Job Description

We're looking for a Product Support Manager to join our Warehouse Technology team, based at the NEXT Elmsall Complex in Yorkshire!

The Role:

NEXT operates a high-performing warehouse and distribution network. Our "order by midnight for next-day delivery" promise transformed industry expectations, made possible by robust technical infrastructure, clear system architecture, and teams working together to deliver daily continuous improvements.

We are looking for a Product Support Manager to head our warehouse support function. In this key leadership role, you will lead Team Leads, drive proactive system improvements, foster cross-departmental collaboration, support AI integration, and help steer organisational change across our multi-platform systems.

What You’ll Take On:

• Leadership and Culture: Provide direction, coaching, and mentorship across a diverse technical support organisation, including 1st and 2nd line leads, Mainframe developers, and .NET developers. You will foster a collaborative, high-performance environment focused on service delivery and ongoing learning.
• Incident and Operations Management: Partner closely with Warehouse Operations to manage technical incidents effectively. Lead our response during Major Incidents, manage ticket workflows in ServiceNow, communicate clearly with executive stakeholders, and work alongside external technology suppliers to restore service promptly.
• Proactive System Monitoring: Build and oversee site monitoring and telemetry frameworks using tools like Dynatrace to identify potential issues early and keep downtime to a minimum.
• Problem and Change Management: Oversee change management processes across Warehouse Tech, evaluating deployment risks to protect operational continuity. Drive root-cause analysis on recurring issues alongside Development and Infrastructure teams to implement permanent fixes.
• Performance and Strategy: Define, track, and report on operational KPIs, including proactive detection ratios, SLAs, and MTTR. Manage the support project portfolio to ensure on-time delivery of backlog items, aligning strategies with cross-functional technology teams.
• Innovation and Transformation: Guide the team toward proactive operations, identifying and deploying AI and automation tools to streamline workflows and increase efficiency.

What You’ll Bring:

• Proven Leadership Experience: A strong track record of leading and scaling high-performing technical support teams within fast-paced, complex environments. Experience in retail or warehouse logistics is preferred.
• Talent Development: Practical experience managing the complete talent lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to ongoing performance management, career development, and retention.
• Technical Frameworks and Monitoring: Experience applying ITIL frameworks through enterprise ITSM tools such as ServiceNow, alongside APM and monitoring suites like Dynatrace.
• Data-Driven Approach: Confidence using operational metrics, including MTTR, SLA compliance, and callout trends, to eliminate systemic defects and raise operational standards.
• Stakeholder and Vendor Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to build productive working relationships across software development, infrastructure, warehouse operations, and third-party vendors.
• Decisive Crisis Communication: Calm leadership during major outages, with the ability to translate complex technical situations into clear, structured communication for executive stakeholders.
• Technical Architecture and Innovation: A strong understanding of client-server architecture, the software development lifecycle, and Change Management processes, combined with an interest in applying AI and automation to practical operational workflows.
• Third Party Vendor Experience: Proven track record of managing third-party technology vendors during critical incidents and routine system upgrades.

#LI-NI1

You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 44,000 people across the Next group. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 450 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 80 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!