Managed Services - First Line Support Team Lead

Managed Service First Line Support Team Leader 

About HSO:  HSO is a global Microsoft solutions partner delivering consistent, cost-effective implementations through a unified methodology and providing worldclass, 24/7 proactive managed services to customers worldwide. As a full-service Microsoft Partner, we hold all six Microsoft Cloud Partner Program Solution Designations across Business Applications, Data & AI, Digital App & Innovation, Infrastructure, Modern Work, and Security.  For over 21 years, we have been a proud member of Microsoft’s Inner Circle—an elite group representing the top 1% of global partners—and we are also recognised as a Microsoft FastTrack Partner, ensuring high quality implementations and successful adoption of Microsoft Cloud solutions.  At HSO, our people are our greatest asset. We are committed to employee wellbeing, professional growth, and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. Through the HSO Academy, we provide continuous training, certification, and career development opportunities. Our comprehensive wellbeing offering includes Tonic & Me, Care First, the Wellness Hub, and a network of trained Mental Health First Aiders.  HSO’s Mental Health Policy promotes openness, early support, and the reduction of stigma around mental health and well-being. We focus on building a great place to work through trust, connection, fairness, and strong employee engagement. Our aim is to create a supportive, psychologically safe environment where colleagues feel valued, empowered, and able to perform at their best.

About Managed Services:  HSO Managed Services helps customers get the most out of their Microsoft Application and Cloud environments by improving how they work, innovate and grow. We provide our customers with 24/7 management of their applications, Data & AI and Azure platforms.   Our teams work globally to deliver real business impact, strengthening security, improving processes, speeding up innovation, and helping customers become more adaptable and competitive.   At HSO, you’ll work with the latest Microsoft technologies, be part of a culture of continuous improvement, and play a key role in helping organisations support and transform their business.

Purpose of the Role: 

The 1st Line Support Team Lead is a key role within the HSO Managed Services First Line team, responsible for the day-to-day management of the 1st line support function which is dedicated to a single customer. This role combines frontline team leadership with direct customer accountability, ensuring that the customer’s retail store environments receive a high-quality, consistent, and responsive support service. 

As Team Lead, you will own the performance, welfare, and development of the first line support team, manage operational processes including rotas, escalations, and service reporting, and act as the primary point of contact between the customer and the HSO support team. You will drive a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring SLAs are met, service reviews are delivered, and both customer satisfaction and team wellbeing and performance remain at the forefront of everything you do. 

The Team Lead holds direct responsibility for the performance, motivation, and engagement of each member of the team, ensuring fair management, regular appraisals, and genuine career development opportunities. You will publicly support the strategic direction of HSO, uphold the values of the business, and place our customers at the heart of everything you do 

This role is a Fixed term contract up to 12 months total, depending on start date. Details of this will be shared with you during your initial interview.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Reviewing each team member’s progression on an individual basis 

• Manage team leave and absence requests, ensuring rota coverage is maintained at all times 

• Authorise team timesheets in line with HSO processes 

• Lead the daily team catchup meeting, presenting updates and managing the associated calendar invites 

• Act as the first point of support for team members requiring guidance, whether work-related or personal 

• Be alert to individual performance and address any anomalies or under-achievement promptly and fairly 

• Mentor, coach, and lead by example — managing with confidence, compassion, and consistency 

• Be prepared to make difficult management decisions when required, anticipating challenges and proactively seeking resolution 

Operations & Rota Management 

• Working Hours are Full time 40 Hours per week on a rota basis between the windows of Monday-Friday 8am – 6pm and some weekend rotation Saturday 8am – 6pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.  Bank Holidays 10am–4pm (excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day). 

• Manage the 1st line support rota, ensuring all weekday, weekend, and bank holiday shifts are covered 

• Process team holiday requests and update the rota accordingly 

• Ensure all team members rostered for each day are present and available on the call handling platform 

• Ensure shift and lunch cover is maintained throughout the day, keeping a minimum of two people covering the phones at all times 

 

Customer Relationship Management 

• Act as the primary escalation point, responding promptly and professionally to all queries, questions, and escalations 

• Attend customer daily and/or weekly meetings during projects and periods of issue, feeding relevant updates back to the team 

• Maintain a proactive and professional relationship with the customer stakeholders, ensuring they are kept fully informed of progress on all open and aged cases 

• Provide structured, value-led communication to the customer rather than purely reactive responses 

• Act as a key escalation point for major incidents, ensuring timely and clear updates are provided to the customer 

 

Case & 3rd Party Management 

• Oversee team case management, ensuring all tickets are appropriately logged, updated, and progressed within SLA 

• Ensure all tickets contain the relevant 3rd party references and have been logged with the appropriate 3rd party 

• Chase 3rd parties on aged or stalled cases and provide updates to both the team and the customer 

• Update the customer on any cases that are not progressing or have been open for an extended period 

• Close resolved cases promptly and accurately within the ITSM system 

 

Reporting & Service Reviews 

• Create and generate reports within ManageEngine, the customer’s ticketing system 

• Extract the BT open case report twice weekly, chase BT on outstanding items, and provide the team with updates 

• Create ad hoc reports as required by the customer or management 

• Manage the KPI report: extract data from ManageEngine, populate the KPI spreadsheet, and distribute to the team for completion 

• Build and deliver Service Reviews, extracting all required reports and data from ManageEngine and the Call Handling platform 

 

Support Delivery 

• Provide prompt and professional 1st line support to the customer in accordance with agreed SLAs and support contracts 

• Ensure all support calls are effectively managed with minimum disruption to the customer’s retail store operations 

• Ensure support issues are responded to and resolved within agreed timescales 

• Monitor progress of allocated team cases and act as a key escalation point for managing major incidents 

• Facilitate regular feedback to the customer regarding the progress of support call status, in line with agreed scope 

• Spend dedicated time working directly on the phones alongside the team, providing hands-on 1st line retail and POS support to the customer’s retail stores and maintaining a working understanding of day-to-day team workload and customer needs 

 

Compliance & Internal Governance 

• Ensure timely completion of internal processes in accordance with the Company Handbook 

• Work in alignment with HSO’s Quality System, ISO 27001 and GDPR policies 

• Ensure support tickets and customer interactions comply with HSO standards and governance 

• Carry out reasonable additional duties as required and agreed with the Head of MS Service 

 

Essential Skills  Experience managing or leading 1st line support teams  Proven experience supporting retail IT environments, including EPOS/POS systems and retail store infrastructure  Experience in supporting Retail IT/POS solutions in a 1st line capacity, with the ability to work directly on the phones alongside the team when required  Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills  Experience supporting customers over the phone in a service desk environment  Proficiency in ticket management and ITSM tooling  Experience producing operational reports and service review documentation  Experience managing rotas, scheduling, and shift coordination  A genuine passion for customer service and service excellence  Strong written communication skills for ITSM updates, customer emails, and escalation correspondence    Desirable Skills  ITIL Foundation or equivalent service management qualification  Experience using ManageEngine or similar ITSM platforms  Familiarity with call handling platforms and their reporting capabilities  Experience creating and managing KPI reports and service review packs  Understanding of SLA management and service review frameworks  Experience working for a Microsoft Partner or Systems Integrator

Personal Qualities:  Excellent communication and customer interaction skills  Ability to work under pressure and consistently meet time commitments  Self-motivated with a proactive and solutions-focused approach  Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously  A natural leader who motivates, supports, and develops their team  Confident in holding difficult conversations with compassion and consistency  A team player who promotes a positive, inclusive, and collaborative team culture  Comfortable representing HSO professionally in customer-facing meetings and communications