At Hastings District Council, technology plays a vital role in enabling our people to deliver great services to our community. We’re looking for a Service Desk Team Leader to lead our IT support function and ensure staff receive reliable, responsive and high-quality technical support.

You’ll lead and develop a capable Service Desk team, manage daily operations, and drive continuous improvement across incident, request and problem management. This is a great opportunity for an experienced IT service desk leader who enjoys developing people, improving processes and delivering excellent customer-focused support.

In this role, you’ll working closely with the wider IT Operations team, helping shape how IT services are delivered across Council, including improving service desk procedures, monitoring performance, identifying improvement opportunities and enhancing customer satisfaction.

This is a great opportunity to make a real impact in a collaborative and supportive team, based in the heart of Hawke’s Bay.

About the role

As Service Desk Team Leader, you will be responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of the IT Service Desk and ensuring efficient, consistent and effective support for Council staff.

You will:

• Lead, motivate and develop a team of Service Desk staff, supporting their professional growth and technical capability.
• Manage daily service desk operations, including procedures, support practices and service delivery standards.
• Oversee the timely resolution of incidents, ensuring work is prioritised appropriately based on impact and urgency.
• Support effective problem management by identifying recurring issues, analysing trends and contributing to process improvements.
• Manage user requests and contribute to the ongoing development of the IT service catalogue.
• Provide hands-on technical support when required, including troubleshooting hardware and software issues, user account support, system installations and upgrades.
• Build strong relationships with internal customers and keep users well informed about incidents, service changes and resolution progress.
• Contribute to cyber security support activities, including responding to routine security support requests and assisting with access control or security system issues.

About you

We’re looking for someone who combines strong technical understanding with genuine people leadership and a commitment to great customer service. You’ll bring:

• Proven experience in IT service desk management or a similar role.
• Strong knowledge of IT service management frameworks, processes and best practice.
• Experience across incident management, problem management and request fulfilment.
• Experience working in a Microsoft enterprise environment.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills, with a focus on employee development and engagement.
• Outstanding customer service and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks effectively.
• The ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

A bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or a related field, relevant ITIL certification, and a current full driver licence are essential requirements. Agile practices, project management experience and an understanding of the software development lifecycle would be advantageous.

What we offer
We offer a supportive and values-led workplace where people are encouraged to grow, contribute and make a real difference for our community. Benefits include access to flexible working arrangements where the role allows, birthday leave, wellbeing support through our Employee Assistance Programme, free annual flu vaccinations, retirement savings support, opportunities for learning and professional development, and a range of leave provisions that support work-life balance. You’ll be joining an organisation that values collaboration, wellbeing, inclusion and service to the Heretaunga community.