Service Desk Manager - Hybrid - W2 - Contract/Contract to Hire

The Service Desk Manager will initially assess the current environment, ticket queue, processes, documentation, and support practices and develop a practical plan for improvement. This individual will be responsible for building and developing the Service Desk team, establishing consistent operating practices, improving ticket management and escalation procedures, and creating a reliable support experience that encourages employees to effectively utilize IT support services.

The right candidate will be comfortable operating in a developing environment, identifying what is working well, correcting ineffective practices, and establishing a sustainable Service Desk model. This person must be both a strong people leader and an operational problem solver who can gain buy-in from employees, IT teams, and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Assume day-to-day ownership and leadership of the Service Desk, including ticket queues, priorities, escalations, coverage, and customer communication.
• Assess the current Service Desk environment and develop a structured plan to stabilize and improve operations.
• Review the existing ticket backlog, identify trends and priorities, and establish an effective approach for resolution and ongoing queue management.
• Build and develop a Service Desk team of approximately four support professionals.
• Participate in interviewing and hiring Service Desk team members and provide onboarding, training, coaching, and ongoing development.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability across the Service Desk.
• Review existing processes and practices, retaining those that are effective while improving or replacing those that are not.
• Establish consistent practices for ticket intake, documentation, ownership, triage, escalation, response, and closure.
• Monitor and audit ticket quality, queue activity, escalations, and overall Service Desk performance.
• Establish practical service levels, KPIs, operating cadences, and management reporting.
• Strengthen relationships between IT and the business and help rebuild employee confidence in utilizing established IT support and ticketing channels.
• Review and improve existing knowledge base articles, SOPs, onboarding and offboarding procedures, and other Service Desk documentation.
• Improve handoffs and escalation procedures between the Service Desk and other IT teams, including Applications and Infrastructure.
• Identify staffing, skill, process, and service gaps and recommend appropriate improvements.
• Provide direct support for escalated issues when necessary while maintaining primary responsibility for leadership and management of the Service Desk.
• Establish documented processes, reporting, and operating practices that can support the long-term growth and sustainability of the Service Desk.

Qualifications

• Significant experience managing a Service Desk, Help Desk, IT Support, or IT Service Delivery function.
• Demonstrated experience building, rebuilding, stabilizing, or materially improving a Service Desk operation.
• Proven ability to lead, coach, train, and develop technical support professionals.
• Experience managing ticket queues, backlogs, escalations, service levels, and customer communications.
• Strong understanding of IT service management and Service Desk best practices.
• Experience developing and implementing operational processes, SOPs, knowledge management practices, KPIs, and service-level expectations.
• Ability to assess an existing support environment, identify gaps, and translate findings into an actionable improvement plan.
• Strong customer-service mindset with demonstrated ability to build trust and productive relationships between IT and business users.
• Ability to balance strategic process improvement with hands-on operational leadership.
• Experience working with IT ticketing/service management platforms; SolarWinds Service Desk experience is a plus but not required.
• ITIL 4 certification is a plus but not required.
• Strong communication, leadership, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work onsite in Houston as part of a flexible hybrid schedule.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate has previously stepped into a Service Desk environment that needed significant improvement and can demonstrate measurable results. They will understand how to assess the current state, prioritize immediate issues, reduce ticket backlog, develop a team, implement practical service management practices, and rebuild confidence in IT support.

This role requires someone who is comfortable rolling up their sleeves when needed but whose primary focus will be leading the team, managing the operation, developing employees, improving processes, and establishing a sustainable Service Desk function.

For the right individual, this engagement may offer the opportunity to continue longer term and potentially expand into broader IT operations and service delivery leadership responsibilities.