Platform Service Manager

About Us

Here at Travel Counsellors, our customers, communities and colleagues lie at the heart of everything that we do - and that’s what makes us special. For us, relationships come before transactions, and we are there for our customers, connecting with them on a deeply human level through the moments that matter.

We’ve been changing lives for the past 30 years as the leading travel marketplace for self-employed travel entrepreneurs, empowering over 2,000 global independent travel agents to run successful leisure and corporate travel businesses. We pride ourselves in remaining a company that truly cares and one that has never wavered from its purpose; to redefine what personal means for a travel business.

Our Travel Counsellors are supported by a team of over 400 super talented people in our Support Offices to help them create unique, inspiring and exciting experiences for their customers, whilst building lasting personal relationships that bring them back to us, time and time again.

Our unique approach within the workplace – as well as towards customers – has seen us receive numerous awards and accolades, including being named as The Best Place to Work in Travel at the 2022 TTG Travel Industry Awards, placing in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list 2023 and 2024 (Large Company) as well as being the first travel company to be awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category!

We are currently expanding at a phenomenal rate – on the back of what is our record year in terms of revenue (over £930m) - and so are looking for outstanding individuals to join our dedicated Head Office team, to help the company continue to flourish.

Role Overview

You will oversee and manage customer service and support operations in the Technology Department, leading teams to provide exceptional service to our global community of travel professionals and head office colleagues. Your responsibilities include managing the day-to-day service operations of the technology platform and service to ensure high availability and performance.

Additionally, you will own, optimize, and evolve the technology service operations and experience, aiming to achieve high performance levels and maintain customer confidence and satisfaction.

Principal Accountabilities

• You will lead a team of c. 20 technology professionals covering various disciplines from Service Desk, Application Support, Project Delivery and Platform Administration. This Service Team is responsible for the delivery of Platform Service to our global community of c. 3,000 users and over 6,000 devices.
• You will be responsible and accountable for the delivery of effective Service Operations and oversee the support of our Travel Technology Platform including its technology supply chain and ecosystem. This includes our bespoke travel management platform, internal CoTS software and Microsoft 365 platform (including Telephony).
• You will be responsible for the delivery of an exceptional, caring, effective and professional customer experience and service performance of the Technology Service Team.
• Overseeing and managing the Technology Service Desk and Application Support Teams you will be responsible for driving the continued improvement of our Technology Service and Service Management Lifecycle to our global community of Colleagues and Travel Counsellors
• You will be responsible for leadership and management of customer-centric teams, and you will identify opportunities for, and deliver policy, process, guidance, training, mentorship and coaching to build and mature the teams capabilities.
• You will be responsible for developing and improving our key Service Management Processes including Incident & Escalation Management (Including On-Call), Change Control, Asset Management.
• You will drive high performance and Operational Excellence using service metrics to identify trends areas for improvement, training needs and best practice gaps to ensure timely and effective resolution of issues. You will collate and use customer feedback to improve our service experience.
• You will be visible, effective and transparent at communicating with our customers using all channels available including our internal TV medium, TCTV.
• You will ensure a seamless and positive customer experience across all touchpoints from Colleague Walk-Ups to New Travel Counsellor onboarding.
• You will effectively handle complaints and complex service issues with care and urgency.
• You will be responsible for managing and maintaining positive relationships with our technology suppliers, including account, contract and service management, billing, governance, and supplier on/offboarding.
• Working closely with other departments will support and enable the wider business strategy and critical activities such as Sales & Recruitment, Customer Support & Duty Office and Finance Operations.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in platform management, IT operations, or a similar role.
• Proven track record of managing complex technical environments and leading technical teams.
• Service Management qualifications such as ITIL or SDI Management.

Our Benefits

Working here at Travel Counsellors, we value the hard work and effort that our colleagues put in. Because of this, you can expect a wide range of employee benefits including:

• A competitive basic salary + annual company bonus
• Flexible hybrid working model (2 days home, 3 days office)
• Career development and promotional opportunities
• 25 days holidays (increasing to 28 after 5 years of service)
• A Moments That Matter day (annually)
• Enhanced Maternity / Paternity pay
• Holiday buy and sell (up to 5 days per year)
• 3 paid days charity leave
• Company events, socials, and incentives
• 3x annual salary death in service benefit
• Company Pension scheme
• Costco Membership
• Salary sacrifice, company car scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Free breakfast, fruit, and hot/cold beverages
• Referral scheme
• Employee discount
• Private Medical Insurance (taxable benefit) or Healthcare Cash Plan (costs incurred by employees)