Front Office Systems Manager (Ticketing Systems)

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

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.