S1 BU Lead – First-Line Support & Client Experience

S1 BU Lead First-Line Support & Client Experience Location: Somerset West, Western Cape Work Arrangement: Hybrid An exciting opportunity is available for an experienced S1 BU Lead to take ownership of first-line IT support operations and help deliver a professional, consistent and high-quality client experience. This is a leadership role for an individual who can bring structure, accountability and operational discipline to a busy IT support environment while developing and supporting a technical team. Key Responsibilities - Own and manage support ticket queues, prioritisation and allocation. - Ensure rapid triage, correct categorisation and strong first-contact resolution. - Monitor SLA performance, ticket backlogs and resolution times. - Establish and maintain high standards for customer communication. - Handle escalated client issues calmly and professionally. - Define and maintain effective escalation processes into S2 and S3. - Ensure escalations contain the required technical information and troubleshooting history. - Develop, maintain and enforce S1 SOPs and support processes. - Conduct regular ticket quality reviews and identify recurring issues. - Work with S2 and S3 to reduce repeat incidents and improve overall service delivery. - Coach and develop S1 technicians. - Set clear expectations and manage team performance. - Assist with recruitment and onboarding where required. - Ensure billable work, projects and upgrade opportunities are correctly identified and handed over. - Contribute to continuous improvement of the support environment. Requirements - Proven experience leading or supervising an IT support or service desk team. - Strong understanding of first-line IT support operations. - Experience working with ticketing systems, SLAs and support KPIs. - Strong troubleshooting knowledge across common IT support environments. - Excellent client communication and escalation-management skills. - Experience developing or enforcing SOPs and support processes. - Strong people-management and coaching ability. - Highly organised and process-driven. - Calm and professional under pressure. - Strong documentation and follow-through. - A continuous-improvement mindset. Ideal Candidate We are looking for a strong operational leader who understands that excellent IT support is about more than simply resolving technical issues. You will be responsible for creating a structured environment where tickets are managed effectively, clients are kept informed, technicians are supported and recurring problems are addressed at source. Head office: Somerset West Work arrangement: Hybrid