Help Desk Support Manager

Overview

The Help Desk Manager oversees all aspects of the IT Help Desk function within a dynamic financial services organization.

Position focus: lead and develop the help desk team to deliver timely, professional, and technically robust support to end users, ensuring the stability and performance of desktop, laptop, Citrix/AVD, and peripheral environments, while driving ITIL-aligned service management best practices. The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience supporting complex enterprise environments—particularly within the financial sector—and excels at bridging user needs and technical solutions.

Location:

Madison, WI. This position requires U.S. work authorization.

Hybrid remote work policy applies, with weekly in-office presence depending on distance from the office. Relocation reimbursement is available to the Dane County area per policy. All SWIB employees are subject to ethics and personal trade policies.

• Lead, coach, and mentor the help desk team to provide high-quality, customer-centric IT support.
• Oversee daily operations of the help desk, ensuring SLAs are met and service levels are consistently maintained.
• Track and report key performance metrics, including mean time to respond (MTTR), mean time to resolve (MTTRs), ticket volume trends, and customer satisfaction.

• Endpoint Management

• Manage standard desktop and laptop images for deployment, ensuring security, compliance, and optimal performance.
• Oversee configuration, installation, and maintenance of desktop software and hardware.
• Ensure patch management and endpoint protection are implemented consistently.
• Management of tools used in provisioning software such as InTune, SCCM, JAMF.
• Deep experience with GPOs and overall end device security management.

• Application Support

• Support and maintain industry-standard financial applications such as Charles River, Bloomberg, Fact Set, and other trading and research tools.
• Collaborate with application owners and vendors to ensure reliable performance and timely updates.

• AV and Collaboration Tools

• Manage and maintain conference room audiovisual (AV) systems, video conferencing platforms, and collaboration tools through third party support vendors.
• Troubleshoot AV issues and ensure seamless meeting experiences for employees and executives.

• Service Management & ITIL Framework

• Implement and manage ITIL-based processes, including incident, request, and problem management.
• Develop and maintain an IT service catalog, ensuring users have clear visibility into available IT services.
• Continuously improve help desk processes using ITIL best practices and automation.

• Customer Experience

• Foster a culture of responsiveness, empathy, and accountability across the help desk team.
• Maintain open communication with users and business partners to ensure IT services meet organizational needs.

• Vendor management / IT Purchasing

• Manage strategic relationships with software and hardware vendors to ensure optimal service delivery, product support, and alignment with organizational needs.
• Manage and monitor contracts and their expirations, while allocating infrastructure expenses to the appropriate infrastructure budget.

The ideal candidate brings a strategic mindset, hands-on architectural expertise, and a passion for transforming enterprise capabilities.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field; advanced degree or industry certifications strongly preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in enterprise infrastructure and/or service desk support environments, ideally in investment management or financial services.
• Experience supporting financial services technology environments, including trading, research, and analytics platforms.
• Experience managing enterprise IT support operations across multiple locations or business units.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL framework; ITIL Foundation certification preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with help desk metrics and reporting (e.g., MTTR, first call resolution).
• Experience managing ticketing and IT service management platforms (e.g., Jira Service Management).
• Familiarity with identity and access management (IAM), Active Directory, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) systems.
• Strong understanding of enterprise IT environments, including Windows, macOS, mobile device management (MDM), and Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
• Proficiency in endpoint management tools (e.g., SCCM, Intune, Jamf).
• Proficient in Windows Desktop and Server operating systems.
• Knowledgeable in networking and WiFi systems.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a strong customer service orientation.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
• Experience supporting platforms running both on-prem and in the cloud.
• Proven track record of managing and leading high-performing support teams in a 24x6 environment.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think strategically and analytically.

• Competitive total cash…