Group IT Service Desk Manager - #2132698

The Group IT Service Desk Manager is responsible for the Group IT Service Desk function, taking day-to-day ownership of first and second-line support delivery to all K3 Advisory Group business units with the exception of Wealth Management and Business Sales, which are supported separately.

Reporting to the Head of Group IT, the role line manages the Principal Support Analysts and Support Analysts, and is responsible for embedding the Service function SOP pack, maintaining coverage across sites, and driving the performance and accountability agenda for desk staff.

This is a hybrid workstyle, aligned to our Manchester office with 3 days onsite and 2 days from home.

Key responsibilities

• Line manage the Principal Support Analysts and the Support Analyst team.

• Own the Group IT Service Desk function end to end, providing support to all group business units except Wealth Management and Business Sales.

• Own rota and coverage planning for the Service Desk.

• Drive adoption of the Service function SOP pack across the Service Desk team, feeding back gaps or local exceptions to the Head of Group IT.

• Act as the escalation point for Service Desk tickets that breach or are at risk of breaching SLA.

• Lead the accountability conversation with desk staff, using Halo ITSM data on ticket handling, SLA performance and priority accuracy.

• Support recruitment and onboarding for the Service Desk team, including the open Support Analyst seat.

• Report Service Desk performance into the weekly Technology SLT cycle via the Head of Group IT.

Key relationships

• Head of Group IT — line manager and performance sponsor.

• Principal Support Analysts and Support Analysts — direct reports.

• IT Manager (Business Sales, Bolton) and Service Team Leader (Malaysia) — peer hub leads.

• People team — accountability framework, recruitment, compliance training rollout.

Person specification

Essential

• Proven people-management experience leading a service / support desk team, ideally 5+ direct / indirect reports.

• Working knowledge of ITIL and a modern ITSM platform.

• Track record of introducing or embedding SOPs and driving consistent process adherence.

• Confident using operational data to have direct, evidence-based performance conversations.

Desirable

• Experience standing up or restructuring a service desk function, rather than only running a steady-state team.

• Exposure to multi-site or multi-entity organisations.

• Formal ITIL certification.

Key performance indicators

• Service Desk SLA compliance % and ticket-aging trend across supported business units.

• SOP adherence across the Service Desk team.

• Staff retention and engagement within the Service Desk team.

• Successful onboarding of the open Support Analyst seat.