IT Service Desk Team Leader

Purpose of the Role
As the Service Desk Team Leader, you will lead and develop the Service Desk team, reporting directly to the Service Desk Manager. You will oversee day-to-day operations, ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality technical support and excellent customer service. Your responsibilities will include implementing and refining effective processes and workflows to enhance efficiency, consistency, and user satisfaction across the organisation.

What does the job involve?

• Line manage and develop support team members, providing guidance, mentoring, and coaching to enhance performance.
• Plan team workload, manage shift patterns, holidays, and resource allocation.
• Ensure consistent achievement of incident and service request SLA targets.
• Act as the escalation point for complex or high-priority queries.
• Manage supplier relationships where applicable, ensuring delivery aligns with organisational requirements.
• Conduct weekly review meetings to address aged tickets and ongoing tasks.
• Participate in the management of major incidents, ensuring the team is kept informed and coordinated.
• Produce, analyse, and maintain regular reporting on team performance, ticket trends, and area metrics.
• Identify skills gaps, coordinate training, and support career development within the team.
• Engage in service reviews, contribute to service improvement initiatives, and provide input into Service Desk strategy.
• Recognise opportunities to improve Service Delivery processes and implement changes.
• Monitor and act on customer satisfaction feedback to ensure a positive end-user experience.
• Ensure team members take ownership of technical issues and see them through to resolution, including when working with third-party providers.
• Collaborate effectively with colleagues to provide clear information for escalated calls and support requests.
• Set KPIs, conduct regular performance reviews, and address underperformance when necessary.
• Adhere to ITIL-aligned processes and best practices across all activities.
• Ensure that all duties are carried out with the aim of protecting customers and improving customer experience.
• Supporting and enabling the business to achieve its regulatory requirements, including consumer duty.

Competence, Knowledge And Skills

• Credible, professional, and able to inspire confidence with the team and stakeholders.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and mentoring skills to develop team performance.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities independently.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills, able to explain technical issues clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Analytical and technically competent, with strong problem-solving skills.
• Skilled in workload planning, prioritisation, and ensuring SLA targets are consistently met.
• Knowledgeable in ITIL processes, service management best practices, and continuous improvement.
• Resilient, adaptable, and able to remain calm under pressure during incidents or escalations.

About us:
AJ Bell is one of the fastest-growing investment platform businesses in the UK offering an award-winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 644,000 customers using our award-winning platform propositions to manage assets totalling more than £103.3 billion. Our customers trust us with their investments, and by continuously striving to make investing easier, we aim to help even more people take control of their financial futures.

Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is now a FTSE 250 company.

Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we now have over 1,500 employees and have been named one of the UK's 'Best 100 Companies to Work For' for six consecutive years and in 2024 named a Great Place to Work.

At AJ Bell you can expect a friendly working environment with a strong sense of teamwork, we have a great sense of pride in what we do, and this is reflected in our guiding principles.

What we offer:

• Starting holiday entitlement of 26, increasing up to 31 days with length of service and a holiday buy and sell scheme
• A choice of pension schemes with matched contributions up to 7%
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Annual free share awards scheme
• Buy As You Earn (BAYE) Scheme
• Health Cash Plan - provided by Simply Health
• Discounted private healthcare scheme and dental plan
• Free onsite gym
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Bike loan scheme
• Sick pay+ pledge
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave
• Loans for travel season tickets
• Death in service scheme
• Paid time off for volunteer work
• Charitable giving opportunities through salary sacrifice
• Calendar of social events, including monthly payday drinks, annual Christmas party, summer party and much more
• Personal development programmes built around you and your career goals, including access to personal skills workshops
• Ongoing technical training
• Professional qualification support
• Talent development programmes
• Peer recognition scheme, with rewards including restaurant and shopping vouchers or time off
• Monthly leadership breakfasts and lunches
• Casual dress code
• Access to a range of benefits from our sponsorship deals

Hybrid working:
At AJ Bell, our people are the heart of our culture. We believe in building strong connections by working together. That's why we offer a hybrid working model, where you'll spend a minimum of 50% of your working time per month in the Manchester office. For new team members, an initial period will be full-time in the office to help you immerse yourself in our business and build valuable relationships with your colleagues.

AJ Bell is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and all employees are empowered to bring their whole self to work.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, religion, physical and mental disability, marital status and any other characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010. All decisions to hire are based on qualifications, merit and business need.

If you like the sound of the above, or just want to know more about the company and the role, we'd love to speak to you.