Assistant Manager Help Desk

About Baird & Warner Real Estate

Behind every great company is a culture created by the professionals who work there. It’s what has earned Baird & Warner a Top Workplace designation from the Chicago Tribune ten times. Throughout our rich history, we’ve stayed true to the belief that when you give people the support they need, amazing things happen. That’s why we empower you to be independent, grow in your career, do the right thing by your colleagues and your community, and have a true work/life balance. We truly care about making our team feel part of something bigger by sharing a single purpose — making it easier for homebuyers and sellers to realize their real estate dreams.

Job Summary

Responsible for providing timely advanced support to all internal and remote end-users on a variety of workstation, hardware, software, network and peripheral devices within set company standards and guidelines. Assists with managing infrastructure, policies/procedures, and workflows, mentoring and providing resource support to the IT Support Technician positions. Exhibits strong commitment to the service needs of the internal and external customer. Represents the company in a professional and courteous manner.

This position requires on-site work at least 2 days/week at our Downtown Chicago Loop office (120 S Lasalle Dr. Chicago, IL 60603) with occasional travel to local branch offices.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Serve as an escalation point for the help desk team
• Single point of contact for all incident escalation across our businesses
• Ensure superior customer service is always given
• Be hands-on and resolve incidents as needed to ensure SLA’s are met
• Create documentation and playbooks as needed
• Manage the ticketing system, generate reporting and analysis
• Provide recommendations for improvements
• Travel to locations in the Chicagoland area, occasionally as needed
• Manage day-to-day operations of the Helpdesk ensuring all processes used by the Helpdesk are thoroughly documented, audited, maintained, and followed in line with the firm's goals and compliance requirements
• Manage response procedures for end-user requests, issues, escalations in line with ITIL standards and industry best practices
• Provide strong leadership and support to all Helpdesk team members, including assigning tasks, resolving conflicts, training and mentoring
• Share data insights on a monthly basis with IT leadership
• Manage the firm's IT Service Management tool, including tracking incidents, asset inventory, and all other user-related hardware/software
• Maintain a high level of user call-to-resolve experience/satisfaction
• Approve/manage team members timesheets
• Manage on-call shifts and assignments

Technical Skills & Technology Environment

• Google Workspace Administration (User provisioning/deprovisioning, Groups, Gmail, Drive, Shared Drives, Security & Compliance, Endpoint Management)
• Microsoft Active Directory (User and Group Management, Group Policy, Authentication, Permissions)
• Cisco Meraki (Cloud-managed networking, firewalls, wireless access points, switching, VPN connectivity, and dashboard administration)
• Datto RMM / Endpoint Management (Endpoint monitoring, patch management, software deployment, scripting, automation, and remote administration)
• Freshworks Platform
• • FreshService (IT Service Management, asset management, change management, service catalog, reporting)
  • Freshdesk (Incident and request management)
  • Freshcaller (Call routing, support operations, and customer communications)
• Jira (Project tracking, workflow management, task coordination, and cross-functional collaboration)
• Windows 10/11 workstation administration and troubleshooting
• Hardware deployment, lifecycle management, peripheral support, and endpoint security
• Remote support technologies and administration of distributed users
• Basic networking concepts including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPNs, wireless networking, and endpoint connectivity

Preferred Experience

• Demonstrated experience leading or serving as a senior member of an enterprise Help Desk or Service Desk team.
• Hands-on experience operating within ITIL and IT Service Management (ITSM) frameworks, including Incident, Problem, Change, Knowledge, and Asset Management.
• Experience helping develop, document, implement, and continuously improve Help Desk processes, workflows, service catalogs, knowledge bases, and operational standards.
• Proven ability to establish and mature Help Desk operations by creating documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), playbooks, escalation paths, SLAs, KPIs, and reporting metrics.
• Experience administering and optimizing ITSM platforms, including workflow automation, ticket lifecycle management, asset inventory, reporting, and service delivery improvements.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis skills with the ability to identify opportunities for automation and process improvement.
• Experience supporting multi-site organizations and collaborating with cross-functional business units while maintaining exceptional customer service.
• PBX experience is a plus

What this role will bring:

Demonstrated experience building and maturing Help Desk operations through the implementation of ITIL and ITSM best practices, including process documentation, workflow development, SLA management, knowledge management, and continuous service improvement.

Requirements

• Associates degree in field or related area

• 5 years’ experience in field or related area
• 3 years’ experience with networking equipment
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, train, and appropriately delegate responsibilities
• Advanced knowledge and experience in operating systems, networks, hardware, software protocols and standards, etc.
• Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving and support skills
• Demonstrates exceptional customer service skills and ability to train team to same level
• Ability to work with clients remotely with or without remote assistance software
• Ability to work as needed, on-call to assist with emergencies
• Effective oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work with a diverse group of people in a collaborative environment
• Ability to handle multiple projects and thrive in a fast-paced environment
• A valid driver’s license and reliable transportation is required
• Ability to maintain a 95% or higher Service Level Agreement (SLA).
• Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals
• A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected
• Physical lifting of computers and light equipment

Benefits

Medical, dental, 401k, PTO, VTO

Salary Range

$65,000-$75,000