Director, Enterprise Service Desk

Facilities and Business Operations:

Facilities and Business Operations at UCF is dedicated to fostering a conducive educational environment for our faculty, staff, students, and the broader community. We are committed to excellence, providing unparalleled expertise, and maintaining a world-class standard in service.

Please visit us at: https://fs.ucf.edu/ or Facebook and Instagram: UCF Facilities

The Opportunity:

The Department of IT within Facilities and Business Operations is seeking to hire an experienced and visionary Director, Enterprise Service Desk, to lead our multi-disciplinary service desk team. This role is responsible for ensuring the delivery of efficient, user-centered IT support across a complex environment featuring both centralized and decentralized services and support structures.

This role will drive modernization efforts aligned with industry best practices, implement ITIL-based processes, and provide strong change management leadership to enhance IT service delivery across academic, research, and administrative functions spanning multiple campuses.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage the enterprise service desk, overseeing recruitment, training, and performance management for tiered support teams, including Tier 1 frontline and Tier 2/3 technical support.

• Navigate and optimize UCF’s complex IT environment, balancing centralized service desk operations with decentralized departmental support for seamless collaboration.

• Collaborate with IT leadership, academic departments, research centers, and stakeholders to align service desk strategies with university goals, particularly supporting data-intensive research and high user demands.

• Drive modernization of service desk operations by implementing automation tools, AI-driven analytics, and integrating with enterprise systems to streamline workflows and improve predictive support.

• Provide multi-channel user support (phone, email, chat, ticketing systems, walk-in), ensuring service levels meet or exceed established SLAs.

• Oversee incident management: logging, triage, first-line resolution, escalation, and follow-up to ensure user satisfaction.

• Implement and maintain ITIL-based processes for incident, problem, change, and release management.

• Lead root cause analysis and problem management efforts to reduce recurring issues and improve service reliability.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive knowledge management systems, including self-service portals, FAQs, and knowledge base articles.

• Monitor and report on key performance indicators such as first-contact resolution, average handle time, customer satisfaction, and ticket backlog.

• Manage service request fulfillment processes for routine IT needs, including hardware provisioning, software installations, account management, and access permissions.

• Mentor and develop a team of service desk analysts and supervisors, fostering technical skills, customer service excellence, and adherence to best practices.

• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends to continuously enhance service desk capabilities in a dynamic R1 research environment.

• Oversee budgeting, vendor relationships, and procurement for service desk tools and resources.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree and 8 years of relevant experience including 3+ years of leadership experience; or High School Diploma (or equivalent) and 12 years of relevant work experience in lieu of degree including 3+ years of leadership experience. Or an equivalent combination of education and experience pursuant to Fla. Stat. 112.219(6). 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced certifications in IT service management frameworks such as ITIL v4 Expert or ITIL Master.

• 5+ years’ experience leading service desk operations in a large, complex organization (university or research institution environment preferred).

• Master’s degree preferred in a technical or management field.

• Proven track record of successfully implementing automation tools (e.g., chatbots, scripting) and/or AI-driven analytics to enhance service desk efficiency and predictive support capabilities.

• Strong expertise in organizational change management with demonstrated success guiding teams through technology upgrades and process improvements.

• Familiarity with enterprise IT systems and integration strategies that support seamless data flow across service management platforms.

• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain comprehensive knowledge management systems and self-service portals to empower end users and reduce support tickets.

• Experience managing multi-channel IT support delivery models (phone, chat, email, ticketing, in-person services), ensuring high service levels and consistency across channels.

• Proven leadership ability to mentor, develop, and retain high-performing technical support teams, fostering professional growth and customer service excellence.

• Experience with budgeting, vendor management, and procurement processes related to IT service desk tools and resources.

• Knowledge of data-intensive research environments and their unique IT support requirements.

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to report on key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive continuous improvement in service delivery.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with a proven ability to collaborate effectively across academic, research, and administrative departments.

Special Instructions to the Applicants:

The anticipated salary range for this position is $150,000 to $169,000. The final salary will be determined based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, and internal equity considerations.

Position requires a valid Class E driver’s license. The position may involve driving to various locations on and off campus to conduct University business.

Applicant must be authorized to work for any U.S. employer, as sponsorship is not available for this position.

If you are selected as the final candidate for an employment opportunity, both your position and salary will be significantly based upon the information that you have provided in your application for employment. We urge you to please take the time to complete the application in its entirety.

Classification Title: Director, IT Services

Are you ready to unleash YOUR potential?

As a next-generation public research university and Forbes-ranked top employer in Florida, we are a community of thinkers, doers, creators, innovators, healers, and leaders striving to create broader prosperity and help shape a better future. No matter what your role is, when you join Knight Nation, you’ll play an integral role at one of the most impactful universities in the country. You’ll be met with opportunities to connect and collaborate with talented faculty, staff, and students across 13 colleges and multiple campuses, engaging in impactful work that makes a positive difference. Your time at UCF will provide you with many meaningful opportunities to grow, you’ll work alongside talented colleagues on complex projects that will challenge you and help you gain new skills, and you’ll have countless rewarding experiences that go well beyond a paycheck.

Working at UCF has its perks!  UCF offers:

• Benefit packages, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending, and Employee Assistance Program 

• Paid time off, including annual and sick time off, and paid holidays

• Retirement savings options 

• Employee discounts, including tickets to many Orlando attractions 

• Education assistance 

• And more…For more benefits information, view the UCF Employee Benefits Guide.

Dive into our Total Rewards Calculator to discover the diverse selection available to you, giving you a glimpse into the benefits that together shape your comprehensive rewards package at UCF.

Unless explicitly stated on the job posting, it is UCF’s expectation that an employee of UCF will reside in Florida as of the date the employment begins.

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As a Florida public university, the University of Central Florida makes all application materials and selection procedures available to the public upon request.  

UCF is proud to be a smoke-free campus and an E-Verify employer. 

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 407-823-1336 or email onac@ucf.edu.

For general application or posting questions, please email talent@ucf.edu.