Manager, IT Operations

Description We're hiring an IT Operations Manager to lead our IT Service Desk (ITSD) team and own the systems and services every Sprout employee depends on. This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll manage and develop the ITSD team, run day-to-day operations across our four global offices, and stay deep enough in the work to drive automation and AI-enabled improvements yourself. You'll be the operational owner who keeps the lights on while continuously making our processes faster, smarter, and more scalable. We're hiring an IT Operations Manager to lead our IT Service Desk (ITSD) team and own the systems and services every Sprout employee depends on. This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll manage and develop the ITSD team, run day-to-day operations across our four global offices, and stay deep enough in the work to drive automation and AI-enabled improvements yourself. You'll be the operational owner who keeps the lights on while continuously making our processes faster, smarter, and more scalable. Why join Sprout's IT Team? Sprout’s Corporate IT team is a combination of adjacent squads working on projects under one umbrella. This unique structure is an exciting opportunity to grow your career in technology with exposure to projects all across our discipline—something you don’t see often in other organizations. It allows us to move quickly and collaborate with minimal friction or red tape. As a part of this team, you’re also given the space and encouraged to stretch beyond your core function, and make a deeper impact on the broader organization. In short, the work you do here matters, and you feel that day in and day out. What You'll Do Lead and grow the ITSD team. Directly manage the full IT Service Desk team, holding regular 1:1s, owning performance management, coaching technical and professional development, delegating work effectively, and building a cohesive, high-output team culture. Own global IT operations. Own IT operations execution across our three global offices in Chicago, Krakow, and Dublin, ensuring each location has the support and technology it needs to operate effectively, including help desk, endpoint management, identity and access, onboarding/offboarding, SaaS administration, and office and event support. Stay hands-on technically. Contribute directly to complex build, automation, and integration work rather than only delegating it. Partner with Senior Systems Administrators and the Automation team on production changes across core platforms including Atlassian, Okta, and MDM solutions. Drive automation and AI enablement. Identify where operations are slow or manual and apply automation and AI to fix them. Champion the "teach people to fish" enablement model on the front line, recommending and standing up the right tooling to deflect and resolve volume. Plan and delegate. Serve as project lead on operational IT initiatives, scoping through delivery, distributing work effectively across the team, monitoring progress, and removing blockers. Maintain documentation hygiene. Ensure SOPs, runbooks, and process guides are created, current, and consistently followed across the team. Act as senior escalation point. Provide guidance and support to resolve complex IT issues promptly. Partner cross-functionally. Work with the Director of IT to surface operational gaps and improvement opportunities, and partner closely with Security/GRC on shared work across identity, access, endpoint, offboarding, and compliance. Own budget and purchasing decisions. Hold approval authority up to $50,000 for office IT infrastructure, employee hardware, standardization decisions, and operational tools and software. Purchases above that threshold are approved with the Director of IT. Travel periodically to global office locations to ensure consistent IT operations and support. What You'll Bring We're looking for an operationally sharp, technically capable people leader who can run a distributed IT operation and improve it at the same time. If you take ownership seriously, lead by developing others, and still love getting hands-on with the build, we'd love to talk. The minimum qualifications for this role include 5+ years of professional IT experience, including direct people management or team leadership experience. Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and manage the performance of a technical team. Proficiency supporting both Apple and Windows operating systems. Hands-on experience with MDM platforms and managing hardware lifecycles. Experience with ITAM software and IT asset management practices. Experience with Google Workspace administration. Experience with identity and access management platforms (Okta or similar). Working knowledge of network fundamentals, DNS, DHCP, VPN, and basic network troubleshooting. Familiarity with endpoint security practices, patch management, and operational security hygiene. Ability to write and maintain clear documentation including SOPs, runbooks, and process guides. Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Familiarity with ITSM platforms and a solid understanding of ITIL principles and frameworks. Preferred qualifications for this role include Experience managing IT operations across multiple office locations and time zones. Scripting and automation ability in PowerShell, Python, or Bash, and a track record of building automations or integrations that reduce manual work. Comfort working with LLMs and AI tools in a professional setting, and a point of view on applying them to IT operations. Experience with Jamf and/or Intune. Experience with Jira Service Management. Experience partnering with Security/GRC on shared identity, access, and compliance work. Ability to work from Sprout’s Chicago office at least three days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) with the possibility of additional in-office days depending on business needs How You'll Grow Within 1 month, you'll plant your roots, including: Complete Sprout's New Hire training program alongside other new Sprout team members. Get to know your team through 1:1s, and get acclimated to the team's current tools, workflows, and operational priorities. Familiarize yourself with our global office structure and existing IT support and operations processes. Within 3 months, you'll start hitting your stride by: Taking full ownership of the ITSD team and Service Desk operations, including the onboarding/offboarding workflow. Managing local and global office technology needs, ensuring hardware, conference rooms, and onsite support meet our quality standards. Establishing a clear cadence of 1:1s, priorities, and delegation that keeps the team proactive rather than purely reactive. Building relationships with key stakeholders across departments, office locations, and Security/GRC. Within 6 months, you'll be making a clear impact through: Driving measurable improvements in ticket resolution times, asset management, and operational consistency across offices. Leading operational IT initiatives from scoping through delivery, and developing your team's ability to take on more complex build work. Standing up automation and AI-enabled improvements that deflect and resolve volume. Establishing yourself as the senior escalation point and operational owner for ITSD. Within 12 months, you'll make this role your own by: Serving as a trusted operational partner to the Director of IT, consistently bringing boots-on-the-ground insight that shapes team priorities. Having built repeatable, scalable processes and a team that can build at a higher level, reducing manual effort and key-person dependencies. Surprising us! Use your unique ideas and abilities to change the team in beneficial ways. U.S. Office Based Roles Our Benefits Program We’re proud to regularly be recognized for our team, product and culture. Comprehensive Health & Wellness: Premium BCBSIL medical, dental (high/low plans), and vision (Eyemed) insurance for you and your eligible dependents. Premium Mental Health Support: Full, free access to Modern Health for you and your dependents, including coaching, therapy sessions, and digital wellness resources. Retirement Savings: 401(k) plan with a 50% company match on your first 6% of contributions (a 3% total match). Financial Security: 100% employer-paid Life and Disability insurance for your peace of mind. Flexible Paid Time Off: A flexible PTO policy, supplemented with additional company-wide Rest & Recharge days throughout the year. Paid Parental Leave: Up to 16 weeks of paid leave for new parents to support you in expanding your family. Annual Lifestyle Stipend: A $1,000 USD annual Lifestyle Spending Account to spend on your physical, mental, and financial well-being. Work From Home Support: A one-time $550 USD stipend to set up your home office, plus a monthly $50 USD stipend for internet. Giving Back: 16 hours of paid volunteer time annually, plus a $100 annual match for your charitable donations. Additional Financial Perks: Access to pre-tax commuter benefits, subsidized child/eldercare (Care.com), discounted pet insurance (Figo), and no-cost personalized financial wellness support through Your Money Line. Office Environment: Beautiful, convenient, and state-of-the‑art offices in Chicago’s Loop and downtown Seattle This list is for informational purposes only. Benefit offerings are discretionary and subject to change and do not constitute a contract or guarantee of benefits. Our salary ranges reflect the expected earning potential for this role. Individual pay is based on geographic zone, relevant experience, and skills. Our current hiring range for this role: $121,600 – $182,400 annually. Offers are made within this range, with opportunities to grow within the broader band based on performance and impact. We share both our current hiring range and our broader geographic salary bands to provide transparency into our compensation philosophy. This ensures you understand not only your starting potential but also the long‑term growth potential available as you progress in your role. We have two geographic pay zones in the United States: Zone 1 (New York, California, Washington) $133,800 – $200,600 Zone 2 (All other US states) $121,600 – $182,400 These ranges were determined by a market‑based compensation approach; we used data from trusted third‑party compensation sources to set equitable, consistent, and competitive ranges. We also evaluate compensation bi‑annually, identify any changes in the market and make adjustments to our ranges and existing employee compensation as needed. Sprout Social is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on identity- race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged or sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law. Because Sprout Social is a federal contractor, we affirmatively recruit individuals with a disability and protected veterans. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our latest DEI Report . If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or to submit your application, please email us at View email address on click.appcast.io. Include the nature of your request and your preferred contact information. We'll do everything we can to support your success during our recruitment process while upholding your privacy. Please note that only inquiries regarding accommodations will receive a response from this email address; other inquiries will not be addressed (e.g., you send your resume but are not requesting an accommodation). For more information about our commitment to equal employment opportunity, please click here (1) Equal Opportunity Employment Poster and (2) Sprout Social's Aff Additionally, Sprout Social participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. Sprout Social Inc. and its subsidiaries process personal data submitted through your application to assess your qualifications for employment and to inform our hiring decision and, where applicable, for required governmental reporting. For more information, please review Sprout's Global Applicant Privacy Notice. #J-18808-Ljbffr