Client Services Manager
Role: Client Service Manager
Location: Middlesborough (Office-based)
Salary: Competitive - DOE
Reports to: Managing Director
About the Role
We are looking for an experienced Client Service Manager to lead and take full ownership of our Service Desk. This is a senior management role reporting directly to the Managing Director, with our Technical Stack Leads reporting into you. You will be responsible for the overall performance, quality, and client experience of the Service Desk, ensuring service levels are consistently met and the team operates efficiently, professionally, and cohesively.
This role suits someone who is first and foremost a strong people manager, confident leading leads and managers, driving performance, and holding teams accountable, who also brings a broad technical understanding to make credible, informed decisions across the stack.
You will also work closely with the Commercial Team, providing the client insight needed for effective account management and helping to identify potential upsell opportunities.
Key Responsibilities
* Take full ownership of the Service Desk, ensuring it consistently meets SLAs, KPIs, and client expectations.
* Directly manage and develop the technical stack leads, providing clear direction, coaching, and performance management.
* Build a strong management structure beneath you, ensuring accountability and clear escalation paths across all technical disciplines.
* Act as the primary escalation point for major incidents and complex or high-priority client issues.
* Report directly to the Managing Director on Service Desk performance, risks, and improvement initiatives.
* Drive continuous improvement in processes, tooling, and ways of working across the Service Desk.
* Own client relationships at a service level, ensuring client satisfaction and proactively addressing concerns.
* Monitor resourcing, workload, and capacity across the team, adjusting as needed to maintain service quality.
* Champion a strong service culture, setting clear standards and expectations for the wider team.
* Produce regular reporting on service performance, trends, and team output for the Managing Director.
Essential
* Proven experience managing a Service Desk or client services function, ideally within a technology or managed services environment.
* Strong, demonstrable management and leadership skills, including direct experience managing managers or team leads.
* A track record of driving performance improvement and accountability within a team.
* Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to report directly to senior leadership and manage client relationships at a senior level.
* Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple technical disciplines.
Desirable
* Broad technical knowledge across IT infrastructure, networking, cloud, or related technical disciplines (deep specialist knowledge not required).
* Relevant experience in a similar Client Service Manager or Service Desk Manager role.
* Familiarity with ITIL or similar service management frameworks.
* Experience with service desk tooling and reporting/KPI dashboards.
What We Offer
* A senior leadership role with direct reporting line to the Managing Director.
* The opportunity to shape and build out the Service Desk's management structure in line with Group ambitions.
* Competitive salary, dependent on experience.