Operations & Business Support Team Manager

Operations and Business Support Team Manager FGH Business Centre 66-70 Vicar Ln, Bradford BD1 5AJ
Hybrid flexibility: 2 office days per week across Tues / Weds / Thurs About The Role

The Operations & Business Support Team Manager oversees 1 line user support and 24x7 Mainframe Operations functions. The team monitors network and batch operations around the clock and acts to triage and route incident tickets to 2 line support and 3 party support organisations. The team both serves and where appropriate, routes service request tickets to both internal and external resolver groups.

Utilising the enterprise monitoring platforms, the team ensures that monitored and reported system and batch events and issues are dealt with or routed appropriately to support stable IT operations.

This manager will manage resources and performance of support operations staff, to drive continuous improvement within the service desk and operations environments, ensuring efficient support delivery, end-user satisfaction and high levels of service and operational excellence.

• Lead, mentor, and manage the hybrid Service Desk and 24x7 Operations team (of 12 operators) resources to deliver high-quality 24x7 support service.
• Lead the 1 line Service Desk function to provide a triage of all monitored or staff reported incidents, routing to appropriate 2 and 3 line resolver groups, both internally and externally to 3 parties where appropriate.
• Monitor performance metrics, service levels, and ensure timely resolution of incidents and requests.
• Implement, review, and optimize operational protocols, SOPs and service processes (such as ITIL-aligned practices such as Incident and Major Incident management).
• Act as an escalation point for complex issues, ensuring swift and effective incident management.
• Coordinate with other IT functions and resolver groups both internally and 3 party, partner-provided to resolve cross-functional problems and develop integrated solutions.
• Analyse support trends, produce reports, and lead service improvement initiatives to enhance customer experience, and drive CSAT.
• Train and onboard the team and new team members, providing coaching and technical guidance, and foster professional development.
• Oversee documentation of troubleshooting guides, SOPs, How-Tos, operational policies, and process flows.
• Ensure compliance with organisational and regulatory standards and applicable policies and guidelines.
• Develop skills across team to maximise resource efficiency and deliver a robust, quality service to the business around the clock

• Problem-solving and critical thinking abilities, anticipating challenges and developing effective solutions.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to manages 24x7 team scheduling efficiently.
• Clear communication skills capable of conveying technical details and instructions effectively to diverse audiences.
• Decision-making and conflict resolution for handling escalations and complex issues confidently.
• Ability to motivate, coach, and mentor the support team, fostering professional development and a positive work culture.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL, ITSM tools (preferably Service Now), and service management frameworks.
• Demonstrable commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous service improvement.
• Proven technical background and experience managing a Service Desk, support, or operations team in a complex and comparable technical environment.
• Minimum of 2 years at a similar management level, working within a comparable ITIL aligned corporate environment.
• Experience with data analysis for trend identification and service improvement.
• Technical expertise to provide guidance in initial, level 1, incident triage, troubleshooting, and gathering data for escalation to internal and external 2 line Resolver groups. (often across hardware, software, and networking domains).
• ITIL Foundation or Practitioner certification
• Organisational and Time Management:
  Ability to manage an a diverse 24x7 team multiple problems, prioritize tasks, and deliver within agreed timelines.
• Able to commute to Bradford city centre 2 days per week.

For over 100 years, Freemans has been at the…