Service desk manager
Find out what a service desk manager in government does and the skills you need to do the role at each level.
Last updated 30 November 2024 — See all updates
Contents
- — What a service desk manager does
- — Service desk manager role levels
- — 1. Service desk analyst
- — 2. Senior service desk analyst
- — 3. Service desk manager
- — 4. Head of service desk
- — Roles that share service desk manager skills
What a service desk manager does
A service desk manager is responsible for managing the first- and second-line technical support for all departmental IT applications and services across sites, including end-user computing. This includes multi-function devices and specialised IT equipment.
In this role, you will also be responsible for ensuring support for existing and emerging information and communications technology (ICT) services, including providing technical advice to project teams.
Service desk manager role levels
There are 4 service desk manager role levels, from service desk analyst to head of service desk.
The typical responsibilities and skills for each role level are described in the sections below. You can use this to identify the skills you need to progress in your career, or simply to learn more about each role in the Government Digital and Data profession.
1. Service desk analyst
A service desk analyst interacts with customers.
At this role level, you will:
- perform tasks such as taking calls from customers and trying to resolve their queries
- know when to escalate issues to your manager
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- AO (Administrative Officer)
- EO (Executive Officer)
Skill | Description |
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Asset and configuration management Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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2. Senior service desk analyst
A senior service desk analyst monitors inbound calls, supports operators in service resolution and intervenes in difficult calls.
At this role level, you will:
- own and update the script for service desk analysts
- coach and develop one or more service desk analysts, and manage availability
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- EO (Executive Officer)
- HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
Skill | Description |
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Asset and configuration management Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Service management framework knowledge Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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3. Service desk manager
A service desk manager identifies emerging issues and is a knowledge expert.
They are responsible for the resourcing and development of the team, including the preparation and co-ordination of service transition activities.
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
- SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
Skill | Description |
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Asset and configuration management Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Service management framework knowledge Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
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4. Head of service desk
A head of service desk is responsible for managing a team who provides first- and second-line technical support.
At this role level, you will:
- ensure support of existing and emerging information and communications technology (ICT) services, and provide technical advice to project teams
- ensure that the support team undertakes development so that they can advise on future projects and current issues
- manage and monitor service desk service level agreements (SLAs) and performance
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
- G7 (Grade 7)
Skill | Description |
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Asset and configuration management Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Service management framework knowledge Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
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Roles that share service desk manager skills
Role | Shared skills |
---|---|
End user computing engineer | |
Application operations engineer | |
Business relationship manager | |
Change and release manager | |
Command and control centre manager |
Updates
Published 7 January 2020
Last updated 30 November 2024
30 November 2024
- The skill 'asset and configuration management' has been updated. The level descriptions were edited to improve clarity and to ensure consistency with the rest of the framework
- The skill 'problem management' has been updated to improve clarity and ensure consistency across the framework, allowing it be shared with roles previously using the skill 'problem resolution (data). No change was made to the meaning of skill level descriptions.
- The skill 'service management framework knowledge' has been updated to improve clarity. No change was made in the meaning of the skill level descriptions.
- The 'service reporting' skill has been renamed 'IT service reporting' to better reflect the requirements of the skill level descriptions. Its level descriptions have been updated to improve clarity. Awareness level now refers to 'key performance indicators' to align with the general skill description.
30 August 2024
- The skill level descriptions for 'customer service management' have been updated to improve clarity and ensure consistency across the framework. No change was made to the meaning of skill level descriptions.
7 December 2023
- The indicative job grades for 2 role levels have been corrected. The grades for the level 'senior service desk analyst' are now EO and HEO. The grades for level 'service desk manager' are now HEO and SEO.
7 January 2020
- First published.