Head of Service Desk; IT MSP

Job Title: Head of Service Desk (IT)

Location: Cardiff, (Hybrid) with UK travel

Salary: up to £70,000 + Car allowance

Contract type: Permanent

#LI-Hybrid

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of Service Desk to join our team here in Cardiff.

This position sits on the ARO Services first line of the Cloud, Cyber, and IT (CCIT) Business Unit, reporting to the Director of Services. The ARO Services function oversees both Professional and Managed Services across all technical domains.

We are looking for an experienced Manager of Managers to lead and evolve our Service Desk function into a high-performing, customer-centric engine. You’ll be responsible for driving operational excellence, fostering team talent, enhancing the customer journey, and championing service innovation. This is a leadership role that blends service delivery oversight, people development, and process optimisation—all aligned to ARO growth ambitions.

The Scope of this role includes ARO Service Desk provision for first and second line along with Field Services, Network Operations Centre and defined remote sites and any other teams as agreed from time to time with the Director of Services

Please note that this is a Hybrid role with onsite requirement 3 days a week. You must be able to commute to the office and have your own transport.

Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Own the entire Incident and Major Incident Management lifecycle, including governance, response, resolution, and improvement initiatives.
• Lead and deliver continual service improvement (CSI) programmes, including automation, shift‑left strategies, and customer self‑service enhancements.
• Develop and manage department budget, resource planning, and tooling strategies, including ITSM platforms and performance dashboards. Maintain accurate capacity planning and forecast models to ensure appropriate headcount and cost management.
• Collaborate with Sales and Account Management to ensure operational readiness aligns with commercial objectives.

Team Growth & Culture

• Build and nurture a skilled, high-performing Managed Services team through clear progression plans and mentorship, enabling career advancement.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching sessions, and return‑to‑work interviews to support staff wellbeing and accountability.
• Embed a culture of learning, inclusion, knowledge‑sharing, and innovation.
• Champion employee engagement and track sentiment via structured surveys and feedback loops.

Customer Excellence

• Act as a senior customer advocate and escalation point, proactively addressing incidents, complaints, and feedback.
• Own customer satisfaction metrics such as CSAT and NPS, using insights to drive enhancements.
• Participate in client‑facing activities like Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), service reviews, and solution road mapping.
• Lead customer journey mapping initiatives and implement feedback loops to strengthen trust and satisfaction.
• Assure Service Transition is a seamless process for each client allowing Service Take‑on, Early Life Support and subsequent BAU.
• Grow a culture that celebrates success based on customer insight and performance.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure operational policies and procedures align with ITIL, ISO, GDPR, and other relevant frameworks.
• Maintain clear audit trails, SLA adherence, and service reporting.

Essential:

• Proven experience leading a Managed Services or IT Service Desk function within an MSP.
• Experience of managing Managers within the function.
• Strong operational knowledge of ITIL frameworks, particularly Incident, Problem, Change, and Major Incident Management.
• Demonstrable success in driving team performance through KPIs, coaching, and career development initiatives.
• Excellent customer‑facing communication skills across written, verbal, and presentation formats, including high‑stakes incident or escalation scenarios.
• Proficiency in ITSM and PSA tools (e.g. Autotask, Service Now) and interpreting data from ticketing/reporting platforms.
• Budget management and resource planning experience, including rota development and capacity forecasting.
• Strong technical literacy across…