Service Desk Manager – Contract

Jobtailor; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking a Senior Service Desk Leader to own and improve IT support operations in a hybrid Houston work environment. You will guide queue management, escalations, and performance reporting while building a small, capable team.

The role emphasizes actionable process improvement and strong customer relationships. Ideal candidates will have ITIL 4 familiarity, hands-on service desk experience, and a proven ability to balance strategic improvements with daily leadership.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading a Service Desk/IT support function.
• Proven track record building/rebuilding stabilizing a Service Desk.
• Experience coaching and developing technical support staff.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day Service Desk leadership, including queues, priorities, escalations, and communication.
• Assess current operations and create a plan to stabilize and improve performance.
• Review backlog and establish effective resolution and queue management.
• Build and develop a team of about four support professionals.
• Lead hiring, onboarding, training, and ongoing development.

Skills

Service Desk Management

Team Leadership

Operational Process Improvement

Customer Relationship Building

Communication Skills

Education

ITIL 4 Certification

Tools

IT Ticketing Platforms

Service Management Platforms

SolarWinds Service Desk

Job description

• Assume day-to-day ownership and leadership of the Service Desk, including ticket queues, priorities, escalations, coverage, and customer communication
• Assess the current Service Desk environment and develop a structured plan to stabilize and improve operations
• Review the existing ticket backlog, identify trends and priorities, and establish an effective approach for resolution and ongoing queue management
• Build and develop a Service Desk team of approximately four support professionals
• Participate in interviewing and hiring Service Desk team members and provide onboarding, training, coaching, and ongoing development
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability across the Service Desk
• Review existing processes and practices, retaining effective ones while improving or replacing ineffective practices
• Establish consistent practices for ticket intake, documentation, ownership, triage, escalation, response, and closure
• Monitor and audit ticket quality, queue activity, escalations, and overall Service Desk performance
• Establish practical service levels, KPIs, operating cadences, and management reporting
• Strengthen relationships between IT and the business and rebuild employee confidence in established IT support and ticketing channels
• Review and improve knowledge base articles, SOPs, onboarding and offboarding procedures, and other Service Desk documentation
• Improve handoffs and escalation procedures between the Service Desk and Applications and Infrastructure teams
• Identify staffing, skill, process, and service gaps and recommend improvements
• Provide direct support for escalated issues when necessary while maintaining primary responsibility for Service Desk leadership and management
• Establish documented processes, reporting, and operating practices supporting long-term Service Desk growth and sustainability

Requirements

• Significant experience managing a Service Desk, Help Desk, IT Support, or IT Service Delivery function
• Demonstrated experience building, rebuilding, stabilizing, or materially improving a Service Desk operation
• Proven ability to lead, coach, train, and develop technical support professionals
• Experience managing ticket queues, backlogs, escalations, service levels, and customer communications
• Strong understanding of IT service management and Service Desk best practices
• Experience developing and implementing operational processes, SOPs, knowledge management practices, KPIs, and service-level expectations
• Ability to assess an existing support environment, identify gaps, and translate findings into an actionable improvement plan
• Strong customer-service mindset with demonstrated ability to build trust and productive relationships between IT and business users
• Ability to balance strategic process improvement with hands-on operational leadership
• Experience working with IT ticketing/service management platforms
• SolarWinds Service Desk experience is a plus but not required
• ITIL 4 certification is a plus but not required
• Strong communication, leadership, organizational, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work onsite in Houston as part of a flexible hybrid schedule

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in Service Desk management, including ticket queue oversight, operational improvement, and team development. Proven ability to implement IT service management best practices and enhance customer relationships through effective communication and leadership.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Service Desk Management
• Operational Process Improvement
• Team Leadership and Development
• IT Service Management Best Practices
• Customer Relationship Building

Hard Skills

• Ticket Queue Management
• Service Level Management
• Knowledge Management Practices
• KPI Development
• SOP Implementation
• Escalation Procedures
• Operational Reporting
• Service Desk Stabilization
• IT Support Management
• Process Assessment

Soft Skills

• Strong Communication
• Leadership Skills
• Organizational Skills
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Customer-Service Mindset

Certifications & Qualifications

• ITIL 4 Certification

Industry Keywords

• Service Desk
• Help Desk
• IT Support
• IT Service Delivery
• Operational Cadences
• Employee Confidence
• Ticketing Channels
• Backlog Management
• Performance Expectations
• Onboarding Procedures

Tools & Technologies

• IT Ticketing Platforms
• Service Management Platforms
• SolarWinds Service Desk