IT Service Desk Manager

About this job

Join us at EIT: At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas: • Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology • Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture • Climate Change & Managing CO₂ • Artificial Intelligence & Robotics This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you’ll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more at www.eit.org. Your Role: At EIT we are seeking a proactive, process driven IT Service Desk Manager. The IT Service Desk Manager is responsible for leading and continually improving EIT Oxford’s IT Service Desk, ensuring a responsive, professional and high-quality support experience. As the primary entry point into IT, the Service Desk handles incidents, requests, support and guidance, with this role accountable for maintaining operational excellence and a white-glove user experience. This operational role requires strong Service Desk leadership experience, practical knowledge of ITIL and IT Service Management, and the ability to develop people, processes and capabilities within a complex, fast-moving organisation. Working closely with the Head of IT Services and wider IT teams, the role will own day-to-day Service Desk performance and drive continual improvement across IT service delivery. Your Responsibilities: • Lead and develop the IT Service Desk team, promoting ownership, accountability, professionalism and excellent customer service. • Own day-to-day Service Desk performance, including ticket prioritisation, workload management, escalation, communication and resolution. • Maintain strong standards across SLA/OLA performance, first-contact resolution, ticket quality and effective hand-offs between teams. • Act as the senior escalation point for complex or sensitive issues and identify recurring demand, bottlenecks and service improvement opportunities. • Apply practical ITIL and Service Management principles, ensuring processes are proportionate, effective and consistently followed. • Improve ITSM data quality, workflows, automation, self-service and knowledge management. • Support Incident, Major Incident, Problem and Change Management activities, including communications and operational readiness. • Define and review Service Desk KPIs, using performance data and customer feedback to drive continual improvement. • Build strong relationships across EIT and ensure the Service Desk continues to meet evolving scientific, technical and operational needs. What Success Looks Like: • A capable, engaged and accountable Service Desk team with clear ownership and performance standards. • Consistently high-quality support, strong customer satisfaction and a trusted reputation across EIT. • Measurable and well-managed service performance, with reduced backlog, aged tickets, escalations and repeat incidents. • Consistent application of ITIL and Service Management practices, supported by effective knowledge, automation and self-service. • Strong participation in Incident, Problem and Change Management, with effective collaboration across IT and the wider Institute. • A clear culture of continual improvement driven by service data and customer feedback. Requirements Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience: • Extensive experience leading and developing an IT Service Desk or technical support function within a complex organisation. • Proven success improving Service Desk performance, maturity, processes and customer experience. • Strong practical knowledge of ITIL and IT Service Management, ideally supported by ITIL v4 certification. • Experience across Incident, Request, Knowledge, Problem and Change Management. • Strong understanding of SLAs, OLAs, KPIs, service reporting, escalation and continual improvement. • Significant experience with ITSM platforms such as Jira Service Management or equivalent. • Strong people leadership, coaching, analytical, communication and stakeholder management skills. • Sound judgement and decision-making in complex, sensitive or high-pressure situations • Advanced ITIL qualifications, Service Desk transformation experience, or experience in scientific, research or technology environments would be advantageous. Benefits We offer the following benefits: • Competitive salary (based on experience) + travel allowance + bonus • Enhanced holiday. Our annual leave allowance is 25 days plus 8 bank holidays and an additional 3 days between Christmas and New Year. You will also have the opportunity to purchase an additional 5 days annual leave in January and July. • Pension - Employer contribution 7.5%, minimum employee contribution 5% • Life Assurance. • Income Protection • Private Medical Insurance as standard for you, your partner and any dependents. Including hospital Cash Plan • Employee discounts • Electric car scheme • Nursery Salary Sacrifice scheme • Cycle to Work Scheme • Family Planning • Neurodiversity support including advise and assessments • Coaching & Therapy services Working Together – What It Involves: • You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. • You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate) and can commit to working 5 days per working week in the office.