Senior Manager, IT Customer Support

Position Summary:

The Senior Manager, IT Customer Support leads and manages all aspects of customer-facing IT services for the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR). This includes overseeing the IT Service Desk, desktop support operations, and client device management across the agency. Responsible for driving continuous improvement, maturing IT service management (ITSM) processes, and ensuring IT customer support services are highly efficient, reliable, and directly integrated with the CISO's security initiatives to protect sensitive taxpayer data and agency assets.

Job Responsibilities:

Supervisory: 15%

• Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with ADOR's core values, agency policies, applicable standard work, and applicable laws.
• Actively participating in the interviewing and hiring processes and ensuring successful functional onboarding of new employees.
• Planning, assigning, coordinating, and overseeing the daily work of direct reports in alignment with the strategic, operational, and tactical priorities of the organization.
• Conducts regular one-on-one meetings, providing constructive, balanced performance feedback, coaching, and mentoring.
• Setting reasonable stretch performance goals and conducting mid-year and annual performance appraisals.
• Recognizing and rewarding performance excellence, culture championship, and continuous improvement efforts.
• Communicating and enforcing agency policies and programs.
• Applying corrective action, addressing complaints and resolving problems in a timely fashion, involving and collaborating with leadership and Human Resources as appropriate.
• Fosters a culture of customer service excellence, accountability, and continuous learning.

Talent Management: 10%

• In collaboration with the Assistant Director/Chief Information Officer and Talent, develops and executes a plan to retain and develop talent to meet current and future business objectives.
• Engaging in performance management calibration and talent review evaluations.
• Collaborating with direct reports on their professional development and growth.
• Inspiring staff to continue to build their skill and craft while keeping ahead of the curve for future challenges.
• Training, mentoring, and coaching employees.
• Assisting with developing leadership succession plans for the department.

Strategic Alignment & Operational Management: 35%

• In collaboration with the Assistant Director/Chief Information Officer, sets and implements the ADOR IT Customer Service strategic direction, ensuring alignment with the agency's overall IT and business strategies.
• Serves as the escalation point and primary interface between executive business leadership and IT operations for major service interruptions or chronic issues.
• Manages the annual budget for the IT Customer Support division, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and maximizing return on technology investments, including managing vendor relationships and negotiating service contracts for technology and support tools.
• Provides technical leadership for the desktop support team on complex issues.
• Oversees desktop infrastructure like hardware, software, and security.
• Ensures effective end-user communication for all scheduled IT changes, maintenance, and major service updates, and that end-user issues are resolved in a timely, effective, and empathetic manner.
• Establishes, monitors, and reports on key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs) for service desk, desktop support, and client services.
• Drives the maturity of IT Service Management (ITSM) processes, particularly Incident Management, Request Fulfillment, Knowledge Management, Automation, and the use of modern frameworks that adapt to changes on the horizon as they pertain to ADOR's tax accounting system modernization (STARS) program.
• Oversees the life cycle management of all end-user devices (desktops, laptops, mobile devices) and software distribution, ensuring security and compliance with state standards.
• Maintains an accurate inventory of hardware and software assets and ensures compliance with licensing agreements.
• Drives process improvement & technology evolution.
• Identifying, recommending, and leading implementation of new tools and technologies (e.g., advanced ticketing systems, remote support tools) to enhance service delivery efficiency.
• Analyzing Service Desk data and trends to proactively identify systemic issues, training gaps, and opportunities for long-term reduction in support volume.

Security Focus and CISO Partnership: 10%

• Serves as the CISO's front-line partner for endpoint security, ensuring immediate communication and coordinated response to security incidents originating at the endpoint.
• Leads end-user security awareness and compliance by working with the CISO team to implement and enforce security policies (e.g., Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), least-privilege access, acceptable use).
• Manages and optimizes security-critical tools utilized by the support team, including Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems, identity and access management (IAM) platforms, and enterprise encryption software.
• Establishes and continually refines the Security Incident Triage Process within the Service Desk, ensuring all support staff are trained to recognize, prioritize, and escalate potential security threats immediately to the CISO's Security Operations Center (SOC).
• Ensures all desktop and client deployment images and processes adhere strictly to the agency's security baselines and configuration hardening standards.

Agency/Department Compliance & Continuous Improvement: 20%

• Remains current on all laws, regulations, policies, and best practices related to taxation through regular engagement in activities such as: self-directed research, conferring with other practitioners and technical experts; subscriptions to regulatory/legal/industry newsletters and briefs; membership in industry associations and attendance at meetings/events; and or participation in training and other continuing education opportunities.
• Actively contributes to team and individual effectiveness through the following: -.
• Attends staff meetings and huddles of work unit or district, and may cascade and track information as indicated.
• Completes all required training in a timely manner.
• Participates in assigned work teams as appropriate.
• May complete periodic metrics, projects, huddle boards, and reports as requested.
• Prepares for and actively participates in 1:1 coaching with a supervisor.
• Develops and implements IT policies.
• Contributes to the development and testing of Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC) plans for all IT customer-facing services (e.g., Service Desk, desktop operations) to ensure service resiliency.
• Maximizes work processes and deliverables through lean principles within the Arizona Management System (AMS); and provides recommendations for process improvement, and engages in continuous improvement efforts as assigned.

Projects Engagement: 5%

• Engages as project leader, project business lead, and SMEs as applicable to ensure the successful execution of all mandated and non-mandated projects.

Other duties as assigned: 5%

Skills Required:

• Broad and generally deep understanding of all facets of management and leadership, as well as a vision for the IT customer support function.
• Thorough working knowledge of most infrastructure technologies and in-house developed applications utilized in the enterprise.
• Thorough working knowledge of the organization's methodologies and tools.
• Thorough working knowledge of the organization's policies and procedures.
• Thorough working knowledge of interrelationships among various internal and external organizational functions.
• Strong understanding of client operating systems (Windows, macOS), enterprise networking, security best practices, and remote support technologies.
• Strong understanding of the available technologies to implement a Virtual Desktop Environment.
• Excellent verbal, written, and listening communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demeanor.
• Strong organization and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and work in high-pressure situations.
• Effective project management skills with the ability to lead and direct the work of teams without formal supervisory authority.
• Proficient in the use of a PC in a Windows environment; in the use of the Internet; in the use of MS Office Applications such as Word and Excel, PowerPoint; and in the use of Google Suite applications such as Gmail, Sheets, Docs, and Drive.
• Proficient in the use of enterprise-level ticketing systems. (e.g., Service Now, Zendesk, Cherwell, Solarwinds Web Help Desk).
• Ability to clear a comprehensive background and clearance process that includes an Arizona tax compliance verification, and a criminal background check through the FBI via level one fingerprint clearance through the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
• Ability to contribute to and execute strategic plans, manage budgets, and report performance metrics to executive leadership.
• Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy and also participate collaboratively as part of a team.
• Ability to work in a confidential manner, ensuring information is shared with internal and external individuals in an appropriate manner.
• Ability to understand and solve problems by applying intermediate analytical skills to include collecting all the relevant information and data needed to address the problem; organizing, classifying and synthesizing the data into fundamental issues; from the information, identifying the most probable causes of the problem; reducing the information down into manageable components; identifying the logical outcomes from the analyses of the data collected; and, identifying the options and solutions for addressing the problems analyzed.
• Willingness and ability to embody ADOR's core values of Do the Right Thing, Commit to Excellence, and Care About One Another.

Skills Preferred:

• Ability to build, motivate, engage, develop/grow, and retain a high-performing team.
• Current ITIL Certification (e.g., ITIL 4 Foundation or higher).

Education Required:

• Any combination that meets the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs); typical ways KSAs are obtained may include, but are not limited to: a relevant degree from an accredited college or university, such as a Bachelor's Degree (e.g., B.A), training, coursework, and work experience relevant to the assignment.

Education Preferred:

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.

Experience Required:

• Minimum eight (8) years of related progressive experience in Information Technology.
• Minimum of three (3) years of management and supervision experience overseeing IT service desk, help desk, or technical support operations for an organizational workforce size of 1,000 +.
• Previous experience in developing and managing ITIL-based ITSM processes (Incident, Request, Knowledge Management).
• Previous experience implementing a Virtual Desktop Environment.

Experience Preferred:

• Previous experience leading leaders.
• Prior experience working within a State or Local Government agency or other highly regulated environment.
• Experience with a modern Enterprise Service Management (ESM) platform (e.g., ServiceNow, Cherwell).
• Experience with Continuous Improvement/Lean.

Additional Information:

• This position has one direct supervisory report who oversees a team of 7 to 8 individual contributors in IT Service Desk and System Administration roles.
• Licenses & Certifications: None.
• In the course of performing the essential duties, one must be able to exert up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.
• No substantial exposure to adverse environmental conditions (such as in typical office or administrative work).
• This is a contract-to-hire position.
• The position is hybrid, with at least three days in the office a week.
• All candidates must be eligible to convert to an FTE.
• The managers/team are looking for a candidate who can oversee a team of 7 to 8 individual contributors in IT Service Desk and System Administration roles, and who understands and is knowledgeable about the software and networks the team uses.