Service Desk Lead in London

Chaucer is a leading insurance group at Lloyd's, the world's specialist insurance market. We help protect industries around the world from the risks they face. Our customers include major airlines, energy companies, shipping groups, global manufacturers and property groups.

Our headquarters are in London, and we have international offices in Copenhagen, Miami, Dubai and Singapore to be closer to our clients across the world. To learn more about us please visit our website www.chaucergroup.com

The role reports into the Head of Service Management and will be responsible for overseeing the Service Desk function within the Chaucer Technology Group (CTG). This role leads an established 3rd party team and be part of the evolution of the operating model and be instrumental in modernising the ways of working.

This role requires a strategic thinker with a Service Management background and proven management skills. The role has overall responsibility for the Service Desk vision and roadmaps that support and advance the company's business objectives. It also involves leading and mentoring a team of Service Desk technicians and collaborating with cross‐functional teams such as Product Management, Engineering, Architecture, and Quality & Technical Assurance within a matrix IT organisation.

They will lead Service Desk 3rd party resources, ensuring that business and technology requirements are both delivered and are aligned.

Job Description:

• Deliver the overall Service Desk strategy and long‐term vision for CTG, ensuring it aligns with the company's broader business goals.
• Implement and maintain IT Service Management (ITSM) best practices, such as those within the ITIL framework, to develop and improve support processes, procedures, and documentation.
• Identify opportunities for automation, self‐service portals, and other technologies to enhance support capabilities and improve the end‐user experience.
• Generate and analyse reports on service desk performance and trends, presenting insights and improvement plans to senior management.
• Manage strategic relationships with internal business stakeholders and external service providers to ensure alignment on service requirements and performance.
• Identify risks associated with new tools, processes and ways of working and establish procedures to mitigate those risks.
• Oversee the daily operations of Chaucer's service desk, ensuring high‐quality, efficient, and timely technical support for all end‐users.
• Ensure service level agreements (SLAs), operational level agreements (OLAs), and key performance indicators (KPIs) are defined, monitored, and met or exceeded.
• Ensure all team members consistently meet or exceed service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) such as first contact resolution, average resolution time, and customer satisfaction.
• The role involves a balance of team leadership, strategic planning, and hands‐on problem‐solving to maintain operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

Leadership and Strategy:

• Demonstrates a high level of self‐awareness through a commitment to continuous, personal improvement and learning.
• Demonstrates high personal resilience and ability to adapt to change.
• Builds effective teams, coaches and mentors people.
• Translates organisational vision through effective goal setting and strategic planning. Able to think creatively and innovatively.
• Understanding of the way the business works and displays knowledge of the external marketplace, to drive the business forward.
• Striving to build key relationships and showing ownership of targets; focusing on results.
• Develop and execute the Service Desk strategy in alignment with the company's overall objectives.
• Provide visionary leadership to the Service Desk team.
• Maintain a culture of Service Management excellence in the company.
• Ensure that the team is working efficiently and effectively, bringing an Agile mindset, adapting to changing circumstances while working within the organisational constraints of budget, resource whilst adhering to quality standards.
• Motivate the team to deliver the best services possible, and take responsibility for the teams' actions and decisions.
• Set clear goals, foster a culture of ownership and collaboration, and provide opportunities for continuous professional development.

Technical Delivery Management:

• Oversee the Service Desk delivery, planning and execution of all IT 1st line support across Chaucer. Ensure work is completed on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.

Technical Oversight:

• Provide Service Management guidance and support to the Service Desk team. Ensure the adoption of best practices and the latest technologies.
• Ensure standardisation, simplification and effectiveness across the service management value chain.
• Monitor and review vendor performance against agreed KPIs and metrics.
• Schedule regular governance meetings with vendors to review performance.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Collaborate with key stakeholders, including senior management, clients, and partners, to understand their needs and ensure successful service outcomes.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with Service Desk activities.
• Implement robust processes and controls to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Performance Monitoring:

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the success of Service Desk initiatives.
• Continuously seek opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Skills and Competencies:

• Creates an inclusive environment that values individual difference to leverage diversity.
• Relevant industry experience in Service Management roles, with previous experience in a Service Desk management position.
• Problem‐Solving – Excellent analytical and problem‐solving abilities. Ability to think strategically and make data‐driven decisions.
• A team‐builder and collaborator, who can work comfortably in a highly collaborative setting.
• Can work comfortably with senior business leadership, has a positive can‐do attitude, open and welcoming to change.
• Have exceptional management skills, being able to influence cross‐functional departmental leaders in a particular direction.
• Can quickly form meaningful connections inspiring trust and confidence in others.
• Detail and quality oriented, with a customer focus, an exceptionally keen eye for detail and highly organised.
• Able to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines, demonstrating an ability to remain calm under stress and in times of uncertainty.

Why Chaucer:

An established market leading Insurer, where over the past 5 years, the Chaucer Group has seen significant and successful growth. In 2019, we wrote $1.4bn of Gross Written Premium, closed 2023 with $2.7bn, and are on track to write well over $3bn in 2024.

This is an exciting time for Chaucer; we have the people, the platforms, the expertise and the relationships to continue our recent success. We will remain focused on the areas where we can provide the most expertise and value to our brokers and clients.

We have no appetite to change this, whilst the market is steadily moving back to 4/1 working days, we are continuing to operate on a much more flexible hybrid basis with Heads of teams working closely with employees to strike a balance of what works best in their area. Our approach has been immensely popular and a successful way of working for the business and all employees at Chaucer.

Chaucer is committed to diversity, actively values difference and respects people regardless of the protected characteristics which are outlined in the Equality Act 2010 (UK legislation) as a result of the Equal Treatment Directive 2006 (EU legislation). A diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace are core to our success as a business and integral to our winning strategy and culture. We recruit from the widest available pool of talent, and our hiring, assessment and selection process is fair, free from bias and one which ensures we select the right person for the job, based on merit. We are committed to promoting a culture that actively values difference, and recognises that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect throughout their employment.

We are open to considering flexible working arrangements for all roles and encourage you to outline your needs during the interview process.

Benefits:

Extensive, non‐contributory benefits, including pension, medical insurance, life insurance, flexi benefits, options for buying and selling holidays, not to mention a diverse and inclusive culture, we pride ourselves on managing employees welfare. We have a wide range of other benefits on offer.

Seniority level: Mid‐Senior level

Employment type: Full‐time

Job function: Engineering and Information Technology, Insurance