Service Desk Supervisor

Applications are invited for the following position:

Title of Post: Service Desk Supervisor

JOB SYNOPSIS

Responsible for managing the ITD Service Desk which is the first point of contact for all staff, student and visitors’ queries.

Office of the Director of Information Technology

Information Technology Division

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary Scale: €56,411 - €67,653 p.a.

University of Limerick is a research-led, energetic and enterprising institution with a proud record of innovation and excellence in education and scholarships. We value creativity, curiosity and excellence in our inclusive community which is committed to social good. Our motto Eagna chun Gnímh translates as Wisdom for Action reflecting our mission to contribute to the discovery of new knowledge for a better world.

Informal enquiries regarding the post may be directed to:

Ms Maria Linnane

Head - Service Delivery

Information Technology Division

University of Limerick

Email: [email protected]

The closing date for receipt of applications is Monday, 16th November 2026

Applications must be completed online before 12 noon, Irish Standard Time on the closing date.

Please note your application must include:

A letter of introduction and a current CV indicating how you meet the criteria outlined in the Job description.

A completed online application form.

Are you currently legally entitled to work and reside in Ireland?

If you are not currently an EEA Citizen and have stated that you are currently legally entitled to work and reside in Ireland, you MUST upload a copy of your current Visa and Work permit in the attachments section application form. Unfortunately, if the attachment, as noted, is required and not provided your application cannot be processed.

Please note your current work authorisation status must allow you to fulfil the terms of the contract on offer.

Please email [email protected] if you experience any difficulties

Applications are welcome from suitably qualified candidates.

Further information for applicants and application material is available online from: University of Limerick Vacancies

We are committed to upholding the principles of fairness, equality, and transparency in pay, in line with the EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970)

Many thanks for your interest in this role.

TITLE OF POST: Service Desk Supervisor LOCATION: University of Limerick REPORTS TO: Head - Service Delivery CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent SALARY SCALE: €56,411 - €67,653 p.a.

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB SYNOPSIS:

Responsible for managing the ITD Service Desk which is the first point of contact for all staff, student and visitors’ queries.

OVERALL JOB PURPOSE:

Reporting to the Head of Service Delivery, you will manage the Service Desk team who provide support to staff and students. You will be responsible for the daily management and improvement of a customer-focused IT Service Desk function. The Service Desk Supervisor will track key performance indicators in alignment with business objectives and goals. You will also provide leadership and drive team duties, including remote troubleshooting, documentation of customer interactions, and processing customer requests, to completion.

Some of the main high-level objectives of the role will be to:

• Overall responsibility for incident management and request fulfilment for the Service Desk including handling escalations from the business.

• Managing and co-ordinating the day-to-day activities of the Service Desk and prioritise teamwork load dependent on volumes and resource.

• Produce reports, dashboards and management information relating to performance of the Service Desk and related services/processes and identifying themes and trends.

• Manage, recruit, lead, motivate and develop staff in accordance with UL policies and procedures

• Building and strengthening an effective relationship between the different groups within ITD to drive service improvements and effective resolution to queries

• Drive best practice in line with ITIL processes and ensure that UL ITD delivers world class service.

• Maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across the business ensuring that their needs and expectations are understood and managed.

• Review status of open tickets daily to ensure that internal and external operational level agreements are met with clients; assign and/or escalate tickets as appropriate.

• Review closed tickets to look for trends in customer requests; if trends are observed bring to the attention of management with the objective of assessing if a strategic project or change in the customer environment can reduce ticket volume.

• Ensure the smooth running of all ITD Managed PC Rooms for students in accordance with established procedures and standards and that PCs are operational with installed software and that printers are available and fully functional.

• Prepare and deliver presentations to specific groups of new students.

• Provide professional front line support to our student customers and other key stakeholders.

• Ensure user queries to the Service Desk (electronically and in-person) are satisfactorily dealt with in a timely and professional manner.

• Provide updated information via user documentation and relevant web sites.

• Facilitate lecturers with additional day bookings, facilitate both internal and external groups with evening, weekend and summer bookings and make available guest accounts when required.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

People Management

• Manage the Service Desk team including the recruitment of part-time students and Coop Students.

• Leads the Service Desk team in the management of service incidents and service requests.

• Act as a Liaison between Head of Service Delivery and Service Desk Analysts.

Service and Process Management

• Working with the Head of Service Delivery to manage day-to-day operations of the ITD Service Desk in line with university objectives.

• Responsible for process improvements and enforcement.

• Serve as an operational escalation point for Service Desk Analysts.

• Be a knowledge management leader and promote the use of KB articles.

• Maintain accurate log entries of requests along with resolution details and follow-up information.

• Ensure Services are delivered in line with ITIL and industry best practice.

• Provide information on updates, known errors, changes in availability, new facilities etc.

• Ensure all PCs and Printers in ITD managed PC rooms are operational and any faults are logged to ensure full functionality is restored as quickly as possible.

• Compile and regularly update all relevant customer documentation, including relevant websites.

• Facilitate teaching by allocating additional available PC room bookings.

• Manage IT guest generic PC accounts.

• Provide instruction to customers in their usage of systems, products and services.

• Keep abreast of new ICT changes, developments and technologies appropriate to the role.

• Collaborate with the Head of Service Delivery and other ITD stakeholders to continuously improve the Service Desk system.

Communication and Engagement

• Prepare and deliver presentations to groups of new incoming students.

• Engage with other university support departments including but not limited to AR, HR, and the library to provide updated IT information.

It should be noted that the above list of duties is not exhaustive and other duties and responsibilities may be assigned to the post holder from time to time.

CONTEXT:

Key Working Relationships & Contacts

Reporting to the Head of Service Delivery, the Service Desk Supervisor will have a range of internal and external contacts and collaboration points. These include, amongst others, service desk staff, staff and student, other technical staff internal and external to the division and external support companies.

Working Environment/Special Circumstances

Normal office working environment. Must be able to work additional hours in exchange for time off in lieu of rare cases during period of peak demand to meet system deadlines

DIMENSIONS:

Staff - Service Desk team members.

Customer - Students, staff and visitors.

Operational and Administrative - The position is responsible for the supervision of the Service Desk team, the provision of high-quality computing services to staff and students.

KNOWLEDGE, FUNCTIONAL SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS:

Knowledge

• Experience within a Service Desk Management/Supervisory role.

• Familiarity with ITSM tools such as TOPdesk, Freshservice, Ivanti, ServiceNow or similar platforms.

• Extensive support knowledge of Windows and Apple.

• Experience using Service Desk tools including remote access tools.

• Experience of identifying and introducing improvements to a team and leading through change.

• Experience working in a fast-paced complex environment.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Understanding of knowledge management principles and self-service support models.

Experience

• At least 3 years relevant experience, part of which includes direct supervision of line staff, in a medium to large IT department.

Qualifications

• A primary degree in a relevant subject or substantial relevant IT supervisory experience in one or more large organisations.

Essential Criteria:

• Experience leading, supervising and developing Service Desk staff to deliver a high-quality support service.

• Experience managing day-to-day Service Desk operations, ensuring tickets are prioritised and resolved within agreed SLAs.

• A strong customer focus.

• Ability to work with diverse groups of stakeholders to manage and deliver outcomes.

• Ability to work in a professional manner, accurately and with attention to detail.

• Ability to handle confidential information and materials.

• Ability to use initiative and to learn new skills.

• Excellent report writing.

• Ability to communicate technical information and ideas clearly and concisely to non-technical people.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience monitoring workload, performance metrics and customer satisfaction levels, taking corrective action where required.

• Experience coordinating incident resolution and escalation activities across technical teams and third-party suppliers.

• Ability to facilitate training, knowledge transfer and onboarding activities.

CORE COMPETENCIES – ITD

|Customer Focus |Level: 4 | |• Initiates and monitors actions to investigate and resolve | | |problems in systems and service • Takes responsibility for | | |customer satisfaction • Uses quality data to propose | | |improvements • Assists in the analysis of underlying issues | | |into business requirements and problems, and identifies options| | |Professional Development |Level: 4 | |• Maintains an in-depth knowledge of specific technical | | |specialisms. • Has a sound understanding of related technical | | |areas. • Advises, using specialist knowledge, can be innovative| | |in applying IT solutions. • Mentors more junior colleagues. • | | |Maintains an awareness of developments in the industry. • | | |Identify and organise, if appropriate, any training required. •| | |Identifies new and emerging hardware and software technologies | | |and products based on own area of expertise, assesses their | | |relevance and potential value to the organisation, contributes | | |to briefings of staff and management. • The specialism can be | | |any aspect of information or communication technology, | | |technique, method, product or application area. | | |Plan & Deliver |Level: 4 | |• Works under broad direction. Is fully accountable for own | | |technical work and/or project/supervisory responsibilities. • | | |Receive assignments in the form of objectives. • Establishes | | |own milestones and team objectives, and delegates | | |responsibilities within governance framework. • Analyses, | | |diagnoses, designs, plans, executes and evaluates work to time,| | |cost and quality targets. • Manages medium scale projects. • | | |Advice on standards, methods, tools and applications. • | | |Identifies, assesses risk and manages risk - uses initiative | | |and looks ahead, considers external developments | | |IT Governance |Level: 4 | |• Understands the purpose, strategies and strategic objectives | | |of the business and own area and how they/their teams can | | |contribute. • Adheres to standards, policy and procedures, | | |facilitates and advises on improvements. • Ensures compliance | | |with organisational policies and procedures and overall | | |information management strategy. • Ensure compliance with | | |enterprise and business architecture. | | |Change, Adaptability and Flexibility |Level: 4 | |• Supports others during change. • Actively monitors and seeks | | |opportunities, new methods and trends in IT capabilities and | | |products to the advancement of the organisation. • Clearly | | |articulates and formally reports their benefits. • Help people | | |to develop a clear understanding of what they will need to do | | |differently because of change. | | |Decision Making & Problem Solving |Level: 4 | |• Makes decisions which impact on the success of assigned | | |projects i.e. results, deadlines and budget. • Uses | | |specialist/technical or accumulated expertise and judgement to | | |analyse and propose solutions to very complex problems. • | | |Resolves problems where there is a range of information, or | | |diverse, partial and conflicting data. • Looks ahead and | | |considers external developments, identifying trends and | | |emerging patterns when making important decisions. • Equips | | |people to make decisions. Ensure that individuals working in | | |own area have sufficient information and guidance to make | | |effective decisions. • Advises on problem solving and | | |decision-making tools/techniques. • Advises on risk. | | |Leadership |Level: 4 | |• Sets challenging standards. • Encourages and develops | | |personal accountability in others. • Clearly communicates | | |expectations and consistently monitors outcomes. • Coaches, | | |guides and supports staff to help them develop. • Delegates | | |fully and creates opportunities which help others to develop | | |their potential. • Demonstrates suitable people management | | |styles to motivate and manage performance effectively. • Sets | | |and ensures personal objectives and work plans outcomes are met| | |using the Performance & Development Reviews System (PDRS) | | |process. • Demonstrates technical leadership. | | |Communicate & Collaborate |Level: 4 | |• Communicates effectively, formally and informally, with | | |colleagues, subordinates and customers. • Develops proposals | | |and reports in a style and language necessary to guide, inform,| | |and/or persuade. • Facilitates collaboration between people who| | |have diverse objectives. • Can influence customers, suppliers | | |and peers. • Plays a representational role. • Ensures | | |appropriate communication strategies are implemented in | | |projects. • Establishes project teams and manages the team | | |process. • Shares information across teams and encourages | | |others to do so. • Monitors progress of teams against | | |objectives. | | |Managing the Relationship with the Business |Level: 4 | |• Can clearly identify their customer (s) • In own specialism | | |advises the business on potential opportunities for | | |efficiencies through IT-enabled change which is in line with | | |and are in line with IT strategy/governance, • Explains and | | |presents technology led change in a positive way, enables the | | |customer to use the service/exploit technology • Works | | |collaboratively with other IT experts to deliver solutions. • | | |Keeps the customer informed. • Attends and participates in | | |relevant committees and represents and promotes area/UL. | |

Further Information for Candidates:

Are you currently legally entitled to work and reside in Ireland?

If you are not currently an EEA Citizen and have stated, you are currently legally entitled to work and reside in Ireland. You MUST upload a copy of your current Visa and Work permit in the attachments section application form, or your application will not be processed. Please note your current work authorisation status must allow you to fulfil the terms of the contract on offer.

Recruitment Procedures used at University of Limerick (UL)

University of Limerick uses a three-stage recruitment procedure: screening, shortlisting and interview.

Screening: Initially, applications for an advertised position are screened to determine if applicants meet the ‘Essential Criteria’ as outlined in the advertised job description. It is only candidates who meet the ‘Essential Criteria’ that progress beyond this stage.

Shortlisting: Depending on the number of applications remaining, it may not be possible to interview every candidate who has passed the screening process. Therefore, at this stage the Selection Board may review the applications and select a final shortlist of candidates who, in their view, are most closely aligned to the post as advertised.

Interview: Once a shortlist has been finalised, all applicants will be notified of the status of their application. The final shortlist of candidates will then be invited to interview. We aim to provide at least two weeks’ notice to all candidates. The interview process will take the format of a standard interview and may include a presentation –you will be provided with details of this in your invitation to interview letter.

University of Limerick benefits to staff

Employees of the University of Limerick receive a variety of benefits including: • Supported professional development under the Researcher Development Programme and Staff Training Programmes.

• Membership of the Public Sector Single Public Service Pension Scheme.

• Membership of the Income Continuance Plan

• The opportunity to join the University’s Additional Life Cover plan.

• Coverage in the UL Sick Leave Scheme (available under “S” on the HR A- Z)

• Flexible working practices such as the Shorter Working Year Scheme.

• Preferential rates for health insurance.

• Employee wellness is a priority and a number of initiatives take place each year for the benefit of UL employees, see more at Be Well at UL.

• Preferential rates for access to the UL Arena swimming pool and fitness centre.

Additional Links: • Join the Team in UL Join the team in UL | University of Limerick • Link to website for new staff New To UL - Staff Roadmap

Equal Opportunities

University of Limerick holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advancing equality in higher education. University of Limerick is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to selection on merit, welcoming applicants from all sections of the community. UL is committed to developing and maintaining a positive working environment, in which all employees are treated with dignity & respect. In pursuit of this, it is the policy of the University to provide all employees with an environment which is free from bullying, harassment or victimisation of any form. You can read more about UL’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion here.

Culture Charter A positive culture within an organisation is a shared system of values and behaviours that influence and reflect how its people behave and interact with each other and the wider community. It is shaped by the everyday actions, behaviours and words that are used. The values and behaviours outlined in UL’s Culture Charter should guide how we act, interact and connect with one another in the challenges and successes of university life.

Pension Abatement If an appointee has previously been employed in the Civil or Public Service and that appointee is entitled to or in receipt of a pension from the Civil or Public Service or where a Civil/Public Service pension comes into payment during the appointee’s re-employment that pension will be subject to abatement in accordance with Section 52 of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and other Provisions) Act 2012. Please note: In applying for this position you are acknowledging that you understand that the abatement provisions, where relevant, will apply. It is not envisaged that the employing Department/Office/Body will support an application for an abatement waiver in respect of appointments to this position.

Qualifications Please take note of the essential qualifications for this position as listed in the job description. If you are successful in being offered this position, the offer will be made pending the Chair of the selection committee verifying your qualifications. Therefore, after the interview, you will be required to forward your transcripts to the Chair by email. No contract of employment will be issued until all required documentation is received.