Job Introduction

Do you lead the way?  

Are you a grafter?  

Are you loyal?  

If yes, read below to see how you could be a part of our story!  

Welcome to Card Factory - and your opportunity to be part of our exciting future. As the country’s largest, independent gift and greetings card retailer with over 1000 stores, Card Factory is really thriving. As well as being a progressive, exciting and friendly company, we reward our people’s commitment and determination. 

As the IT Service Desk Manager you will be responsible for managing a team of Service Desk Analysts who provide 1^st and 2^nd line support for IT applications, services and end user devices for the Card Factory Group, in line with agreed KPIs and SLAs. This is a hands-on management role operating in a fast paced, high-pressure environment. The successful candidate will drive performance improvement across the team and work collaboratively with other managers to ensure a high level of service is delivered to the Card Factory Group. Due to the demand and scope of the role, this role will be office based in our Wakefield Support Centre. 

Role Responsibility

• Provide leadership and direct supervision to a Service Desk Team, ensuring they deliver a high standard of customer service to end users;
• Manage and motivate the team to drive performance and ensure all incidents and requests are resolved within agreed SLA’s;
• Own the Incident Management process and ensure it is followed within IT Service & Operations function;
• Manage Incident and Service Request escalations, liaising with internal and external parties as required, following the required escalation process;
• Support the IT Service Manager in the management of major incidents ensuring the Service Desk Team follow required Major Incident Management processes;
• Ensure Service Desk knowledgebase is maintained and work with the team to proactively identify new articles and SOP’s to drive efficiencies;
• Act as the main point of escalation for the Service Desk Team, assisting in the resolution of issues as required;
• Manage the administration and setup of the Service Management Tool, ensuring it remains fit for purpose;
• Manage and maintain the team shift rota and ensure an adequate level of cover is in place to meet the required support hours of the business at all times;
• Undertake Team Leadership activities including 1:1;s, Team Meetings, objective setting, performance reviews, personal development plans etc;
• Produce weekly Service Desk Reports to show performance against SLA’s/KPI’s, identifying trends and highlighting areas for problem management investigation;
• Proactively identify areas of service improvement and put plans in place to address them, working with other support teams as required;
• Work closely with the Service Manager to identify Service Desk requirements to facilitate the successful transition of new services into support;
• Work with other Teams and help drive a culture of collaborative working across the IT Department with the single aim of delivering high quality services to the wider business.

The Ideal Candidate

• Previous experience working as an IT Service Desk Team Leader or Service Desk Manager;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; including the ability to communicate technical information clearly to a non-technical audience;
• Strong leadership skills;
• Experience of configuring and reporting from Service Desk Management Tool(s);
• Motivated and enthusiastic individual with a positive ‘can do’ attitude;
• Good organisational skills with the ability to successfully coordinate and train staff;
• Have a collaborative approach with a good team working ethic;
• Excellent problem-solving skills;
• Good customer relationship management skills;
• Ability to work well under pressure and adapt quickly to a fast past changing environment;
• ITIL Foundation qualification or equivalent level of understanding of industry standard processes;
• Experience of working in a retail Service Desk environment preferred;
• Flexibility to work outside of core business hours to support the resolution of high priority incidents and peak trading periods;
• A full clean driving license is essential, as occasional travel between group sites will be required.

About the Company

In return we offer a wide range of benefits to support your physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

• 25 holidays + 8 bank holidays
• Save as you Earn scheme
• 15% Staff Discount
• Discounted Gym Memberships
• O2 open mobile contracts
• Salary Finance
• Pension 
• Discounted Car Leasing
• Employee Care
• Flex My Day
• Card Factory Foundation
• MyCardFactory App: discounts at leading retailers

Disclaimer: If needed, this role may involve out of hours and weekend working to support the business needs and the ideal candidate will hold a full clean driving license as travel between group sites could be required at necessary times. 

This is an exciting role with genuine prospects for the right candidate. If this role describes you and your career aspirations, click apply now.

For any questions email: vacancies@cardfactory.co.uk (we do not accept CVs/Applications via email) 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once sufficient suitable applications have been received. We advise applying early to avoid disappointment as applications will be reviewed regularly. 

No agencies please.

Sportswift Ltd T/A cardfactory