Firmly established as Africa’s carriers’ carrier, award-winning capacity wholesaler WIOCC provides international and African telcos and ISPs with unrivalled high-speed, resilient and diverse capacity into, within and out of Africa. In November 2012 (at Africa Com), WIOCC won the Best Pan-African Initiative Award for building an unparalleled, diversity-rich, high-capacity African network which seamlessly links more than 50,000km of terrestrial fibre and in excess of 40,000km of submarine cable - with landings all around the continent. WIOCC’s unrivalled network gives carriers access to affordable, reliable, high-speed connectivity to and from over 400 locations across 30 African countries, as well as to 100 cities in 29 countries in Europe and more than 700 cities in 70 countries globally. To address the proliferation of international and terrestrial links, and the challenge this presents to carriers and ISPs looking to improve their own network resilience and performance (by building in additional diversity), WIOCC developed an attractive one-stop-shop, end-to-end managed service solution. Simpler and much more convenient than having to deal direct with multiple operators, WIOCC’s one-stop-shop solution shields customers from much of the complexity associated with delivering reliable high-performance international connections into, out of and within Africa.Job Objective:  We are seeking a highly driven and experienced Service Desk Team Leader to oversee the Service Desk function within our Network Operations Centre (NOC). This role is responsible for delivering exceptional first-line support, ensuring strict SLA compliance and leading effective incident and escalation management across enterprise and hyperscale client environments. The successful candidate will act as the central escalation and coordination point between Clients, Operations, Engineering, IT and Project teams, driving service performance, operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives. Reporting Line: Director, Operations Key Duties and Responsibilities The Service Desk Team Leader will provide strategic direction, operational oversight and performance governance of all Service Desk activities, ensuring efficient ticket lifecycle management, structured escalation control and superior client engagement. Lead, mentor and performance-manage the Service Desk team, establishing clear KPIs aligned to MTTR, MTTA, SLA compliance and client satisfaction targets Own and govern the Incident Management lifecycle in accordance with ITIL best practices, ensuring timely triage, prioritization, escalation and resolution of all incidents and service requests Act as the primary escalation authority for critical, high-impact and complex incidents, coordinating cross-functional technical teams to restore service within agreed SLAs Oversee structured internal and external communications during major incidents, ensuring transparency, accuracy and executive-level reporting where required Ensure high standards of ticket quality, data integrity, categorization accuracy and documentation completeness within the ticketing system Monitor real-time service performance dashboards and proactively manage risks to SLA adherence Produce accurate operational reports and performance analytics for senior leadership review Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including workflow optimization, automation of repetitive tasks and integration of monitoring tools to enhance efficiency Identify systemic service gaps and implement corrective and preventive measures to improve reliability and reduce repeat incidents Collaborate closely with Engineering, IT, Client Services and Project teams to strengthen operational alignment and enhance overall NOC performance Support change governance processes by assessing operational risks related to planned network activities Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Telecommunications, Computer Science or related field ITIL Foundation certification (mandatory) Networking certifications such as JNCIA, CCNA Experience and Skills Minimum five years experience in Service Desk or NOC operations within telecom, ISP or carrier-grade environments At least two years in a supervisory or team leadership capacity Proven experience managing critical incidents in SLA-driven, 24/7 operational environments Strong understanding of transport and IP technologies (OTN, DWDM, SDH, Ethernet, IP/MPLS) Experience with enterprise ticketing platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, NetSuite, Remedy or equivalent) Strong analytical capability with ability to interpret operational data and performance trends Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and executive reporting skills  Attributes Client focused, relationship builder Integrity, honest with highest ethical standards Boundless, passionate, and flexible Personal excellence, accuracy, and attention to detail Collaborative, achieve results through teamwork and partnerships Strategic thinker with strong operational execution capability Accountable, decisive, and performance-driven Client-centric and service excellence oriented Resilient and composed under pressure Detail-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset Collaborative and able to influence cross-functional stakeholders