and collaborate with departments across Professional Services to drive both continual improvements and holistic, end-to-end support for colleagues and students.

 Key Responsibilities

• Provide strong leadership to the IT Service Desk function, including the management of other people managers, ensuring high levels of output, motivation and a culture of service excellence. 
• Take accountability for the day-to-day performance of the team. 
• Develop and monitor service quality standards and quality assurance within the IT Service Desk.
• Design and document operating procedures and processes, and ensure the Service Desk's compliance with those. 
• Develop, deliver and monitor a Service Desk strategy - supporting the wider IT and Digital, and Manchester Met strategy, and driving shift-left, omnichannel support, self-service, and modern approaches to service delivery.
• Represent the Service Desk across the University and externally, driving continual improvements, and working with stakeholders to deliver a high quality, end to end, IT and Digital support experience as well as more widely across our Professional Services support channels.

 Key Skills & Experiences

• An in-depth experience of leading and managing Service Desk teams and functions in highly complex organisations or sectors.
• Certification and knowledge of best practice, for example ITIL or SDI qualifications, or experience from working in multiple sectors.
• Strong people leadership skills, having managed teams, including other people managers, and understanding how to support people in performing their best.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, and experience of working with stakeholders of all levels of the organisation.
• Experience in collaborating with other Service Desks, Help Desks, and Call Centres in an Enterprise Service Management setting - ensuring the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
• An understanding of the HE service environment is advantageous, however extensive knowledge and experience of Service Desk strategy and operations delivery is the key component. 

To learn more about this exciting opportunity and benefits we offer, please read the JD and Candidate Pack. 

Assessment Process:

To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter detailing your suitability, on the application portal.

For informal enquiries, about this vacancy, please contact Jack Christopher on j.christopher@mmu.ac.uk

If you would like to join our people and share our ambition, we would love to hear from you!

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we sometimes close our vacancies early. It is therefore advisable to apply as early as possible if you would like to be considered for a role.

Manchester Metropolitan University fosters an inclusive culture of belonging that promotes equity and celebrates diversity. We value a diverse workforce for the innovation and diversity of thought it brings and welcome applications from local and international communities, inclduing those from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

We support a range of flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and tailored schedules, which can be discussed with your line manager. If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know so we can provide appropriate support.

Our commitment to inclusivity includes mentoring programmes, accessibility resources, and professional development opportunities to empower and support underrepresented groups.