IT Applications Support Manager

Sage Homes is an innovative Blackstone and Regis business addressing the housing crisis in England by making good homes affordable for people across the country who need them.

Since 2017 we have delivered around 17,000 new homes across affordable rent, shared ownership and social rent for individuals and families. In 2021 Sage Homes became the largest provider of new affordable housing in England,and we continue to deliver high quality affordable homes across the country.

We have invested more than £3 billion into high-quality affordable housing. Our entrepreneurial spirit combined with our technical expertise has got us to where we are today and will enable future sustainable growth.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced IT Applications Support Manager to lead our applications support and IT training function. This role will manage a team of four, ensuring high‑quality service delivery across our core business applications, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Office 365, Aareon QL, and the Coupa procurement system.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong leadership experience, a strategic mindset, and a passion for delivering exceptional application support services.

This role is based in our Northampton office with hybrid working arrangements of 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home, if required.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Application Support Engineers and a Trainer.
• Set the strategic direction for the Applications Support team, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives.
• Proactively manage software licences to maintain compliance and minimise costs.
• Oversee the management and resolution of support tickets, ensuring SLAs are consistently met.
• Produce and deliver weekly SLA and KPI reports for senior management.
• Develop, refine, and implement processes to enhance team effectiveness and service quality.
• Ensure the team has the tools, training, and knowledge required to respond effectively to support requests.
• Work collaboratively with other business areas to ensure seamless application support.
• Stay informed on new developments and enhancements across supported applications and guide the team accordingly.
• Ensure the support team and Trainer remain up to date on CRM enhancements, and that business users receive current training materials.
• Be available to support Priority 1 (P1) issues outside of standard business hours when required.
• Provide regular updates on key issues, risks, and ongoing projects to the Head of IT Operations.

About you

• Proven experience in a similar applications support management or team‑leader role.
• In depth knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ideally at least one of the following:
  Microsoft Office 365, Aareon QL, Coupa procurement, or SharePoint.
• ITIL certification (e.g., ITIL Foundation) with practical experience applying ITIL principles.
• Experience working within an ITIL framework and using a service desk management system.
• Demonstrated leadership ability, with experience managing and developing teams.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building abilities.
• Able to work effectively under pressure and manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.

We are committed to ensuring you have the best career here  well as regular support and guidance from your manager you can expect to receive a variety of learning and development opportunities to support you as you grow within our business. This includes internally and externally delivered development programmes and opportunities to study for professional accreditations and qualifications.

Culture and benefits:

At Sage Homes, we want to empower diverse, ambitious people to thrive. We are fast-paced and inclusive, and encourage our people to use their passion, curiosity and inventiveness to help us create safe places for our customers to flourish.

To make sure our colleagues feel welcome and cared for, we provide a suite of excellent benefits, including:

• 25 days holiday, and an additional day for every year's service (up to five years)
• Annual discretionary bonus scheme
• A health cash plan, with financial…