Service Desk Manager

Job Summary

Central Washington University is recruiting a Service Desk Manager to join our CWU Service Desk team in Ellensurg, Washington. This role is an important member of our team as they enhance for the University. The role is a campus-based position, which means you get to see the lives you are impacting. Were offering a competitive salary plus the awesome CWU benefits.

Who we are:

We are a team of individuals committed to Changing Students Lives. No matter what job, each of us plays a part in supporting and empowering our students to fulfill their dreams.

Working in higher education provides career growth and career choice. Think of a university campus like a mini city, operating across 380 acres. Youll find diverse academics, libraries, athletics and sporting events, full service and quick serve dining, conferences and events from small to large, recreation centers, housing, health services, police and public safety for the campus population of ~8,300 students.

Central Washington University has been named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022-2023 academic year. In addition, for seven out of eight years, CWU was a recipient of the prestigious Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. RentCafe has also named CWU #13 of the Top 20 Best College Towns in the U.S. in 2025.

Come join us on our journey to encourage, inspire, and create spaces where all identities thrive on campus.

Tour our campus in Ellensburg here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjdhOegDa9A

What we offer:

Our investment in you begins the day you join our team, a healthy and successful future for you is important to us. We offer medical, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, tuition assistance for you and your dependents, discounts across town, an employee assistance program for individualized counseling, and a wellness incentive program. Learn more: Benefits, Perks, and Leave and Total Rewards Calculator.

The Role:

The Service Desk Manager is a working manager responsible for leading a team of staff focused on providing technical support to the entire CWU campus community. This position also serves as the senior technical resource for the Service Desk to assist in troubleshooting issues, providing support coverage when team members are absent and during times of high call volume, and monitoring incoming calls during off-hours (weekends, evenings, and holidays). The Service Desk Manager also serves as the Change Management Manager for the IS Change Management process, and Incident Manager for the IS Incident Management process.

All employees are expected to uphold and contribute to CWUs vision, mission, and values, fostering a culture of student success and institutional excellence. This position directly affects the vision, mission, and values of Central Washington University by practicing and promoting responsible stewardship of our technology resources, creating a welcoming and supportive environment, and through sustainable procedures that ensure the economic health of the university.

Job Duties

Service Desk Management

• Responsible for ensuring excellent customer service, coordinating timely support resolutions, performing request fulfilment, and for appropriately communicating IS initiatives to Service Desk staff and customers
• Schedules employee work hours/shifts; monitor hours worked; approve payable time and absence requests
• Manage department budget, create and maintain forecasts, and ensure spending does not exceed revenue. Identify opportunities for cost savings and/or new investments
• Actively engages in recruiting, evaluating, and developing staff
• Leads a performance culture through appraisals and other coaching
• Oversees and directs the work of staff; serves as mentor, coach and leader
• Takes corrective action or recognizes exceptional performance in a timely manner
• Promotes professional development opportunities
• Adjusts leadership style as needed to achieve results
• Communicates regularly with campus departments about IS resources and department support needs; act as an advocate for the campus community within IS
• Communicates information to staff on an ongoing basis to influence staff engagement and to be a part of a larger community
• Establish, manage, track, and report the daily metrics on all incidents and requests coming through the Service Desk
• Establish, manage, track, and report on service/organization level agreements related to IS services
• Identify opportunities for the Service Desk to improve its ability to resolve incidents and fulfill requests without escalating to other IS teams; work with IS leadership to transition responsibilities to the Service Desk as appropriate
• Differentiate between incidents and problems, inform appropriate technical teams when problems are identified, and coordinate problem resolution

Technical Duties

• Receive and respond to incoming calls, service desk tickets, email, or chat regarding technical incidents or campus support coordination. Provide critical support for end-user technology Provide technical assistance to faculty, staff, and students
• Make decisions on which tier support can respond and handle a service request, project or incident
• Takes ownership of unresolved technical issues, and escalates as necessary
• Operate a telephone system, route calls and provide outstanding support over the telephone
• Maintain technical skills and ability to support new technologies
• Identify, maintain, and support tools to enable remote assistance (including Remote Desktop, SCCM/MECM, VNC, Teams, Zoom, etc.)

Incident Management

• Create, maintain and update incident response information via the IS Service Desk website
• Responsible for the communication aspects of the Incident Management process and the corresponding reporting using ITIL best practices
• Administration of the Incident module in CWUs ITSM system
• Act as first stage of escalation for incidents when not resolved within agreed service levels
• Monitor IS change activity to ensure compliance with established policies and procedures; communicate compliance and non-compliance metrics to leadership

ITSM Administration

• Administration of the CWU IT Service Management system, TeamDynamix
• Maintain awareness of competing ITSM platforms, propose changes as appropriate or necessary
• Responsible for creating, maintaining, consulting, and updating the IS Service Catalog
• Responsible for creating, maintaining, and updating an effective IS Knowledge Base
• Responsible for creating, maintaining, and updating reports, self-service forms, service level agreements, and automations
• Collaborate and consult with internal Information Services (IS) teams to ensure that the platform configuration and processes support organizational needs, and build customer requirements and design documentation for enhancements on the platform
• Responsible for user interface design and administration to maintain and/or improve usability
• Identify and champion opportunities for user self-service options through the platform, decreasing the number of calls, emails, and tickets submitted by users
• Work with other departments at CWU (HR, FMD, etc.) to identify opportunities to leverage the ITSM tool for other functions and implement as appropriate
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Five (5) years related work experience, with a minimum of 2 years as a manager of staff
• Technical experience with high-volume, mission-critical applications and systems
• Experience using an enterprise-level ITSM platform
• Working level knowledge of ITIL v3 (or later) processes and best practices
• Experience providing effective and efficient customer service
• Strong communication and organization skills
• Demonstrated strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Ability to work independently on tasks and monitor progress against defined parameters
• Demonstrated ability and/or experience fostering a supportive and effective workplace while working with students and/or colleagues to uphold institutional excellence
• OR any combination of education and experience which clearly demonstrates the ability to accomplish the essential functions of the job

Preferred Qualifications

• BA/BS from an accredited four year college or university with major course work in business operations/management information systems, computer science or related field
• ITIL Foundations and/or advanced ITIL certifications
• Experience defining, developing, and reporting SLAs, OLAs, metrics, and KPIs related to Service Desk operations
• Experience working in an environment with a formal change management process
• Work experience in a higher education environment
• Experience administering the TeamDynamix,ServiceNow or another similar ITSM platform
• Life experiences that demonstrate an ability to contribute to CWU`s vision, mission, and values

Competencies

• Accountability/Dependability: Accepts responsibility for quality of own work; acknowledges and corrects mistakes. Shows up on time, meets standards, deadlines, and work schedules.
• Judgement: Makes timely, informed decisions. Analyzes options and determines appropriate course of action.
• Teamwork: Promotes cooperation and mutual support to achieve goals. Encourages participation and mutual support.
• Adaptability/Flexibility: Responds positively to changing business needs and responsibilities. Adapts approach and methods to achieve results; recovers quickly from setbacks and finds alternatives.
• Commitment to Belonging: Values the uniqueness of every individual and fosters an environment where everyone feels respected and empowered to thrive.

Dont meet every single requirement? At CWU, were committed to creating a welcoming and genuine workplace. If youre excited about this role but your experience doesnt align perfectly with every qualification, we still encourage you to apply. This could be the opportunity youre looking for!

Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule

Salary: The Hiring Departments expected hiring range is $97,000 - $113,328 annually. Individual placement within the hiring range is based on the candidates current experience, education, skills, and abilities related to the position. In accordance with RCW 49.58.110, the full annual salary range for this position is $90,662 to $135,993.

Schedule/Appointment: Monday - Friday, 8am to 5pm, hours may vary (1-hour lunch)

Working Conditions: Work is performed in an indoor office setting with frequent in-person interactions. It is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods of time, perform extensive data entry and other computer-related tasks and create/maintain filing systems for departmental records. Some evening or weekend work and/or occasional travel may be required.

Benefits: CWU offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical and dental insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, life and disability insurance, along with vacation and sick leave plans depending on employment classification. For additional information please visit Benefits, Perks, and Leave and Total Rewards Calculator.

An employee of CWU may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program if the employee has student loans. To learn more, visit: https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/public-service-loan-forgiveness-program.

How To Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the on-line application and attach:

• A detailed cover letter clearly demonstrating how your education and experience: (a) meet the required (and, as applicable, preferred) qualifications, and (b) demonstrate the ability to perform the responsibilities as described by the posting;

• Resume including work history, education, training; and

• Contact information for three professional references.

Screening Begins: June 24, 2026

Priority will be given to applications received by the screening date. Incomplete applications may not be considered.

Contact Information

Name: Stacy Swayze

Title: Director, Customer Experience

Email: stacy.swayze@cwu.edu

Phone: 509-963-2001

Website: https://www.cwu.edu/about/offices/information-services/service-desk/

Please contact Human Resources at hr@cwu.edu or 509-963-1202 if you require technical assistance with the on-line application process.

Conditions of Employment

Background Check/Reference Check Process:

Prior to employment, final candidate(s) will be required to sign a Sexual Misconduct disclosure in pursuant to RCW 28B.112.080 and submit to a background check. All information obtained through background investigations will be strictly confidential and revealed only to those required to have access.

Notice to Prospective Employees:

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Statement

Central Washington University is an EEO/AA/Title IX Institution. Central Washington Universitys policies and practices affirm and actively promote the rights of all individuals to equal opportunity in education and employment. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, age, marital status, disability, or status as a protected veteran is prohibited. The university provides an internal procedure for reporting discrimination and affords protection against retaliation for participating in the complaint process. Central Washington University complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and executive orders including when soliciting bids and in the fulfillment of all contracts with governmental agencies. Direct related inquiries to Civil Rights Compliance, 202 Barge Hall, Ellensburg, WA 98926-7501; Telephone 509-963-2050; or email crc@cwu.edu.

Reasonable Accommodations

Central Washington University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment. Employment opportunities will not be denied because of the need to make reasonable accommodations for a qualified individual with a disability. If you need assistance or accommodation in applying because of a disability, please contact Human Resources at HR@cwu.edu or call 509-963-1202. This job announcement and other material on this site will be made available in alternate formats upon request to an individual with a disability.

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report (Clery Act)

For the Central Washington University Annual Security and Fire Safety Report (i.e. Clery Report) which includes statistics about reported crimes and information about campus security policies, available online here or call CWU Police and Parking Services at 509-963-2959 for a paper copy.