Service Desk Manager

The Premier League’s IT team is looking for a Service Desk Manager. The right candidate will have excellent communication skills and a strong background in IT Support. This role will work alongside the Head of Service Delivery to ensure that the Service Desk function is delivered to a high level.

The Service Desk Manager will be responsible for ensuring efficient ticket logging, prioritisation, and resolution, while overseeing daily operations and managing workload distribution. The role will lead IT project readiness, coordinate pilot testing, and monitor team performance against KPIs, providing feedback and performance reviews.

The role involves handling escalated issues, implementing process improvements, and managing resource allocation. Additionally, the manager maintains accurate documentation, oversees the self-service portal, and ensures high levels of customer service. They also develop training plans, foster a culture of knowledge sharing, and assist the team as needed, managing all Senior IT Technicians.

The role

• Service desk operations: Oversee daily operations ensuring smooth shift handovers and continuity of service delivery. Ensure tickets are logged, prioritised and resolved efficiently. Regularly review ticket quality for completeness, accuracy, and SLA compliance. Monitor workload distribution and dynamically adjust team resources to handle volume surges. Act as service desk lead for IT project readiness — ensuring training, documentation, and support plans are in place. Coordinate pilot testing and UAT (User Acceptance Testing) activities with feedback loops into service desk practices.
• Team Management: Day-to-day responsibility of the service desk team, managing all Senior IT Technicians. Develop personalised learning and development plans based on skills matrices. Foster a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous improvement within the team. Allocate resources and manage schedules to ensure adequate coverage and support. Support resource planning for anticipated business growth, seasonal demand, and project-related spikes. Participate in onboarding and mentorship of new hires within the team.
• Performance Management: Monitor team performance against established KPIs and metrics, providing feedback and conducting performance reviews. Design and maintain performance dashboards to track key metrics such as first-contact resolution, response times, and backlogs. Prepare and present monthly service performance reports with actionable insights.
• Escalation Management: Handle escalated issues and ensure timely resolution, escalating further to the Head of Service Delivery if necessary. Ensure all security-related service incidents are properly logged, escalated, and resolved in line with incident response procedures.
• Process Improvement: Identify and implement process improvements to enhance service desk efficiency and customer satisfaction. Review and optimise ITSM tool workflows and configurations in line with evolving business needs. Identify repetitive service desk tasks that can be automated where possible. Identify methods for uncovering recurring pain points (e.g., user surveys, feedback forums) to support timely and effective resolution.
• Documentation: Maintain accurate documentation of service desk procedures, incidents, and resolutions. Govern and routinely review a structured internal knowledge base of standard operating procedures, troubleshooting guides, and FAQs. Oversee and improve the self-service portal and knowledge content for end users.
• Customer Service: Ensure high levels of customer service and satisfaction by addressing customer feedback and concerns. Proactively communicate planned outages, system changes, and maintenance windows to end users. Promote user self-service tools and end-user education materials (how-to guides, training content).

Requirements for the role

• Proven experience working in a similar Service Desk Manager role
• Proven ability and experience to lead and mentor technical teams, including conducting performance reviews
• Experience managing and reporting on KPIs and SLAs to improve service delivery
• Experience in troubleshooting software and hardware faults
• Problem-solving skills and ability to work under pressure
• Confidence in communicating with people and understanding their IT concerns
• IT Service Management (ITSM) tool knowledge (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, Freshservice)
• Ability to form strong working relationships to best assist all staff, as well as having a good logical approach to problem solving
• Flexible and able to adapt to changes to work schedule when required
• Detail-oriented, deadline-driven, self-directed, and organised
• Confident in communicating with stakeholders at all levels of the business, including non-technical users
• Strong documentation and knowledge base governance skills
• Understanding of IT security principles and data protection practices in a service desk context
• Ability to assess and implement process and workflow improvements within a support environment
• Comfortable participating in or supporting IT project delivery, testing, and go-live planning

Our commitment to safeguarding includes implementing robust safer recruitment procedures to assess the suitability of individuals applying for roles that involve work with children and adults who are or may be at risk of harm. For further information, please see our Safeguarding Policy and Safer Recruitment Guidance.

To apply please visit our careers page and apply with your CV and a cover letter. The closing date for applications is 6 July 2025.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact recruitment@premierleague.com