Service Desk Operations Manager

Sword is a leading provider of business technology solutions within the Energy, Public and Finance Sectors, driving real transformation change within our clients.  We use proven technology, specialist teams and domain expertise to build solid technical foundations across platforms, data and business applications.  We have a passion for using technology to solve business problems, working in partnership with our clients to help in achieving their goals.

We are seeking an experienced and customer-focused Service Desk Operations Manager to lead, mature, and continuously improve our Managed Services Service Desk Operations capability across multiple enterprise customer environments.

This is a senior operational leadership role responsible for delivering a high-performing, ITIL-aligned Service Desk capability, providing the central Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for end users across Incident Management, Service Request Fulfilment, workplace support, and user experience.

You will lead the Service Desk Operations function, driving operational excellence, governance, service maturity, and continual improvement. A key objective of the role is to transform the Service Desk from a reactive support function into a proactive Managed Services capability through process improvement, automation, knowledge management, shift-left initiatives, and data-driven operational insight.

Working closely with Service Delivery Management, Technical Operations, Service Management functions, resolver teams, and customers, you will ensure consistent, efficient, and customer-focused service delivery aligned to MSP best practice.

Why Join Us

This is a key leadership opportunity within a growing Managed Services organisation that is focused on modernising and maturing its support services capability.

You'll have the opportunity to:

• Shape the future Service Desk Operations operating model.
• Improve customer experience across multiple enterprise environments.
• Introduce proactive support and service improvement initiatives.
• Drive automation and operational efficiencies.
• Build a scalable, high-performing Managed Services capability aligned to industry best practice.
• Lead and develop talented support teams in a collaborative and forward-thinking environment.

• Significant experience working within a Managed Services Provider (MSP) environment.
• Proven experience leading Enterprise Service Desk, Desktop Support, or End User Computing (EUC) operations.
• Experience managing operational support teams and building high-performing service functions.
• Strong understanding of ITIL-aligned Service Management practices.
• Demonstrable experience across:
• Incident Management
• Major Incident Management
• Service Request Fulfilment
• Escalation Management
• SLA and KPI Management
• Queue Management
• Experience using ServiceNow or other enterprise ITSM platforms.
• Proven track record of delivering:
• Service improvement initiatives
• Shift-left strategies
• Automation programmes
• Operational maturity improvements
• Strong leadership, communication, stakeholder management, and customer engagement skills.

Desirable Qualifications & Experience

• ITIL Foundation Certification (or higher).
• Experience working in large-scale enterprise MSP environments.
• Experience with ServiceNow, Remote Monitoring & Management (RMM), automation, and self-service technologies.
• Experience supporting Managed Services transformation and modernisation programmes.

Personal Attributes

We're looking for someone who is:

• Customer-focused, with a passion for service excellence.
• Calm, resilient, and effective under pressure, particularly during Major Incidents.
• A confident communicator who can engage effectively with technical teams, customers, and senior stakeholders.
• Proactive, organised, and delivery focused.
• Passionate about developing people, building high-performing teams, and improving service outcomes.

If you're an experienced Service Desk leader looking to shape and transform a modern Managed Services operation, we'd love to hear from you.

At Sword, our core values and culture are based on caring about our people, investing in training and career development and building inclusive teams where we are all encouraged to contribute to achieve success.

We offer comprehensive benefits designed to support your professional development and enhance your overall quality of life.  In addition to a Competitive Salary, here's what you can expect as part of our benefits package:

Personalised Career Development: We create a development plan customised to your goals and aspirations, with a range of learning and development opportunities within a culture that encourages growth.

Flexible working: Flexible work arrangements to support your work-life balance.  We can’t promise to always be able to meet every request, however are keen to discuss your individual preferences to make it work where we can.

A Fantastic Benefits Package: This includes generous annual leave allowance, enhanced family friendly benefits, pension scheme, access to private health, well-being, and insurance schemes, an employee assistance programme, discounted cash plan and more…..

At Sword we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, ensuring that all applicants receive fair and equal consideration for employment, regardless of whether they meet every requirement.  If you don’t tick all the boxes but feel you have some of the relevant skills and experience we’re looking for, please do consider applying and highlight your transferable skills and experience.  We embrace diversity in all its forms, valuing individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Your perspective and potential are important to us.

If we can do anything to help make the hiring process more accessible, please let our talent acquisition team know when you apply so we can support any adjustments.