JobTitleService Desk Manager

LocationDurrington, Worthing – Hybrid working (minimum 2 days a week in the office)

ContractType:Permanent

Hours:37

Salary:From £55k based on skills and experience

Aboutthe role

The Service Desk Manageris responsible forleading the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, ensuring high-quality incident and request handling, effectivequeueand performance management, and resilientfirstlineI.Tsupport for over 4000 internal and external users.

The role provides leadership to 2 Team Leaders and 10 Analysts, driving capability,wellbeingand accountability, while improving customer experience through quality assurance,feedbackand continual service improvement

What you willbe responsible for

Working across Digital and the wider business, the postholder uses service insight and demand data to inform planning,representsthe Service Desk in governance and change activity, ensures operational readiness for new or changed services, andmaintainscompliance with security,riskand data protection requirements.

You will also be enrolled on the ‘on call’ rota.

• Manage the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, ensuring effective handling of incidents, service requests,queriesand escalations

• Oversee queue management, ticket progression, aged ticket follow-up, workloaddistributionand service continuity

• Ensure tickets are logged, categorised, prioritised, updated,escalatedand resolved in line with agreed standards

• Monitor service performance throughout the day,taking actionwhere demand, backlogs,absenceor major incidents affect service levels

• Work with Team Leaders to ensureappropriate rotacoverage, shift patterns,handoversand resource allocation.

• Ensure the Service Desk providestimely,professionaland effective first-line support.

• Own the Service Desk contribution to the incident lifecycle, including logging quality, updates, escalationpathsand closure quality.

• Ensure operational readiness for new or changed services, including support models, knowledge, resolver routes, SLAs, escalationpathsand Service Desk training.

• Audit a regular sample of calls, emails, portal interactions,chatsand ticket updates where applicable.

• Review professionalism, communication quality, ticket accuracy, troubleshooting approach, knowledge use, escalationqualityand closure standards.

• Use QA and CSAT outputs to improve knowledge articles, scripts, templates, standard responses, onboarding and apprentice support.

Whatyou’llbring to the role

• Strong leadership, coaching and people-management skills

• Excellent customer service mindset, with a focus on user experience

• Good understanding of core ITSM practices, especially Incident Management, Request Fulfilment, Knowledge Management and Service Level Management

• Strong operational management skills, including queue management, prioritisation,escalationand workload planning

• Strong communicationskills, with the ability to engage Analysts, IT teams,suppliersand senior stakeholders

• Ability to manage performance, support wellbeing and build team capability

• Good understanding of Service Desk tooling

• Awareness of information security, accesscontroland data protection responsibilities

• Continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to simplify processes and improve service quality

Essential

• ITIL Foundation qualification, ideally ITIL 4 or 5

• Experience in automation/automating systems

Desirable

• ServiceNow training or certification desirable. 

• Customer service qualification desirable. 

• Information security or cyber awareness training desirable. 

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time ofsignificant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team witha clear visionfor the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation

"Our mission is to protect and enhance life through water—and we need passionate people to help us achieve it. Ifyou’reinspired by our purpose and believe you can contribute, apply today. You don’t need to meet every criterion; what matters most is your drive to make a difference."