Vessel IT Support Manager

Our client is seeking an experienced IT Support Manager to lead and oversee IT support operations across a growing fleet and customer base in a fast-paced, high-impact maritime environment. This role is responsible for ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality IT support services across complex vessel IT, connectivity, and onboard systems deployed globally.

The IT Support Manager will be accountable for overall support performance, team leadership, and service delivery quality. The role involves managing day-to-day IT support operations, acting as the senior escalation point for complex technical and service issues, and working closely with customers, vendors, and internal stakeholders to ensure operational excellence and continuous improvement.

This position requires a strong balance of technical expertise, leadership capability, and operational discipline, with exposure to vessel environments and remote support across multiple time zones.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage vessel IT support operations, ensuring timely, effective, and consistent resolution of support requests in line with agreed service levels and SLAs.

• Act as the senior escalation point for complex technical issues related to onboard IT systems, applications, networks, and connectivity.

• Supervise and mentor the IT support team, providing technical guidance, workload prioritisation, and performance management.

• Oversee vessel IT onboarding, system deployments, upgrades, and migrations, ensuring projects are delivered on time and meet customer requirements.

• Ensure proper documentation standards are maintained, including network diagrams, vessel IT configurations, incident reports, and asset records.

• Coordinate with vendors and service providers to manage troubleshooting, quotations, procurement, delivery, installation, and support of IT equipment and services.

• Oversee hardware and software asset management across the fleet, including inventory tracking, lifecycle planning, renewals, and compliance.

• Manage remote support operations across time zones, ensuring effective coverage, escalation workflows, and clear communication with vessels and stakeholders.

• Provide technical oversight across broader IT domains, including OT systems, CCTV, onboard Wi-Fi infrastructure, satellite communications, and hybrid cloud environments.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance support processes, service delivery quality, documentation accuracy, and customer satisfaction.

Requirements

• Proven experience in an IT support leadership or management role, preferably within maritime, offshore, or other distributed operational environments.

• Strong technical foundation in networking, Windows OS, MS Office, Wi-Fi networking, network infrastructure, firewalls, VLANs, routing, Outlook, and NAS or cloud solutions.

• Experience managing Level 1 and Level 2 support teams, with the ability to guide troubleshooting and decision-making.

• Willing and physically fit to board vessels for site support, audits, or deployments when required (a few days per month).

• Comfortable working outside standard office hours, including weekends or public holidays, depending on vessel schedules and critical incidents.

• Strong organizational skills with excellent attention to documentation, reporting, and operational detail.

• Proactive, customer-focused, and able to balance technical, operational, and people-management responsibilities.