1st Line Service Desk Team Lead

Job Title: 1st Line Service Desk Team Lead Location: Cardiff (Hybrid) with UK travel to other ARO offices and Client Locations as required Salary: up to £40,000 + car allowance Contract type: Permanent About the role Are you an experienced Service Desk professional ready to take the next step in your leadership career? We're looking for a passionate and customer-focused 1st Line Team Lead to join our growing Service Desk team in Cardiff. As part of the ARO Services function within the Cloud, Cyber, and IT (CCIT) Business Unit, you'll play a key role in leading a team of Service Desk Analysts who deliver first class IT support to our customers. You'll be responsible for driving team performance, ensuring service excellence and helping to create an outstanding customer experience. In this hands on leadership role, you'll support the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, monitor performance against SLAs and KPIs, and work closely with stakeholders to identify and implement service improvements. You'll also coach, mentor, and develop team members, fostering a positive and high-performing team culture. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing organisation where you can make a real impact, develop your leadership skills, and help shape the future of our support services. Please note that this is a Hybrid role with onsite requirement 3 days a week. A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle is required due to the nature of the role What you’ll do As a 1st Line Team Lead, you'll be responsible for leading a team of Service Desk Advisors to deliver an exceptional front-line support experience for our customers. You'll combine strong people leadership with a focus on operational excellence, ensuring service performance, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement remain at the heart of everything you do. Customer & Operational Excellence Lead and support the front-line team to consistently deliver excellent customer service. Drive performance against agreed KPIs and SLAs, ensuring service targets are achieved and exceeded where possible. Regularly review processes and procedures, maintaining an active Service Improvement Plan (SIP) to enhance service quality and efficiency. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and customer focus across the team. Manage team rotas and resource availability to ensure effective service coverage. Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing team members through effective people management and leadership. Champion knowledge management and the effective use of support tools to increase first-time fix rates and drive 'shift-left' resolution. Manage escalated customer complaints and feedback, identifying opportunities for training, service improvements, and enhanced customer outcomes. Collaboration & Leadership Work closely with Operational Managers and wider support teams to deliver a consistent and high-quality first-line support experience. Contribute as a member of the Operational Management Team, supporting wider service delivery and continuous improvement initiatives. Keep the team informed and engaged through regular communication, team meetings, and updates. Produce monthly and ad hoc reports, providing insights and analysis to support operational and contractual requirements. Proactively review service trends and collaborate with Operational Governance teams to reduce recurring incidents and improve service performance. Governance, Risk & Compliance Ensure operational processes and procedures align with relevant frameworks and standards, including ITIL, ISO, and GDPR. Maintain accurate records, audit trails, and reporting to support compliance and contractual obligations. Work in partnership with HR to apply company policies consistently and support effective people management practices. What we are looking for? Essential Strong operational knowledge of ITIL practices, including Incident, Problem, Change, and Major Incident Management. A proven track record of driving team performance through KPI management, coaching, mentoring, and career development. Excellent customer-facing communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively in written, verbal, and presentation formats, including during high-priority incidents and escalations. Experience using ITSM and PSA platforms (such as Autotask or ServiceNow) and the ability to analyse and interpret service desk data and reporting. Strong technical understanding of common service desk technologies, including Microsoft 365, remote support tools, endpoint management, and networking fundamentals. Experience leading process improvement initiatives and driving continuous service optimisation. Knowledge of compliance and security frameworks, including ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, and GDPR. Previous experience leading a Managed Services, Service Desk, or IT Support team within an MSP or similar environment. A strong customer service background with the ability to translate technical concepts into clear, customer-friendly language. Excellent stakeholder management and customer engagement skills. Demonstrable people management experience, including performance management, development planning, and reporting to senior stakeholders. A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel when required. Desirable ITIL v4 certification, ideally at Managing Professional or Strategic Leader level Experience with Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platforms and their integration with PSA/ITSM tools. Experience leading customer-facing service reviews, including Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and service health checks. An understanding of cybersecurity best practices and governance frameworks such as NIST and CIS. An IT-related degree or equivalent industry experience. Experience working within SLA- and OLA-driven service desk environments. Broader knowledge of IT service management principles and best practices. Who are we? ARO has 25 years’ experience in Collaboration, Connectivity, Cloud and Infrastructure and Cyber Security services both in the UK and Internationally and has a nationwide presence with offices across the UK. As one of the UK’s leading independent IT and communication experts our mission is to deliver a seamless technology experience to all end users. To make that vision a reality, we need bright, tenacious and inspiring talent to help drive our performance, growth and achieve this mission. To make us successful we focus on strong communication, a culture based on fun, trust and collaboration. We have created a modern workplace environment, which is full of engaged, energetic, positive and curious people whose productivity, resilience and wellbeing allow them to thrive. In 2021 we were awarded the People Insight’s Outstanding Workplace Award, which celebrates organisations building positive workplace cultures and acting on employee feedback to spark positive change. Why Work for ARO? At ARO we are committed to creating an excellent employee experience. Our employees, culture and additional benefits all make ARO a great place to work. Come join us! We offer a wide range of benefits and incentives to our employees including: 💰 Company Pension Scheme and matching contributions 🎁 Company Perks portal 🏥 Private Medical insurance 🛡️ Life assurance ✈️ 25 days holiday plus bank holidays plus holiday trading 🎂 Your Birthday off, on us 💪 Health Club and Wellbeing Scheme 📈 ARO Shares after 12 months employment 🤝 Employee Assistance Programme 💻 Technical Training Academy and E-learning 💼 Hybrid working If even 80% of this matches your experience and attributes, we would be delighted to hear from you.