Senior IT Service Desk Specialist

Corus International; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 62,000 - 99,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work policy

Comprehensive benefits package

Paid time off

Job summary

Corus International in Washington, DC is seeking a Senior IT Service Desk Specialist to oversee day-to-day service desk operations, align with ITIL standards, and support Tier 1-3 incidents. The role emphasizes shift coordination, SLA adherence, knowledge base improvements, and customer-focused technical support.

Hybrid work with two in-office days, plus on-call availability evenings/weekends. Qualifications include a bachelor's degree and 3 years IT experience, proficiency with Freshservice,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three years IT experience, or equivalent combo.
• Experience in queue management, major incident communications, and stakeholder handling.
• Proficiency with ITSM tools and standard office tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to coach and influence others and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to work on call during evenings and weekends.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day service desk operations and shift coverage.
• Manage incident triage, prioritization, and escalation with Tier 2/3 staff and vendors.
• Maintain knowledge base and service catalog, promote shift-left strategy.
• Produce daily/weekly operational snapshots and propose improvements.
• Support VIP or major incident workstreams and ensure SLA/OLA adherence.

Skills

ITIL practices

Clear written and verbal communication

Multi-tasking

On-call availability

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Freshservice

M365/Teams/SharePoint

Azure AD/Entra ID

Intune

Job description

Position Title: Senior IT Service Desk Specialist
Position Type: Regular Full-Time
Department: Finance & Administration (IT Services)
Location: Washington, DC - Hybrid
Salary Range: $62,000 - $80,000 - $99,000
Corus International provides a competitive, growth-oriented, yet fiscally responsible compensation program. When determining an offer for employment, multiple factors are considered including relevant years of experience, education, skills, internal equity, and budget. Our approach is to target the minimum to midpoint for starting salaries, based on these factors. Additionally, Corus provides a comprehensive and competitive employee benefit package to protect our valued and dedicated staff and their families. Our benefits include three medical plan options with comprehensive prescription drug coverage, low-cost dental coverage with 100% paid vision insurance. Corus also provides a generous retirement plan and PTO to include vacation, sick, holiday, parental, jury, international travel, and bereavement leave; employer-sponsored basic life/AD&D insurance; employee wellness incentives, and employee work/life balance and assistance programs.

Position Summary

The Senior IT Service Desk Specialist reports to the Service Desk Manager and is responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the Service Desk, supporting both Tier 1 and Tier 2 operations. This role ensures the delivery of reliable and customer-focused support across the organization by managing shift coverage, balancing ticket ques, and guiding service desk staff in alignment with established procedures and service standards.

Responsibilities

• Administer the day-to-day service desk tool (Freshservice), ensuring accurate categorization, CI/Asset updates, and effective use of automations (forms, workflows).
• Run daily huddles, assign work during shifts, balance channels (phone, chat, portal, email), monitor SLA/OLA adherence, and escalate risks to the Service Desk Manager.
• Manage incident triage, prioritization, and escalation; coordinate with Tier 2/3 staff and vendors; and support user communications for P1/P2 playbooks.
• Perform QA checks (ticket hygiene, first contact resolution, communications quality), maintain and improve knowledge base and service catalog entries; and promote shift-left strategy.
• Capture known errors and workarounds, contribute to problem reviews, and execute standard change tasks for end-user services in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Produce daily and weekly operational snapshots (volumes, SLA, backlog, repeat contacts) and propose improvements.
• Actively resolve Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 tickets, escalating as needed to stabilize services, address coverage gaps, and support VIP or major incident workstreams.

Supervisory

• This position does not supervise staff.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three years relevant IT experience; or the equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
• Experience in queue management, major incident communications, and stakeholder handling.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL practices including Incident, Request, Problem, Change, Knowledge, Service Catalog management).
• Proficiency with standard office tools and ITSM infrastructure software.
• Proficiency with service management tools (Freshservice, M365/Teams/SharePoint, Azure AD/Entra ID), endpoint management (Intune), and remote support tools.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills with the ability to convey complex information clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to coach and influence others.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues calmly and effectively.
• Quick learner with strong retention of new information.
• Skilled in managing multiple tasks and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work on call during evenings and weekends as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a global NGO environment preferred.
• Scripting/automation basics (Power Automate, PowerShell) a plus.

Physical And Mental Requirements

• The physical requirements that may be needed to execute responsibilities may include bending, standing, and walking, etc.
• The mental requirements that are essential to satisfactorily executing the responsibilities outlined in this job description include, but are not limited to: learning new tasks, comprehending, and retaining information, completing tasks independently, effectively communicating verbally and in writing, demonstrating proficiency in using computer software to perform assigned tasks.

Other Duties

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities for the position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. All positions are required to perform any additional tasks assigned by the supervisor. Global positions that are bound by contracts will not be changed without notice and approval.

Working Conditions, Travel and Environment

• Corus has a hybrid work policy, allowing work to be done remotely; two days per week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in the office is required. The employee must be available to work outside normal office hours or weekends as required.
• This position must be able to travel as required for standard domestic business purposes.
• If applicable, must have authorization to work in the country of assignment.

As a member of the Corus Family, each employee is expected to:

• Foster a work environment where everyone feels valued and included.
• Support employees' evaluation and promotion processes based on skills and performance.
• Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all members of Corus family, stakeholders in general, and particularly for the communities we serve.
• Follow Corus Code of Conduct helping to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment, sexual abuse and exploitation, and trafficking in persons.
• Adhere to the Organizational Core Values.

Corus International is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.