VIP Support Manager in Maidstone

Location: Maidstone/Hybrid

Salary/package: £43,000 per annum

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week

Lead the delivery of a high touch IT service, supporting senior stakeholders and elected members. This is a unique opportunity to shape a VIP support function within a forward thinking and customer led environment.

Who we are

Cantium Business Solutions is part of Commercial Services Group and delivers high quality IT and back-office services to public sector organisations. Built on being fast connected, insight driven and customer led, the business supports critical services through innovation, strong partnerships and a clear focus on customer experience.

Why this role matters

This role ensures that senior stakeholders and elected members receive an exceptional and seamless IT experience. By leading the VIP Support team and driving service improvement, you will play a key role in maintaining trust, enabling productivity and strengthening the overall IT service. The position also contributes to strategic thinking, innovation and continuous improvement across operations.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead and develop the VIP Support team to deliver outstanding customer focused IT services
• Set clear expectations, manage performance and support professional development
• Ensure compliance with SLAs, ITIL processes and service standards
• Drive resolution of incidents affecting VIP users through collaboration and escalation management
• Develop and improve processes, procedures and ways of working across the service
• Analyse service metrics and present insights to support continual improvement
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and external partners
• Manage escalations, complaints and complex technical issues with professionalism
• Support audits, cyber security practices and protection of sensitive information

What we’re looking for

• Proven experience leading and developing customer facing IT teams, including providing direction, and managing incidents and escalations.
• Experience supporting diverse user groups (as VIPs can be spread across various directorates within KCC).
• Strong understanding of ITIL frameworks and service delivery best practice
• Ability to manage incidents, escalations and stakeholder expectations at a senior level
• Proven experience of working at a senior level, ensuring customer service excellence.
• Understanding of the project and transition lifecycle, and how that crosses over to the Operations area, and how that impacts customers
• Excellent communication, presentation and relationship building skills
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• Good technical knowledge across core IT infrastructure and enterprise applications
• Understanding of how a VIP service differs between standard operations, with a focus on touchpoints and customer experience.
• Ability to lead, direct and control team performance, with strong coaching and mentoring skills.
• Highly organised and methodical, with the ability to handle multiple tasks at the same time.
• Stakeholder management, providing confidence in the service and ability to articulate challenges promptly and transparently.
• High level of emotional intelligence, resilience and problem-solving capability
• Commitment to security, data protection and continuous improvement
• Perform regular IT audits to discover areas of weaknesses and improvement

What you’ll get in return

• Salary of £43,000 per annum
• 25 days annual leave
• Life assurance cover at four times salary
• Pension scheme with up to 6% employer contribution
• Additional benefits including retail and gym discounts, health cash plan and cycle to work scheme
• Volunteer days and access to a comprehensive wellbeing programme
• Tailored learning and development support with real opportunities to progress

Why CSG?

Commercial Services Group is the UK’s largest local authority owned trading company generating over £800 million in revenue and supporting 16,000 education and public sector customers worldwide. With more than 1,800 employees across the UK, France, Dubai and Bangkok, we are working towards becoming the global leader in education and public sector solutions. We are expanding rapidly with annual growth of around 25 percent supported by a blend of organic development, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Our 33 trading businesses deliver a wide range of services including education management, IT, HR, legal, energy procurement and supplies. CSG is wholly owned by local authorities and a significant proportion of our profits is reinvested into frontline public services. Over £77 million has already been returned reflecting our commitment to combining commercial performance with meaningful social impact.

Inclusion and Accessibility

We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We encourage applications from suitably qualified people of all backgrounds. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our application and interview process; please let us know if you require any.