Manager, IT Service Desk

Description

Position at MTA Headquarters

JOB TITLE:

Manager, IT Service Desk

SALARY RANGE:

$160,963 - $189,990

DEPT/DIV:

Information Technology

SUPERVISOR:

Director, IT Service Desk

LOCATION:

2 Broadway, New York, NY 10004

HOURS OF WORK:

9:00 am - 5:30 pm (7.5 hours/day) or as required

This position is eligible for teleworking, which is currently 2 days per week. New hires are eligible to apply 30 days after their effective date of hire.

Opening:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is North America's largest transportation network, serving a population of 15.3 million people across a 5,000-square-mile travel area surrounding New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut. The MTA network comprises the nation's largest bus fleet and more subway and commuter rail cars than all other U.S. transit systems combined. MTA strives to provide a safe and reliable commute, excellent customer service, and rewarding opportunities.

Job Summary:

The Manager, IT Service Desk is responsible for overseeing the organization's enterprise-wide IT support services and ensuring that remote support is delivered efficiently and consistently, 24x7x365, with a focus on exceptional internal customer satisfaction. This role provides leadership and direction to IT Service Desk (ITSD) staff, ensuring incidents and requests are recorded, monitored, resolved, or escalated within established service levels. The Manager partners closely with cross-functional teams and the knowledge management team to maintain a robust knowledge base and continuously improve support processes, tools, and service quality.

Responsibilities:

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the MTA Enterprise IT Service Desk, ensuring the delivery of reliable, responsive, and customer-centric support services across all MTA agencies.
• Drive operational excellence by ensuring Service Desk performance consistently meets or exceeds established service level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), customer satisfaction targets, and operational objectives.
• Monitor Service Desk operations through real-time dashboards, analytics, and workforce management tools to optimize staffing, productivity, service quality, and customer experience.
• Develop and continuously improve Service Desk operations by applying industry-standard IT service management principles, service automation, knowledge management, and continual service improvement practices.
• Partner with Infrastructure, Cloud Services, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Applications, Network Operations, End User Computing, and other technology teams to coordinate service restoration, root cause analysis, problem management, and change implementation.
• Support the organization's IT modernization initiatives by leading the adoption and continuous enhancement of enterprise service management capabilities, including ServiceNow, intelligent automation, AI-assisted support, self-service portals, virtual agents, workflow automation, and digital service delivery.
• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive support activities, streamline workflows, eliminate manual processes, and improve operational efficiency through emerging technologies and platform capabilities.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives by analyzing service trends, operational metrics, customer feedback, and recurring incidents to improve service quality, reduce ticket volumes, and increase first-contact resolution.
• Manage workforce planning activities, including staffing strategies, scheduling, shift coverage, resource allocation, and operational readiness to ensure consistent service delivery across business hours and critical operations.
• Lead, develop, and oversee Service Desk supervisors and analysts by providing leadership, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and professional development.
• Oversee quality assurance programs by evaluating customer interactions, incident handling, and service request fulfillment to ensure compliance with established standards and identify coaching opportunities.
• Establish and maintain a comprehensive knowledge management program by ensuring knowledge articles, standard operating procedures, self-service content, and support documentation remain accurate, current, and easily accessible to both support staff and end users.
• Collaborate with enterprise architecture, application owners, and project teams to support technology implementations, cloud migrations, platform upgrades, system integrations, and new digital services while ensuring operational readiness and supportability.
• Develop and maintain Service Desk operational processes, governance standards, and performance frameworks that align with enterprise IT service management strategies and modernization objectives.
• Prepare, analyze, and present operational dashboards, executive reports, and performance metrics to communicate service performance, operational risks, customer experience trends, and continual improvement initiatives.
• Ensure Service Desk operations comply with IT governance, cybersecurity policies, regulatory requirements, operational standards, and organizational procedures.
• Support customer communications during major incidents, planned maintenance, service disruptions, and other operational events to ensure timely, accurate, and consistent messaging.
• Support disaster recovery, business continuity, and operational resilience initiatives by ensuring Service Desk processes, communications, and support capabilities remain effective during emergency and recovery operations.
• Manage vendor relationships and third-party service providers supporting Service Desk technologies and operations to ensure contractual service levels and organizational expectations are achieved.
• Foster strong partnerships with business stakeholders and IT leadership to understand evolving business needs, improve service delivery, and align Service Desk capabilities with enterprise technology strategy.
• Champion a culture of innovation, accountability, collaboration, customer service excellence, continuous learning, and continual service improvement across the Service Desk organization.
• Oversee rigorous quality assurance processes to deliver reliability, performance, and safety objectives.
• Oversees staff workload and quality of work, addressing performance issues when needed.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, employee engagement, performance management, and retention efforts to build and sustain a high-performing Service Desk organization.
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Complies with all policies and standards
• May be required to work hours outside regular work hours, as applicable
• Observes the work performed by contractors, as applicable
• Reviews invoices and approves them if the work has contractual standards, as applicable
• Addresses performance issues with the contractor when possible, as applicable
• Escalates issues to other parties when needed, as applicable

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Arts/Sciences (BA/BS). A combination of education and experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant technology experience.
• Minimum 5 years to 7 years of demonstrated progressive hands-on technical support, system administration, Tier II/III Lead, team management, or IT service desk experience, including at least 4 years of demonstrated progressive IT supervisory and managerial IT service desk experience in an enterprise environment is preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership ability.
• Demonstrated ability to inspire, motivate, and empower people to achieve organizational goals.
• Collaboration skills to ensure design specifications are seamlessly implemented by the development team.

Technical Skills:

• Expert experience with computer hardware and software, including service desk and desktop support technologies; ACD and IVR platforms; ITSM platforms and service integration technologies; contact center solutions; implementation of enterprise service management tools (preferably Genesys Cloud and ServiceNow); performance analytics and reporting; incident, problem, and knowledge management; predictive analytics; workforce management; scripting; automation technologies; and emerging digital service management solutions.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled service management capabilities, including conversational AI, virtual agents, intelligent ticket routing and triage, workflow automation, knowledge recommendations, and seamless escalation to live support to enhance the customer experience.
• Experience developing, reviewing, maintaining, and governing enterprise knowledge management content, including knowledge articles, standard operating procedures, support documentation, and self-service resources to improve service quality and first-contact resolution. Experience with Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) practices is preferred.
• Ability to evaluate the performance, reliability, and effectiveness of technologies, systems, services, and operational processes against business objectives, service level agreements (SLAs), industry standards, and IT service management best practices, and recommend opportunities for continual improvement.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and initiatives simultaneously while monitoring and analyzing operational performance metrics, including client calls, incident and service request volumes, self-service adoption, service levels, workforce utilization, customer satisfaction, and other key performance indicators to support data-driven operational decisions.
• Possess in-depth experience and technical skills in supervising/managing functional capabilities of service desk software tools, including ACD, IVR and various ITSMs, preferably Genesys Cloud and ServiceNow, and related tools
• Highly skilled in managing personal computers, peripherals, mobile devices and application usage and support is strongly desired.
• Expert ability to teach others how to interact with computer systems.
• Strong understanding of computer hardware components, including motherboards, processors, RAM, and hard drives, and the ability to replace faulty parts.
• Strong understanding of customer operating systems, specifically Windows - including installation, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
• Strong familiarity with office software suites like Microsoft Office tools.
• Strong ability to troubleshoot issues with software installations and usage.
• Strong experience with help desk systems for tracking requests, incidents, and resolutions.
• Ability to provide support remotely using tools like remote desktop.
• Ability to troubleshoot connectivity issues and set up network devices such as routers and switches.
• Knowledge of mobile operating systems such as iOS and Android, and the ability to troubleshoot issues with smartphones.
• Familiarity with networking concepts, including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPNS, and wireless technology.
• Understanding of security best practices, including use of firewalls and regular updates.
• Knowledge of data backup methods and software.
• Familiarity with Active Directory for managing user accounts, permissions, and groups.
• Basic knowledge of virtualization technologies.
• Knowledge of new technologies in the field.

Leadership Skills:

• Expert leadership in leading change by developing inter/intra team communication and cohesiveness; sustainment of culture and supporting staff during organizational growth/changes.
• Expert leadership in leading people by working with staff to develop systems to ensure consistent, high-quality project management discipline for all technology-related initiatives and endeavors.
• Expert leadership in driving results by meeting organizational goals and customer expectations and making decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
• Expert leadership in business acumen by providing direction on evaluation, selection, implementation, and maintenance of information systems, ensuring appropriate investment in strategic and operational systems.
• Expert leadership in building coalitions by internally and externally building partnerships with key stakeholders to help achieve the MTA's mission or common goals through influence or negotiations.

Behavioral Skills:

• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, provide coaching and direct feedback.
• Expert in active listening, attention to detail, customer service, prioritization, and problem-solving skills.
• Expert in working independently and strategically.
• Expert in identifying and analyzing risks and developing effective mitigation strategies.
• Expert technical knowledge and diverse skillset to understand various technologies, systems, and potential risks.
• Expert in critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Expert in interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with both technical and non-technical peers.
• Expert in managing multiple projects simultaneously and prioritizing tasks based on urgency and impact.
• Extensive hands-on experience with related tools.
• Expert experience with working under pressure and meeting deadlines individually and collaboratively. Thinks logically, assesses problems, and is results-oriented.
• Expert in identifying complex business and technology risks and associated vulnerabilities.
• Expert in communicating effectively, both orally and in writing, to interact with team members, customers, management, and support personnel (technical and non-technical).
• Expert in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with employees at all levels within the organization, and with both internal and external customers.

Competencies:

Core Competency

Proficiency Level

Competency Definition

Collaborates

Expert

Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives

Cultivates Innovation

Expert

Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful

Customer Focus

Expert

Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions

Communicates Effectively

Expert

Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences

Technical Skills

Expert

Specialized knowledge and expertise on tools, programs, domains, platforms, and products used for specific tasks

Values Diversity

Expert

Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization

Other Information:

Pursuant to the New York State Public Officers Law & the MTA Code of Ethics, all employees who hold a policymaking position must file an Annual Statement of Financial Disclosure (FDS) with the NYS Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (the "Commission").

Equal Employment Opportunity:

MTA and its subsidiary and affiliated agencies are Equal Opportunity Employers, including with respect to veteran status and individuals with disabilities.

The MTA encourages qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and abilities, including military service members, to apply.