Service Desk Manager - Hybrid in Los Angeles County, CA

We are hiring a Service Desk Manager to lead a team of 5–10 analysts supporting a large‑scale SaaS implementation for Los Angeles County. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast‑moving environments, can stabilize teams under pressure, and can serve as the primary interface with a demanding public‑sector client.

You will manage day‑to‑day operations, coach analysts, handle escalations, and ensure the service desk meets all SLA and performance expectations during a major system rollout and stabilization period.

This is a local, hybrid role — you will work from home but must be able to travel to the Norwalk office several times per week.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead daily operations of the Service Desk supporting a high‑volume SaaS application (CWS‑CARES)
• Manage, coach, and develop a team of 5–10 analysts (remote + on‑site)
• Serve as the primary escalation point for critical incidents, client complaints, and performance issues
• Monitor ticket queues, SLAs, and service performance metrics
• Conduct daily standups, workload balancing, and shift coverage planning
• Provide direct support to analysts during complex or high‑visibility incidents
• Build strong relationships with County leadership, project stakeholders, and technical teams
• Produce operational reports, dashboards, and trend analysis
• Implement process improvements, knowledge management practices, and quality standards
• Maintain a calm, steady presence during high‑pressure situations, including Go‑Live and system outages
• Represent the service desk professionally during executive‑level conversations and escalations

What this role is NOT:

• A technical engineering role.
• A project management role.
• This is not a hands‑off leadership role.

This is an operational, people‑focused management role where you lead a support team, handle escalations, and keep the environment steady during a major system rollout.

What We’re Looking For:

Required Experience

• 3–5+ years managing service desk, help desk, or application support teams
• Experience supporting SaaS or enterprise applications in high‑volume environments
• Strong understanding of ITSM practices (Incident, Request, Escalation, Knowledge Management)
• Hands‑on experience with ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, Zendesk, or similar platforms
• Experience handling escalations, difficult stakeholders, and politically sensitive environments
• Ability to coach analysts, manage performance, and maintain team morale under pressure
• Strong communication skills — clear, steady, and professional
• Local to Los Angeles County and able to travel to Norwalk regularly

Preferred Experience

• Experience supporting government, public sector, or large enterprise clients
• Experience managing 10+ analysts or scaling a service desk during a major rollout
• Experience producing SLA reports, dashboards, and operational scorecards
• Experience with knowledge‑centered support (KCS) or similar frameworks

Who Succeeds in This Role

You are:

• Calm under pressure
• Direct, steady, and emotionally regulated
• Skilled at de‑escalation and expectation‑setting
• Comfortable being the “buffer” between the client and the team
• Able to coach analysts without micromanaging
• Operationally disciplined and detail‑oriented
• Someone who can take ownership and run the desk like a business

You are not:

• Easily flustered
• Defensive or reactive
• Someone who avoids conflict
• Someone who needs perfect structure to operate
• Someone who struggles with demanding stakeholders

Position Impact

This role is critical to ensuring:

• Timely and accurate resolution of application issues
• Smooth day-to-day operations for 30 thousand statewide users
• High-quality support for a complex, mission-critical enterprise system
• Strong collaboration between end users, technical teams, and business stakeholders

Pay: $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Paid time off

Application Question(s):

• Are you comfortable with an annual salary of $80,000?

Experience:

• handling escalations or high‑visibility incidents: 3 years (Preferred)
• ITSM platforms (ServiceNow, Jira, Zendesk, etc.): 3 years (Preferred)
• service desk or application support team: 3 years (Required)

Language:

• English (Required)

Location:

• Los Angeles County, CA (Required)

Shift availability:

• Day Shift (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Los Angeles County, CA (Required)

Work Location: In person