Service Desk Manager - Hybrid - W2

The Service Desk Manager will initially assess the current environment, ticket queue, processes, documentation, and support practices and develop a practical plan for improvement. This individual will be responsible for building and developing the Service Desk team, establishing consistent operating practices, improving ticket management and escalation procedures, and creating a reliable support experience that encourages employees to effectively utilize IT support services.

The right candidate will be comfortable operating in a developing environment, identifying what is working well, correcting ineffective practices, and establishing a sustainable Service Desk model. This person must be both a strong people leader and an operational problem solver who can gain buy-in from employees, IT teams, and business stakeholders.

• 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 those that are effective while improving or replacing those that are not.
• 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 help rebuild employee confidence in utilizing established IT support and ticketing channels.
• Review and improve existing knowledge base articles, SOPs, onboarding and offboarding procedures, and other Service Desk documentation.
• Improve handoffs and escalation procedures between the Service Desk and other IT teams, including Applications and Infrastructure.
• Identify staffing, skill, process, and service gaps and recommend appropriate improvements.
• Provide direct support for escalated issues when necessary while maintaining primary responsibility for leadership and management of the Service Desk.
• Establish documented processes, reporting, and operating practices that can support the long-term growth and sustainability of the Service Desk.

• 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;
  Solar Winds 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.

The ideal candidate has previously stepped into a Service Desk environment that needed significant improvement and can demonstrate measurable results. They will understand how to assess the current state, prioritize immediate issues, reduce ticket backlog, develop a team, implement practical service management practices, and rebuild confidence in IT support.

This role…