External Developer Support Manager (Service Desk Manager)

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you’re seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC., As a Service Desk Manager within the Software Developer Support Team (SDST), you will play a key role in leading the day-to-day operation of a busy and customer-focused Service Desk, supporting external software developers, government departments and other API consumers who integrate with HMRC digital services.

You will be responsible for managing the workflow, performance and resources of a team of Service Desk Analysts, ensuring customer contacts are handled efficiently and service standards are maintained. Working closely with operational colleagues, line managers and stakeholders across SDST and wider HMRC teams, you will help ensure work is prioritised effectively, resources are deployed appropriately and operational objectives are achieved.

The role requires a proactive and motivated individual who can monitor service performance, analyse management information and identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement. You will use customer feedback, performance data and operational insight to support decision-making, enhance working practices and drive continuous improvement across the Service Desk.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys leading and developing people, solving operational challenges and delivering excellent customer service within a fast-paced environment. You will be expected to build strong working relationships, support colleagues to perform at their best and contribute to the ongoing development of the Service Desk function.

The successful candidate will be a confident communicator with strong leadership and organisational skills, capable of managing competing priorities while maintaining a positive, inclusive and high-performing team culture.

The position may involve people management responsibilities, including coaching, performance management and supporting the professional development of colleagues., As a Service Desk Manager, your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Leading the day-to-day operation of the Service Desk, ensuring work is effectively prioritised and service levels are achieved.
• Supporting a team of Band O Service Desk Analysts, creating a positive, inclusive and high-performing working environment.
• Monitoring workloads, workflow, performance and resource allocation to ensure customer demand is effectively managed and operational priorities are delivered.
• Acting as an escalation point for complex customer issues, ensuring appropriate ownership, stakeholder engagement and timely resolution.
• Supporting service continuity activities and operational incident management during periods of increased demand, service disruption or major incidents.
• Ensuring operational processes are followed consistently and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness and customer experience.
• Monitoring service performance, developer feedback and management information to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Producing, analysing and interpreting management information to support decision-making, resource planning and service improvement activities.
• Working collaboratively with teams across SDST, CDIO and wider HMRC to maintain effective service delivery and achieve shared outcomes.
• Supporting business continuity, workforce planning and operational resilience activities to ensure the Service Desk remains equipped to meet business demand.
• Contributing to the onboarding, coaching and development of colleagues, supporting them to build capability, confidence and performance.
• Championing teamwork, continuous improvement and knowledge sharing across the Service Desk and wider operational team.
• Supporting the Senior Operational Manager in delivering operational objectives, organisational priorities and strategic initiatives., We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions, If you have an HMRC online account already, sign straight in using your ID and password. If not, you can prove your identity by answering some questions or providing your photo ID.

You’ll then be able to access the app quickly and easily by signing in using a 6-digit PIN, your fingerprint, or facial recognition.

You can find guidance for technical issues on GOV.UK: Technical support with HMRC online services.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Merit List

After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Hybrid working at HMRC

HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time).

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate., HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment., * UK nationals

• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

• Leadership and Team Management: Experience of leading, motivating and developing individuals or teams to achieve performance objectives.
• Stakeholder Management: Experience of building and maintaining effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders to achieve shared outcomes.
• Operational Management: Experience of managing workloads, competing priorities and service delivery within a fast-paced operational environment.
• Continuous Improvement: Experience of reviewing processes, identifying opportunities for improvement and implementing practical solutions.
• Data Analysis and Decision Making: Experience of analysing performance information, identifying trends and using data to support decision making and improve outcomes.
• Communication Skills: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working within a Service Desk or customer support environment.
• Experience of performance management and people leadership.
• Experience of creating or using management information, dashboards or reporting tools.
• Experience of working within Agile, Digital or Technology environments.
• Experience of managing incidents, escalations or business continuity activities., * Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality service
• Making effective decisions

When answering you will be required to provide a specific instance from your career which demonstrates the technical skill, experience or behaviour in question. You would be advised prepare specific examples from you career in advance.

You will be advised to apply the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique when delivering examples. You would be encouraged to prepare demonstratable examples of your experience ahead of the interview to ensure meaningfulness and completeness., Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process., Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Pulled from the full job description Company pension Work from home, Alongside your salary of £37,682, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £10,916 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

At HMRC, we are already one of the most digital advanced tax authorities in the world and have one of the largest IT infrastructures and data sources in the UK. With 50 million customers to serve, over 60 thousand colleagues to support, and £600 billion to collect to fund UK Plc, our IT operation is huge!

For those who are up to the challenge, we offer unique and unparalleled opportunities to work with some of the newest technologies and make a real, lasting difference.

HMRC is made up of Customer Groups which are working independently towards one common goal. Our role sits within HMRC’s Chief Digital & Information Office (CDIO) Group that deliver in-house solutions for a broad range of technical and operational issues. Our digital delivery centres are hi-tech, state-of-the-art facilities that allow our teams to maximise their capabilities.

We provide platforms for delivering Application Programming Interface (API) access to HMRC systems.

The Software Developer Support Team (SDST) supports external software developers, government departments and other API consumers to build and manage authorised software that seamlessly integrates with HMRC digital services. We work collaboratively across a range of technical and operational teams to provide high-quality support and continually improve the customer experience.

We use modern open-source products and work in an Agile way to deliver flexible, effective integration solutions., Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk. Please note that we do not accept complaints or appeals regarding scoring of outcomes of campaigns, unless candidates can provide clear evidence that the campaign did not follow the Recruitment Principles. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.