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., 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

Do you have experience in Zendesk?, 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, * 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, * 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)

$80,000 a year - Full-time, Contract, Pulled from the full job description

• Paid time off, * Paid time off