Who we are?
At Inchcape Shipping Services, our vision is to create a connected world where customers can trade successfully and make informed decisions in every port, everywhere. We achieve this by combining our worldwide infrastructure with local expertise, through our global network of more than 250 proprietary offices and a team of over 3,000 dedicated professionals. Our diverse customer base includes owners and charterers in the oil, cruise, container, and bulk commodity sectors, as well as naval, government, and intergovernmental organizations.
We have an ambitious growth model, and a career here is certainly going to be a rewarding one that will allow you to bring your skills & experience. We embrace change and are open to new thinking and pushing for positive change in our industry.
Location: Chennai (Guindy)
Main Purpose of the Job :
The L1 Application Support Lead is responsible for leading the centralized Level 1 Application Support function, ensuring the delivery of high-quality 24x7x365 operational support across all business-critical applications. The role is accountable for service desk operations, application monitoring, incident triage, workforce planning, SLA compliance, knowledge management, and continuous service improvement.
The L1 Lead serves as the operational owner of first-line support, ensuring standardized processes, consistent customer experience, and seamless collaboration with L2 support teams, business stakeholders, infrastructure teams, and external vendors.
Key Responsibilities:
Operational Leadership
- Lead and manage a centralized 24x7 Application Support team.
- Ensure uninterrupted operational support for all supported applications.
- Own shift planning, resource scheduling, and holiday coverage.
- Monitor operational workloads and optimize resource allocation.
- Ensure all support activities follow approved SOPs and work instructions.
Incident & Service Request Management
- Oversee first-line incident management and request fulfillment.
- Ensure timely ticket triage, categorization, prioritization, and routing.
- Monitor ticket queues to prevent SLA breaches.
- Escalate incidents appropriately to L2 support teams.
- Drive first-call resolution wherever possible.
Application Monitoring
- Own application health monitoring activities.
- Ensure continuous monitoring of:
- Application availability
- Integration jobs
- Scheduled batch jobs
- Interfaces
- AWS alerts
- API monitoring
- Business process monitoring
- Ensure proactive identification and response to operational issues.
Service Operations
- Manage daily operational activities including:
- Standard transaction reprocessing
- Operational reporting
- Reconciliation support
- Daily health checks
- Routine business support activities
- Ensure operational checklists are completed accurately.
Team Leadership
- Manage, coach, and develop L1 analysts.
- Conduct regular one-to-one meetings.
- Perform performance reviews.
- Identify training needs.
- Develop succession plans.
- Foster a customer-focused support culture.
Knowledge Management
- Own the L1 Knowledge Base.
- Ensure SOPs remain current.
- Drive knowledge article creation.
- Standardize troubleshooting guides.
- Promote knowledge reuse.
Stakeholder Management
- Act as the primary operational contact for:
- L2 Leads
- Business users
- Infrastructure teams
- Vendor support teams
- Provide operational updates during incidents.
- Participate in service review meetings.
Governance & Continuous Improvement
- Track and report service KPIs.
- Identify automation opportunities.
- Improve operational processes.
- Reduce repeat incidents.
- Support audit and compliance requirements.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- First Contact Resolution (FCR)
- SLA Compliance
- Ticket Aging
- Mean Time to Acknowledge (MTTA)
- Mean Time to Escalate
- Queue Health
- Knowledge Base Utilization
- Shift Coverage Compliance
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
- Operational Dashboard Accuracy
Technical Skills:
Experience supporting enterprise applications such as:
- ERP
- Finance Systems
- Logistics Platforms
- Integration Platforms
- Middleware
- APIs
Knowledge of:
- ServiceNow
- Jira
- Grafana
- Kibana
- Splunk
- AWS Monitoring
- Microsoft Office Suite
Preferred Certifications
- ITIL Foundation (Preferred) Not a must
- ITIL Intermediate (Preferred) Not a must
- Lean / Six Sigma (Preferred) Not a must
Experience
- 12 – 17 years in Application Support
- Minimum 7 years leading support teams
- Experience supporting 24x7 operations
- Strong understanding of Incident, Problem, Change, and Knowledge Management
Competencies
- Leadership
- Decision Making
- Customer Focus
- Stakeholder Management
- Communication
- Conflict Resolution
- Analytical Thinking
- Operational Excellence
Why Inchcape Shipping Services?
We believe in building a diverse and high performing workforce, that works together to provide our customers with the exceptional service they deserve. To reach the highest standards we depend on our people, their welfare, training and expertise. We realize the value of our staff and know that your unique experiences, skills and passions will help you to build a rich and rewarding career in our dynamic industry.
Our values are at the center of everything we do, and the successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate and fully adopt these:
Global Perspective - we connect the world and see the bigger picture.
The Power of People - we rely on the strength of local agent knowledge and relationships.
Progress - we adopt new thinking and push for positive change in our industry.
In return, we will offer you:
A diverse range of benefits, depending on your geographical location. Globally as a minimum you will receive:
- A retirement savings plan
- Life assurance
- Holiday starting at 22 days
- Healthcare
- Competitive salary
- Employee Assistance Programmed
- Career development and progression opportunities
- Values Award celebration events
- Team building days
Plus, much more!
If you think that you have the right skills, knowledge and attitude to join our team, then we invite you to apply by simply clicking at the top of this advert!
#ISSthebiggerpicture
Appointment to this role will be subject to satisfactory references and possession of a valid Right to Work documentation depending upon your geographical location.
Inchcape is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and equality; diversity and inclusion are at the center of everything we do. We recognize that our customers, colleagues, contractors and other partners are central to our success and that we work in a diverse society. We acknowledge not only our legal, but also our moral responsibility to ensure all groups have equality of opportunity.
#LI-MB1
