Manager - IT Service Desk

Harper College; Hoffman Estates (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Harper College in Illinois seeks a senior IT service desk leader to oversee day‑to‑day Employee and Student Service Desk operations across phone, email, chat, and walk‑in support channels.

You will supervise staff, establish performance expectations, manage schedules, and partner with IT teams to implement ITIL aligned practices, incident and knowledge management. This role requires strong analytical and communication skills in a multi‑channel, higher education environment.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of ITIL practices including incident, service request, and problem management.
• Experience leading multi‑channel service desk environments.
• Higher education IT support experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Leads day-to-day Employee and Student Service Desk operations across multiple channels.
• Supervises, coaches, and develops service desk staff and coordinates onboarding and training.
• Implements ITIL‑aligned processes for incidents, requests, problems, and knowledge management.
• Maintains and configures the ticketing system to support service desk operations and reporting.
• Monitors performance, reports trends, and identifies improvements and automation opportunities.

Skills

IT service management

Leadership

Customer service

Analytics

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in information tech / CS / business

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

ABOUT US

QUALIFICATIONS JOB DESCRIPTION

Characteristic Duties:

Leads day-to-day Employee and Student Service Desk operations,including intake, triage, prioritization, escalation, requestfulfillment, and client follow-up across phone, email, chat, andwalk-in support channels.

Supervises, coaches, and develops Service Desk technical staff andthe Employee Technical Skills Training Supervisor. Establishesperformance expectations, assigns work, manages schedules andcoverage, provides feedback, and fosters an inclusive,service-oriented team culture. Coordinates onboarding,cross-training, professional development, quality reviews, andreadiness activities so staff can support current Collegetechnologies and services consistently.

Implements and matures ITIL-aligned incident, service request,problem, knowledge, and major-incident practices. Maintains clearownership, escalation paths, service targets, and handoffs betweensupport tiers. Ensures service desk tickets are accuratelycategorized, prioritized, documented, routed, resolved, and closedin accordance with established procedures.

Configures and maintains the ticketing system to support servicedesk operations, reporting, and established service managementpractices.

Monitors service desk performance, client experience, and demandpatterns using response and resolution times, first-contactresolution, backlog, reopen rate, service-level attainment,knowledge use, and client satisfaction.

Analyzes seasonal cycles and emerging issues to forecast staffingneeds, adjust coverage, and recommend automation, self-service,training, or process improvements. Generates monthly servicereports for Service Desk and Employee Technical Skills Training,highlighting service activity, trends, risks, and improvementactions for IT leadership.

Develops, maintains, and promotes a searchable knowledge basecontaining support procedures, self-service articles, known errors,service information, and standard communications. Establishescontent review and retirement practices.

Coordinates communications for service interruptions, plannedmaintenance, high‑impact incidents, and recurring technologyissues. Provides timely, plain‑language updates to students,employees, IT leadership, and campus partners.

Partners with other IT teams to improve resolution workflows,identify root causes, and reduce repeat incidents.

Maintains service desk procedures that support identityverification, appropriate access, data protection, and compliancewith College policies. Escalate suspected security or privacyincidents promptly.

Manages service desk vendors and support relationships as assigned,including performance reviews, issue escalation, serviceimprovement, and cost stewardship.

Leads or contributes to IT projects that affect support readiness.Represents the client‑support perspective in planning, testing,rollout, documentation, training, and post‑implementationreview.

Promotes accessibility and effective support for a diverse campuscommunity. Uses feedback and service data to address barriers andimprove the support experience.

Serves on committees, councils, task forces, and project teams asassigned. Collaborates with peers to standardize practices andadvance the College mission.

Provides after‑hours escalation support for critical incidents andparticipates in continuity and emergency‑response activities asassigned.

Performs related duties as assigned.

Supervision:

Under the general supervision of the Director of Client Systems,supervises assigned technical support staff and may providedirection to student employees, temporary staff, contractors, andproject resources.

Working Conditions:

Work is primarily performed in an office and campus environmentusing standard computer and

communication equipment. The position requires periodic movementamong campus support

locations and may require work outside normal business hours duringcritical incidents, scheduled changes, peak service periods, or emergencies.

Minimum Acceptable Qualifications:

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in information technology,computer science, business, or a related field, or an equivalentcombination of education and relevant experience. Master’s degreepreferred.

Experience:

Five years of progressively responsibleinformation technology support experience, including at least threeyears of supervisory, team‑lead, or service‑managementresponsibility. Experience supporting a complex, multi‑channelenvironment required. Higher education experience preferred.

Knowledge and Skills:

Demonstrated knowledge of IT service management practices, incidentand request management, service metrics, knowledge management,escalation, and continual improvement. Strong analytical,organizational, customer-service, written, and verbal communicationskills. Ability to maintain impacting priorities, lead throughhigh‑impact incidents, and build effective partnerships acrosstechnical and nontechnical teams.

Preferred Credentials:

ITIL 4 Foundation, HDI Support Center Manager, HDI Support CenterAnalyst, or comparable service‑management certification. Experienceadministering or optimizing an enterprise IT service managementplatform is preferred.

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ABOUT THE TEAM