The Operations Manager brings strong technical expertise and proven leadership abilities. This role is responsible for leading and managing EMEA Onsite Service Desk (Level 1.5) and Operations (Level 2) activities to ensure high-quality ETS support is delivered to end-users and to the assigned Service Area(s).

The Operations Manager ensures the Onsite Service Desk handles tickets effectively while also personally working tickets, including making sure team members communicate clearly with end users and stakeholders and maintain accurate documentation in ServiceNow. They also lead and oversee critical projects and manages L2 Operations work for the assigned Service Area(s). They partner closely with the Global Service Desk (L1), other regional Onsite teams (L1.5), Operations (L2), and Engineering (L3) to maintain and improve service levels, drive shift-left initiatives, improve processes, and enhance overall service quality.

Qualified candidates must demonstrate excellent customer service skills, strong technical knowledge and hands-on problem-solving ability, and highly effective collaboration skills.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Below are key responsibilities. Other responsibilities may be assigned as business and operational needs evolve.

Daily Operations of the Onsite Service Desk & Asset Management

• Oversee walk-ups, incident management, and request fulfillment processes for EMEA, ensuring frequent and timely updates to end-users.
• Ensure onsite support coverage and responsiveness for EMEA offices, including coordination of onsite visits and local support needs, and personally working tickets for the site they are based in (e.g. Paris office) as needed.
• Manage and coordinate urgent and complex support issues, acting as an escalation point for all requests and incidents to ensure timely completion of open items.
• Create and manage escalation procedures, maintaining service levels and clear handoffs between onsite service desk (L1.5) and L2/L3 teams.
• Document, track, and monitor problems to ensure timely resolution, including driving root cause analysis and follow-up actions.
• Manage and oversee end-to-end asset management, including obtaining vendor quotes, managing procurement of hardware and related services, and maintaining accurate asset inventories throughout the lifecycle (deployment, moves/changes, returns, and disposal).
• Monitor adherence to internal and ITIL-based processes and collaborate with process owners to develop and implement new or improved procedures as necessary

L2 Operations Support by Service Area

• Provide operational leadership and coordination for L2 operations support across ETS Global Technology Servcies (GTS) Service Areas (e.g., End User Technology, Directory Services, Network, Unified Communications, Network Security, Infrastructure), aligned to the Operations model and service ownership.
• Ensure L2 activities follow agreed operational runbooks and standard operating procedures, including monitoring, incident and problem resolution, change execution, and health checks.
• Coordinate and prioritize L2 work (e.g., maintenance, upgrades, remediation tasks) across Service Areas, balancing planned activities with unplanned incidents and escalations.
• Drive cross–Service Area collaboration to resolve complex issues, eliminate recurring problems, and improve the reliability, stability, and performance of ETS services.
• Partner with Service Area Owner to review metrics, identify trends and challenges, and implement improvements that enhance service quality, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
• Available to participate in an on-call rotation for after hours support.

Staff and Develop People to Achieve Key Results

• Build and maintain an environment characterized by high productivity, accountability, and morale.
• Train, coach, and mentor team members, including career development, skills growth, and cross-training across Service Areas.
• Effectively manage employee performance (goal setting, priorities, feedback, coaching, reviews, recognition, and accountability).
• Oversee and manage team capacity to ensure optimal resource allocation, balancing workloads, and maintaining productivity levels.
• Develop people to consistently achieve or exceed job expectations.

Vendor Management

• Manage vendor relationships with existing vendors, ensuring service quality and compliance, while proactively identifying and evaluating potential new vendors to meet evolving business needs.
• Manage invoices and submit them in a timely manner.

Decision Making and Escalation Handling

• Make critical decisions to address complex technical issues and escalations.
• Serve as an escalation point for EMEA stakeholders and internal teams for incidents, problems, and operational issues, ensuring timely and effective resolution.
• Develop and maintain documentation for service desk and operations processes and procedures, adhering to organizational standards.

Projects, Process Ownership & Continuous Improvement

• Plan, coordinate, and implement service improvement initiatives to enhance the quality and efficiency of support services across L1.5 Onsite and L2 Operations.
• Monitor and report on service performance, identifying trends and areas for improvement, and driving actions in partnership with Service Area leads and global ETS Operations leadership.

QUALITIFICACTIONS

Knowledge & Experience

• 5+ years of experience leading a helpdesk, desktop support, or onsite support team; prior experience managing or leading L2 teams preferred.
• Ability to conduct research into a wide range of computing issues as required, absorb and retain information quickly, and present ideas in user-friendly language.
• Exceptional customer service orientation and experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Strong knowledge of computer hardware, software, and networking concepts, including Windows, macOS (OSx), hardware, and network troubleshooting , as well as experience with endpoint and laptop management platforms such as Microsoft Intune and Jamf.
• This is a hands-on leadership role; the Operations Manager is expected to actively participate in day-to-day onsite support and L1.5 service desk activities while providing strategic direction and guidance to the team.
• Familiarity with ServiceNow or other ITSM applications and strong understanding and working knowledge of ITIL concepts; ITIL certification preferred.
• Ability to analyze and troubleshoot technical issues independently and lead L1.5 and L2 teams effectively.
• Experience managing or coordinating L2 operations (infrastructure, applications, or endpoint support) is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting or managing a regional or global, hybrid workforce across time zones is preferred.

Core Skills & Behaviors

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; able to communicate clearly and credibly with both technical and non-technical audiences, including leadership.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, with a focus on rapport-building, listening, and problem solving skills.
• Exemplary documentation practices and attention to detail in tickets, KB articles, and project artifacts.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a strong bias for root cause analysis and prevention-oriented thinking and drive continuous improvement.
• Highly self-motivated, directed, and able to work with minimal supervision, using judgment and discretion to determine work priorities.
• Demonstrated leadership behaviors, including mentoring, driving accountability, influencing without authority, and modeling a continuous-improvement mindset.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and project deliverables in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment while maintaining composure and service excellence.
• Maintains calmness and clarity of thought under pressure and demonstrates a strong customer service orientation and sense of hospitality.
• Comfortable operating as a regional leader within a global organization, collaborating across Service Areas and geographies to deliver consistent, reliable operations support.

Education & Professional Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in business, information systems, computer science, or a related technical or business field.
• 5+ years of experience leading a helpdesk, desktop support, or onsite support team; prior experience managing or leading L2 teams preferred.
• ITIL certification preferred.
• Approximately 10-20% travel required to visit offices across EMEA as needed