Service Desk Manager at Birmingham City University

Birmingham City University is a large and diverse place to study right in the heart of the city. We are committed to supporting a diverse workforce and actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds, including individuals of diverse gender identities to apply.

We are looking for a Service Desk Manager to join our dynamic team. It’s an ideal opportunity for candidates with experience in IT customer service and service management, team leadership and first line support, eager to advance their career in a stimulating and inclusive environment.

In this role, you’ll be responsible for a Service Desk team consisting of six core staff, and working in partnership with the wider Customer Services team to deliver support and advice to students and staff across the University. The Service Desk is a first line function, talking directly to customers over the telephone, and as the head of this function, you will guide staff as a point of escalation for complex issues as well as working with senior staff to shape the impact and future of the service. The role holder will manage the team’s performance, development and strategy, as well as supporting in day to day tasks to ensure smooth running of the service.

The Service Desk Manager will:

• Lead and develop a team of professional and customer focused Service Desk operatives, providing support across core service hours
• Ensure recruitment, performance management, training, career development programs, succession planning, resource planning and HR processes are being managed across the Service Desk.
• Demonstrate and embed a culture of customer service excellence within the Service Desk Team. Participate in analysis of customer satisfaction surveys and data. Support and participates in regular review meetings between service providers and users.
• Manage escalated or complex incidents, providing direct customer communication during incidents and planned outages
• Work with the local IT Support, AV and Service Delivery teams to ensure any cases which cannot be resolved by the Service Desk are cleanly escalated and are managed to agreed timescales
• Directly deliver end-user support as appropriate
• Experience in managing a structured 1st or 2nd line IT service team.
• Experience in supporting;

– Windows & Mac, iOS and android devices and operating systems. 

– Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Suite and other common cloud applications, 

– Telephony and MS Teams,

• Experience in managing issues and escalations in line with internal service standards, influencing internal and external support teams to resolve customer issues as quickly as possible.
• Experience in seeking and responding to customer feedback
• Managing regular operational activities, such as incident & problem reviews, regular permissions and access checks, regular reviews of support material
• Identifying and leading service improvement initiatives
• Experience with IT Service Management tools and process implementation and/or change projects
• ITIL Foundation (v3 or v4) certification.
• Exceptional customer service and stakeholder management of internal and external clients.
• Significant experience investigating and solving complex technical problems, including the ability to engage manage suppliers, manufacturers, and other 3rd parties as part of a broad investigation.
• High levels of personal organization, excellent project management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with a proven ability to explain complex technical concepts to a non-technical audience.