Front Office Systems Manager (Ticketing Systems)

Surrey Source: WhatJobs
£75,000–£80,000

Overview

We are seeking a Front Office Systems & Devices Manager to lead the operational performance, support, and continuous improvement of customer-facing systems and field devices within a major public transport programme.

This role goes beyond traditional IT support - it requires ownership of live operational technology , including ticketing systems, validators, gates, kiosks, and other passenger-facing devices that are critical to daily service delivery.

You will lead a multi-disciplinary team responsible for ensuring high availability, rapid incident response, and seamless customer experience across all front office technology.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead the end-to-end support and operation of front office systems and field devices , ensuring reliable performance across stations and customer environments.
  • Oversee the delivery of L2 and L3 support services , with a strong focus on real-time operational impact and customer experience .
  • Act as the senior escalation point for major incidents affecting ticketing systems, gates, validators, kiosks, and associated platforms , coordinating rapid resolution with engineering and field teams.
  • Drive operational excellence across:
  • Incident management
  • Ticket prioritisation and queue management
  • Root cause analysis (RCA)
  • Service performance and uptime
  • Work closely with field engineers, maintenance teams, and operational stakeholders to ensure effective resolution of hardware and software issues in live environments.
  • Lead engagement with the client on:
  • System performance
  • Incident trends
  • Service improvements
  • Operational risks and mitigation
  • Ensure systems meet contractual SLAs/KPIs , particularly those linked to customer availability and revenue protection .
  • Identify and deliver continuous improvement initiatives , including system optimisation, reliability improvements, and operational efficiencies.
  • Provide leadership and direction to a cross-functional team including team leaders, engineers, analysts, and support staff , ensuring alignment between IT, engineering, and operations.
  • Support capacity planning, resource forecasting, and service readiness , ensuring resilience across peak operational periods.
  • Produce regular performance reporting including dashboards, trend analysis, and improvement roadmaps .

What We're Looking For

Essential Experience

  • Proven experience managing customer-facing technology in operational environments , such as:
  • Ticketing / fare collection systems
  • Gate or validator systems
  • Self-service kiosks or vending machines
  • Retail / POS / device-based environments
  • Strong background in technical operations, service delivery, or support leadership (L2/L3) , with exposure to both software and hardware systems .
  • Experience managing live operational incidents where system downtime directly impacts customers or revenue.
  • Demonstrated ability to work closely with field support teams and engineering functions , understanding the realities of device-based environments.
  • Strong understanding of:
  • Incident and major incident management
  • Root cause analysis (RCA)
  • Service performance and KPI management
  • Proven leadership experience managing multi-disciplinary teams across IT, engineering, and operations .
  • Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage confidently in customer-facing and operational discussions .

Desirable Experience

  • Experience within transport, ticketing, or revenue collection environments .
  • Experience managing distributed devices or field technology estates .
  • Knowledge of monitoring tools, service management platforms, and device diagnostics .
  • Experience contributing to system upgrades, rollouts, or transformation programmes .

Key Attributes

  • Operationally minded with a strong focus on customer impact and service availability
  • Comfortable working in fast-paced, high-availability environments
  • Able to bridge the gap between IT systems and real-world operational delivery
  • Proactive, analytical, and solution-oriented
  • Strong leadership presence with the ability to drive accountability and performance

Why This Role Matters

This is a critical role at the intersection of technology and operations , ensuring that the systems passengers rely on every day - from ticket purchase to gate access - function seamlessly. </p

Full job description from WhatJobs. Apply for this role →

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