Position Overview:

The Technology Service and Support Manager is responsible for leading and managing a team of support technicians and specialists in the delivery of end-user support services. This includes managing day-to-day operations, implementing continuous improvement initiatives, and providing team leadership, management, and coaching. Leading a three-person help desk team, the Manager will have a passion for customer service, a focus on developing and managing people through coaching and mentorship, experience leading operations, and proven leadership skills. The position provides a superior level of support to users across the organization across two campuses in Minneapolis and Hopkins, MN.

Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the operational scope of responsibilities includes: service delivery (incident, problem, change, requests), solutions delivery, security operations, and triaging complex problems. The position requires close work with others in the department to ensure a secure, robust, reliable infrastructure and services. The Manager will be the operational expert for project delivery and continuous service improvement.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of industry service operations best practice models, such as ITIL and ITSM, and technical expertise in Apple and JAMF products. The Manager must be experienced, curious, communicative, detail-oriented, and highly motivated to lead and oversee the support of processes, operations, and related activities for client technologies. The incumbent must be engaged and participate daily in the operations of all aspects of the school’s computers, network, and telecommunication systems and will work collaboratively with all other constituents in the school community (faculty, staff, students, and parents).

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Operational management focused on continuous improvement for end-user support services:

• Ensures the school meets its strategic objectives by facilitating technology solutions and services that meet the needs of the school’s users.

• Manage and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of all end-user technical support services through process improvements, coordination, and communication between technical support, departments, programs, and business units to improve the overall effectiveness of technology support services within an educational setting.

• Continually improve the technical service operations systems, processes, and policies in support of the Blake School’s mission - ensuring excellent end-user technical support services; reporting, tracking, and management of incidents and problems; develop and implement efficient business processes and planning.

• Contributes and participates in initiatives to mature IT practices using ITIL, SLAs, SOPs, Run Books, and service catalogs to improve the usability and reliability of all technology services.

• Designs and leads projects ranging from laptop and desktop upgrade cycles, unified communication, and critical infrastructure systems.

• Oversees the installation, support, repair, and maintenance of computers, mobile devices, printers, hardware, and software.

• Works closely with other teams, vendors, and departments to identify and resolve issues that impact end-user support services.

• Researching and resolving the most difficult and complex problems that other team members have been unable to resolve.

• Ensures the support needs of all stakeholders are met and executes prompt resolution to problems brought to the attention of the technology support services team.

• Directs, reviews, and posts knowledge base articles weekly and assists in creating internal documentation in training materials, reference guides, and tip sheets.

• Develops policies and procedures related to technology services, hardware, software acquisition, technology use, support, security, and backup.

• Responsible for inventory and asset lifecycle management of all technology systems and peripherals; maintains records and prepares necessary statistics and reports related to the department’s overall technical support operations.

• Maintains current knowledge of professional, technical, and industry standards.

• Researches and recommends training on the latest technologies and best practices in supporting Service Desk-related issues.

Team leadership, management, and coaching:

• Manages day-to-day operations of the support team, including scheduling, resource allocation, and performance management.

• Leads and manages the support team, including setting goals, providing feedback and guidance, and developing team members.

• Delegates specific service desk responsibilities to team members to create subject matter expertise and knowledge transfer to help drive delivery time.

• Aligns projects, staff work plans, and goals with overall strategies for the department and provide oversight to ensure goals are met by managing projects and workflow.

• Monitors and improves help desk performance and manages service and staffing capacity.

• Defines roles and responsibilities. Ensure team members understand their jobs and how performance will be measured.

• Provides coaching and development. Ensure team members possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to support IT services.

• Evaluates team performance and provide regular feedback using formal and informal channels.

• Builds community and collegiality by being a reliable presence across campuses.

• Fosters an inclusive environment and support Blake’s mission, vision, values and commitment to pluralism.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Required Experience:

Minimum Qualifications:

• At least 6 years of experience in technical systems management and customer service delivery, with a minimum of 3 years in a supervisory role.

• Experience in managing front-line IT staff as a part of a technical support team.

• Excellent communication, leadership, and coaching skills.

• Proven track record of implementing continuous improvement initiatives and driving operational excellence.

• Strong technical knowledge and experience troubleshooting various hardware and software issues.

• Experience in successfully managing a team & related technical functions.

• Technical expertise in Jamf and Apple products - macOS, iOS, and tvOS. Jamf MDM, and Microsoft Windows.

• A sound understanding of customer service delivery in an IT environment and service management methodologies such as Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) or Information Technology Service Management (ITSM).

• Well-qualified candidates will also have at least one or more relevant industry-standard certifications such as CompTIA A , Network , Security , Apple certifications such as ACMT, ACSP, JAMF certification, Microsoft certifications such as MCSA, MCSE, ITIL service management or equivalent role-based certification or equivalent experience is a plus.

Essential Knowledge and Skills:

• Extensive Technical Support: Processes, techniques, and best practices, including experience in hands-on technical roles in user support, system, and service management.

• Desktop and Asset Management: Knowledge of management tools for technical support and accepted accounting practices.

• Mobile Device Management: JAMF Pro/Connect and Apple School Manager for Apple Devices; Microsoft In Tune For Windows Devices

• Apple Services: macOS, iOS, Apple School (or Business) Manager.

• Microsoft Services: Windows 10/11, Active Directory, Azure, Remote Access, and M365.

• SaaS: Google Workspace for Education Standard, including Gmail, Calendar, Groups, Meet, Chat, Drive, and Vault.

• Cybersecurity: Cisco Umbrella (OpenDNS), LastPass, Ironscales Phishing Awareness, and Sophos EDR.

• Print Management Services: HP, Konica Copiers, and PaperCut MF.

• VoIP and Online Meeting: Cisco Unified Communications and Zoom.

• Single Sign On (SSO) and Identity Management: Clever and Clever IDM.

• Networking: Cisco Meraki and basic networking knowledge (DHCP, DNS, TCP/IP, VLANS, OSI model).

• Project Management: Best practices for organizing, planning, and communicating via platforms such as Asana.

Abilities:

• Commitment to equity and inclusion.

• An excellent people manager who can manage and supervise a diverse team of technology professionals and leadership-related experience.

• Strong service orientation, positive customer service skills, and understanding of caring delivery of timely and robust solutions.

• Strong analytical skills and ability to perform root cause analysis.

• Ability to test system prototypes, document system inputs, outputs, and performance related to system design.

• Excellent communication skills and ability to present ideas in user-friendly language to non-technical staff and end users, including strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative management style with technical and non-technical people.

• Planning, prioritizing, and completing assignments with minimum supervision.

• Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions using deductive and inductive reasoning.

• Ability to support and mentor colleagues with training and technical issues.

• Ability to rapidly acquire new knowledge and skills.

• Excellent communication, organization, and project management skills, including following through with the completion of multiple simultaneous tasks or projects.

• Exceptional interpersonal skills and patience with a desire to understand the K-12 instructional environment.

Working Conditions:

• General indoor school environment.

• Work is generally sedentary but may require standing and walking for up to 20% of the time.

• Be available by phone or email before, during, and after business hours, within reasonable means, for constituents and co-workers, as needed.

• Working environment does not generally include hazardous or unpleasant conditions caused by excessive noise, dust, etc.

Essential Requirements

• Ability to lift to 50 pounds, such as computers and peripherals.

• A valid driver’s license and reliable transportation between campuses.

• Must safely climb, bend, pull, reach, kneel, and stoop to access technology hardware in hard-to-reach spaces.

• Must be able to read, write and communicate in English.

• Must have good vision.

Disclaimer:

The information contained herein is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of the duties and responsibilities of the job, nor are they intended to be an all-inclusive list of the skills and abilities required to do the job. The duties and responsibilities in this job description may be subject to change at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.

From: The Blake School