Kuala Lumpur
About Horizontal: Established since 2003 in the US, Horizontal solves complex challenges across two distinct businesses: Horizontal Digital and Horizontal Talent. We are consistently recognized for being a top workplace and one of the fastest-growing private companies. Horizontal Talent specializes in staffing for IT, Digital & Creative, and Business & Strategy markets. We have global offices in the US, UAE, India, Malaysia and Australia.
Job Summary
We are seeking an experienced
L1 Application Helpdesk Team Lead to manage and oversee a 247 application support team providing first-line assistance to users in the North America region.
The Team Lead will be responsible for
team management, service delivery oversight, SLA performance, escalation handling, and operational reporting, ensuring high-quality support and continuous service improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Team & Shift Management
- Lead, supervise, and motivate a 247 L1 Application Helpdesk team.
- Manage shift schedules, rotation planning, attendance, and manpower allocation to ensure continuous coverage.
- Conduct daily team briefings, assign tasks, and monitor real-time service performance.
Service Delivery & Escalation Management
- Oversee daily incident and request management for North America users, focusing on application support.
- Handle complex escalations, critical incidents, and high-priority cases requiring leadership intervention.
- Act as the primary escalation point between the L1 team, L2/L3 support teams, and internal stakeholders.
Quality, KPIs & Reporting
- Monitor team performance against SLA and helpdesk KPIs such as response time, FCR, ticket closure rate, and CSAT.
- Analyze service data to identify trends, operational gaps, and improvement opportunities.
- Prepare weekly and monthly operational reports for management review.
- Conduct performance reviews, coaching sessions, and KPI evaluations for team members.
- Utilize Excel for data analysis and PowerPoint for reporting and presentations.
Process & Knowledge Management
- Maintain and optimize Helpdesk SOPs, workflows, and escalation processes.
- Manage and maintain the knowledge base, ensuring articles remain accurate and up to date.
- Drive continuous service improvement initiatives to improve efficiency and reduce recurring incidents.
Training & Team Development
- Provide onboarding, training, and mentorship for new and existing team members.
- Conduct regular training sessions on applications, support tools, communication practices, and SLA compliance.
Stakeholder Communication
- Maintain strong communication with internal teams, management, and client stakeholders.
- Provide service updates, operational reports, and improvement recommendations.
- Manage user complaints or sensitive support cases with professionalism and timely resolution.
Note: This role focuses solely on
application-level support leadership and does
not include hardware, operating system, or EUC support responsibilities.
Key Requirements
Language
- Fluent in English and Mandarin (spoken and written)
- Mandarin is mandatory.
Experience
- 24 years of Helpdesk / Service Desk experience, with at least 12 years in a Team Lead or Supervisor role.
- Strong experience working in 247 IT service desk environments with shift management responsibilities.
Tool Knowledge Experience with one or more of the following tools is preferred:
- ServiceNow
- Landesk
- Zoho MSP
- Zendesk
- Freshservice
- Jira Service Management
- BMC Remedy
Application Support Background
Experience Supporting Enterprise Business Applications Such As
- SAP / ERP systems
- Microsoft Office 365
- Outlook and SharePoint
- Internal HR, finance, or enterprise business applications
Leadership & Management Skills
- Proven experience in team management, shift scheduling, performance coaching, and KPI monitoring.
- Ability to analyze operational data and generate structured reports.
- Experience managing knowledge bases, process improvements, and SOP documentation.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (data analysis) and PowerPoint (reporting and presentations).
Soft Skills
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
- Proactive attitude with the ability to work in a fast-paced global support environment.
Shift Requirement
- Comfortable working in a 247 shift environment, including night shifts and on-call responsibilities.
The above description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 
