Information Technology Service Desk Manager

IT Service Desk Manager

Location: Knoxville area, TN – Onsite

Employment Type: 6-Month W2 Contract-to-Hire

*Security Requirement: Candidates must be U.S. citizens and able to obtain and maintain a government security clearance if offered the position.

We are seeking an experienced IT Service Desk Manager to lead day-to-day Service Desk operations and ensure reliable, high-quality end-user support across on-premises and cloud environments. This position will oversee ticket workflows, service levels, team performance, escalations, knowledge management, and continuous improvement while partnering closely with Infrastructure and Cybersecurity teams. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring a strong combination of Service Desk management experience, technical troubleshooting capabilities, and the ability to develop and lead a technical support team.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the daily operations of the IT Service Desk and associated technical support staff.
• Manage the identification, prioritization, escalation, and resolution of incidents and service requests.
• Monitor ticket queues, service levels, response times, and overall Service Desk performance.
• Provide leadership, coaching, training, and development to Service Desk team members.
• Manage employee performance, work objectives, and staffing needs.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex desktop, server, network, and end-user support issues.
• Provide Tier 2-level technical support as needed for escalated incidents, outages, and performance issues.
• Monitor and troubleshoot issues involving physical and virtual network environments.
• Prepare and present Service Desk metrics, operational reports, and performance trends to IT leadership.
• Partner with Infrastructure and Cybersecurity teams on IT projects, system changes, service continuity, and technical initiatives.
• Maintain documentation and support IT audit and compliance requirements.
• Use metrics and trend analysis to identify recurring issues, improve first-contact resolution, and drive continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of IT experience within a mid-to-large enterprise environment.
• 5+ years of IT Service Desk Lead or Management experience.
• Strong experience leading technical support personnel and managing Service Desk operations.
• Experience supporting Microsoft-based enterprise environments, including Microsoft 365 and Azure.
• Strong understanding of incident management, service requests, escalations, SLAs, ticket queues, and Service Desk metrics.
• Working knowledge of desktop, server, networking, and general IT infrastructure support.
• Strong communication, leadership, troubleshooting, and customer service skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• ITIL 4 Foundation certification.
• Knowledge of NIST standards, including NIST SP 800-171.
• Experience supporting audit, compliance, and documentation requirements.
• Experience using operational metrics to improve Service Desk performance and reduce recurring incidents.