1st Line Team Lead - IT Service Desk (Care Sector MSP)

We are looking for a 1st Line Team Lead to run the Tier 1 function of our service desk, supporting a major care sector group with a large multi-site estate across England and Scotland alongside our wider client base. This is a working lead role: you will spend part of your time on the tools alongside the team and part running the desk - managing the queue, coaching the engineers, owning ticket quality and making sure nothing slips. The service desk sits at the heart of a newly signed managed service contract that is growing quickly, with a substantial site onboarding programme underway, and the Tier 1 team will grow with it. You will shape how that team works. You will report to the Service Desk Manager function and work closely with 2nd/3rd line and the dedicated account engineers. What you will be doing

• Leading the day-to-day running of the Tier 1 desk: queue management, workload allocation, prioritisation and cover planning
• Working tickets alongside the team, leading from the front on quality and pace
• Coaching and developing 1st line engineers: regular 1:1s, ticket quality reviews, training plans and onboarding of new starters
• Owning ticket quality standards: notes, categorisation, time recording and adherence to the QA framework, including additional review of elevated-risk tickets
• Monitoring queue health and first-time resolution rates, and acting on the trends
• Acting as the first escalation point for difficult tickets before issues reach management
• Maintaining and improving runbooks and knowledge base articles so the team can self-serve
• Feeding recurring issues and improvement ideas into the wider service improvement process

Solid 1st line experience with at least some time spent as a senior, mentor or lead - you know what a well-run queue looks like because you have run one

• Strong Microsoft 365 administration knowledge and good Windows troubleshooting depth
• Experience with PSA/ticketing systems and RMM tooling, and opinions on how they should be used properly
• A coaching instinct: you get satisfaction from making other engineers better, not just from closing tickets yourself
• Calm under pressure, organised, and comfortable holding a standard even when the queue is deep

• Clear communication with technical and non-technical audiences alike Advantageous

• MSP or multi-client environment experience
• Experience supporting the care or health sector
• Exposure to Intune, Entra ID or basic networking
• Willingness to obtain DBS clearance (required for this client)

We are a specialist managed IT services provider focused on Microsoft 365, Azure, endpoint management and cybersecurity, working with clients in the care, healthcare and professional services sectors. Our approach is direct, technically rigorous and built around long-term client relationships rather than volume.