IT Operations Manager

Crew Clothing Company was founded in Salcombe in 1993. Today Crew is a great British brand, and our success lies in our authentic passion for producing great looking, well-made clothes. We now have more than 130 stores and a thriving website, and the business continues to grow.

Our people are at the heart of our company. With a passion for exceptional service, and a love for our product, our team is dedicated to offering the best customer experience – nothing is too much trouble.

Purpose of the role:
Reporting to the IT Director, this role is responsible for the day-to-day delivery and performance of IT services across the business, with a particular focus on Service Desk operations, incident management, and supplier coordination. The IT Operations Manager will bring structure, control and visibility to service operations - improving workflow, embedding best practice, and ensuring consistent service outcomes across retail and head office environments.

Key Responsibilities:

Team & Service Desk Management

• Manage the workflow and workload of the Service Desk team to ensure effective prioritisation and delivery.
• Implement and embed service management best practices across day-to-day operations.
• Coordinate service-related changes with the IT Director, including governance through ManageEngine.

Incident Management

• Own and run the Incident Management process, ensuring timely resolution and clear communication.
• Manage escalations, acting as the central point of control for high-impact or business-critical issues.

Supplier Management

• Work closely with key suppliers (including PMC and Vizst) to ensure delivery against agreed outcomes.
• Act as the coordination point between internal teams and third-party providers.

Service Onboarding

• Define and agree processes for onboarding new services into support.
• Ensure services are operationally ready, with clear ownership, documentation, and support models in place.

MSP Transition

• Support the onboarding of a Managed Service Provider, including preparation of services, processes and documentation.
• Coordinate activities required for a smooth transition of support responsibilities.

Reporting & Communication

• Produce and communicate weekly Service Desk performance metrics.
• Provide clear business updates, including triage communications and service status visibility.

Retail Support

• Manage IT support activities for new store openings, closures, and changes.
• Ensure consistent service delivery across the retail estate.

Asset Management

• Establish and embed asset management practices ahead of MSP transition.
• Ensure visibility and control of IT assets across the organisation.

Business Relationship Management

• Engage with business stakeholders to understand demand and priorities.
• Perform impact analysis to support decision-making and prioritisation of work.

Key Skills & Experience:

• Strong experience in IT Service Delivery or Service Operations roles.
• Proven ability to manage Service Desk teams and operational workflows.
• Hands-on experience of Incident Management and escalation handling.
• Experience working with third-party suppliers and service providers.
• Ability to define, implement and embed service management processes.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience producing service performance reporting and insights.
• Practical experience with ITSM tools (e.g. ManageEngine, ServiceNow, Jira).
• Experience supporting retail or multi-site environments is advantageous.
• Experience preparing for or working with outsourced / MSP models is beneficial.