Service Desk Operations Manager in City of London

Service Desk Operations Manager (DV Cleared)

Location: London (Onsite 5 Days Per Week)
Clearance: Active DV Clearance Required

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Service Desk Operations Manager to lead the delivery of critical IT support services within a highly secure Defence and National Security environment. This is a key leadership position responsible for ensuring exceptional service delivery across a complex, mission-critical technology landscape supporting vital government and defence operations.

You will lead a high-performing Service Desk function, driving operational excellence, customer satisfaction, and continual service improvement while ensuring service levels are consistently achieved in a fast-paced, security-cleared environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, ensuring high-quality IT support services are delivered to end users.
• Take ownership of Service Desk performance, ensuring all SLAs, KPIs, and operational targets are met or exceeded.
• Act as the senior escalation point for major incidents, driving rapid resolution and minimising operational impact.
• Deliver service performance reporting, trend analysis, and continual improvement initiatives to senior stakeholders.
• Champion ITIL best practices across Incident, Problem, Request, Knowledge, and Change Management processes.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with Defence stakeholders and senior leadership teams.
• Drive customer experience improvements through data-led decision making and service optimisation.
• Lead workforce planning, resource management, and service desk scheduling to support operational requirements.
• Coach, mentor, and develop Service Desk Team Leads and Analysts, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Identify opportunities for automation, self-service, AI adoption, and process improvement to enhance service efficiency.
• Ensure service continuity, disaster recovery readiness, and compliance with security and governance requirements.
• Oversee Service Desk tooling, reporting platforms, telephony systems, and knowledge management processes.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Active DV Clearance is mandatory.
• Proven experience leading large-scale Service Desk or IT Support Operations teams.
• Strong understanding and practical application of ITIL 4 best practices.
• Experience managing Service Level Agreements (SLAs), operational KPIs, and service reporting.
• Demonstrable success delivering Continual Service Improvement (CSI) initiatives.
• Experience managing Major Incident processes and driving root cause analysis activities.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage senior technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience leading teams within highly secure Defence, Government, National Security, or regulated environments.
• Excellent people management, coaching, and leadership capabilities.
• Strong understanding of ITSM platforms, service desk tooling, automation, and self-service technologies.

Desirable Experience

• Previous experience supporting Defence or National Security programmes.
• ITIL 4 Managing Professional, Strategic Leader, or equivalent certification.
• Experience managing 24/7 operational support environments.
• Exposure to service automation, virtual agents, and AI-enabled support solutions.
• Knowledge of business continuity and disaster recovery planning.

Please note: This role requires active DV Clearance and is based full-time onsite in London, five days per week. Due to the nature of the work, remote or hybrid working is not available.

Reasonable Adjustments

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

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