Client Services Manager

Overview

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) is a private fundraising and alumni relations organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is seeking a Client Services Manager to join its Information Technology department.

The Client Services Manager is responsible for leading and continuously improving end‑user support operations, including Help Desk services, endpoint support and engineering, and service delivery across all Infrastructure & Security domains. This role focuses on operational excellence, customer experience, and technology‑enabled efficiency, with a strong mandate to drive automation, AI adoption, and scalable service delivery models.

The manager leads a team of client‑facing technical professionals and sets the vision, standards, and metrics that ensure reliable, secure, and customer‑centric IT services. The Client Services Manager partners closely with Cloud Services, Security, Network Services, and other Information Systems leaders, as well as business stakeholders, to modernize support operations and improve the employee digital experience. This hybrid position requires working on‑site in the Madison, WI office at least two days a week.

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association is a private, nonprofit corporation that encourages individuals and organizations to make gifts to the university and to connect with the UW. In 2014, the UW Foundation merged with the Wisconsin Alumni Association to better serve a growing population of UW alumni and donors.

WFAA values the differences that employees bring and creates an environment in which all staff members and constituents feel respected and have opportunities to thrive.

• Own the end‑to‑end delivery of Client Services, including Help Desk operations, endpoint support, and lifecycle management.
• Establish and reinforce a customer‑first service model, ensuring timely and high‑quality support experiences.
• Define and monitor service‑level objectives, customer satisfaction metrics, and continuous improvement targets.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex or high‑impact user issues, ensuring accountability and resolution.
• Define, document, and standardize Client Services processes using industry best practices.
• Analyze ticket trends, root causes, and operational data to proactively improve service delivery.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that reduce ticket volume, improve first‑contact resolution, and enhance user experience.
• Provide regular reporting and insights to leadership on service performance, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Act as a key liaison between IT Client Services and business stakeholders.
• Translate business needs into scalable support models and service improvements.
• Partner with leadership to align Client Services capabilities with broader IT and organizational strategies.

• Drive operational efficiencies through automation, AI‑enabled workflows, and self‑service capabilities.
• Identify and eliminate manual, high‑friction, or repetitive support processes by leveraging IT Service Management automation, AI‑assisted ticket handling, knowledge‑centered support, and chat‑based self‑service options.
• Partner with engineering, security, and platform teams to pilot and adopt emerging technologies that improve speed, quality, and scalability of support.
• Establish metrics to measure efficiency gains, cost reduction, and service improvements driven by automation and AI.
• Work cross‑functionally within the Infrastructure & Security team to identify and assist with operational optimization for other teams.

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Client Services analysts and engineers.
• Set clear expectations for performance, customer engagement, documentation, and technical excellence.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, innovation, collaboration, accountability, and operational ownership.
• Support career development, skills progression, and succession planning for the Client Services team.