Technology Support Manager in Twickenham

Working at the RFU means being part of the ‘bigger picture’ at England Rugby: to be rooted in our purpose, which is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union & develop the sport for future generations. If our purpose resonates with you, and you recognise the value that sport can bring to people’s lives, we’d love to work with you.

An opportunity has arisen for a Technology Support Manager to join our Digital Technology team, playing a key role in delivering a high quality, customer focused and process driven technology support service across the RFU. As a hands-on leader, the role oversees day to day service operations, ensuring that core processes run smoothly, SLAs are met, and that end users consistently receive an excellent service experience.

The Technology Support Manager works directly with operational teams to maintain a stable and well governed service environment. The role is responsible for ensuring that established service processes are followed, issues are managed effectively, and opportunities for incremental improvements are identified and implemented. This is a visible and impactful role within the Digital Technology department and wider organisation, requiring a professional, proactive and customer centric approach at all times.

The post-holder will champion service excellence, support operational discipline, and contribute to the continuous improvement of service delivery practices.

The Digital Technology department is a vital team at the RFU, providing support and development capabilities across a wide variety of platforms and solutions. Supporting everything from match day infrastructure to day-to-day business operations the team provides the technology to run all aspects of rugby from grassroots through to national teams.

Some key responsibilities include:

• Line management responsibility for the Service Team (recruitment, performance, development, wellbeing and day-to-day leadership)
• Run the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, including ticket management: pick up and manage new tickets as they come in, distribute/allocate work appropriately, and ensure consistent handling across the team
• Proactively monitor, chase and re-prioritise tickets to meet SLAs, working with users and technical teams to maintain focus; maintain ownership of all open tickets within Technology scope
• Manage and oversee Level 1 and Level 2 support activities, ensuring appropriate triage, escalation and resolution pathways are followed
• Use strong technical knowledge to perform initial triage, validate impact/priority, and coordinate timely escalation to specialist teams where required
• Lead incident response and management activities (including major incidents where applicable), ensuring clear communications, coordination of technical responders, and post-incident follow-up
• Ensure alignment to a service management framework (i.e. ITIL) across the Technology landscape that embeds industry standard processes into day-to-day service operations.
• Report on KPIs including SLAs and team performance data to management
• Maintain the hardware inventory and knowledge base, ensuring records remain accurate and up to date
• Work with internal and third-party teams to drive ticket resolution, ensuring actions are taken and completed to protect and improve services
• Ensure the Service Team are aware of new services/applications and that the correct processes are in place to support them effectively
• Develop, maintain and embed policies, standards, processes and procedures in alignment with best practice within Service Delivery
• Own key administrative areas supporting service operations (e.g., reporting, documentation, access governance tasks as assigned, and maintaining service records)
• Demonstrate strong organisational skills, planning and coordination to balance workload, manage competing priorities and ensure consistent operational discipline
• Supplier management: coordinate third-party support, manage support queues with vendors.
• Event day support responsibilities and ensuring team is prepared for events
• Actively collaborate with colleagues to contribute to the development and delivery of the current strategic, business and operational plans.
• Act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
• Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:

The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role.

Essential:

• Demonstrable experience leading a service desk / support function (Level 1 and Level 2), driving a customer-centred, SLA-led service
• People leadership experience (line management), including coaching, performance management and developing capability within a support team
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to communicate clearly and build trusted relationships across the organisation
• Working knowledge of ITIL practices and practical experience applying service management processes (e.g., incident, problem, change, knowledge, service level)
• Experience using an ITSM / service desk tool to manage ticket flow, prioritisation, triage and escalations
• Ability to lead incident response, coordinate technical contributors and provide clear user/stakeholder communications
• Strong organisational skills, able to manage competing priorities, maintain operational discipline and deliver continuous improvement
• Experience working with third-party suppliers and support partners to achieve timely resolution and service outcomes
• Demonstrate proven line management experience, driving a culture of personal accountability and ownership within large IT service teams, including high maturity service desks
• Committed to embodying the ethos our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions
• Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day to day behaviours

Desirable:

• Relevant Microsoft certification (e.g., MCP) or equivalent
• Experience with Microsoft Intune / endpoint management
• Experience supporting Microsoft 365 services (e.g., Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online) in a cloud-first environment
• Experience operating an organisation-wide CAB / change governance process

Additional Information:

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to recruitment.