Manager, Enterprise IT Device Systems and Support

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600 schools and employing nearly 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of Information and Technology Services (ITS) works to build the capacity of schools to use information and technology, maintain network infrastructure, security standards, and support other departments to meet district goals. ITS provides innovative technology solutions that improve the quality of education for students, reduce the administrative burden on educators, facilitate parent interaction, increase community engagement, and support CPS' mission of transparency by focusing on the ease and equity of access to information.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Director of School Technology and Support, the Manager of Enterprise IT Device Systems and Support will oversee the implementation and maintenance of the District's end-user Device Management, Service Desk Management, Field Support Services, and Managed Services teams, where the department works with CPS Schools and Central Office employees to demonstrate the best technology practices and mobile tools for the classroom. This role will also oversee the work of team leads, service desk analysts, engineers, and field support vendors by providing guidance, leadership, and technical architectural oversight. The Manager of Enterprise IT Device Systems and Support will work closely with other ITS teams, Network Chiefs, Principals, Central Office staff, Students, Parents, and other stakeholders to deploy, resolve, and improve Technology services throughout the District.

The Manager, Enterprise IT Device Systems & Support will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Serve as a technology ambassador to network staff, school administrators, technology coordinators, and central office staff.
• Lead the teams that provide tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three end-user support to the Service Desk and, Field School Support, as well as coordinate support with other IT groups and CPS departments.
• Establish and uphold Service Desk best practices, expectations, and procedures surrounding areas including but not limited to:
• Customer service expectations, metrics, and benchmarks.
• Effective, accurate monitoring, reporting, and resolution of technology incidents escalated from other ITS teams.
• Appropriate handling of diverse incidents and technological problems using critical thinking to resolve problems or client-impacting events.
• Troubleshooting technical issues while gathering pertinent information to resolve or escalate the problem to appropriate teams.
• Analyzing change requests and escalated Incidents from Schools, Networks, and central office users, and the development of solutions or workarounds as appropriate.
• Addressing questions and concerns about functionality for current and future versions of IT Technology applications.
• Proactively communicate and collaborate with internal and external customers to analyze information needs and both technical and functional requirements, and to deliver artifacts needed by the internal IT team to triage issues effectively.
• Provide guidance, direction, and professional development to a team of engineers and team leaders responsible for customer-facing technology services, comprising client computing and end-user technology device management, end-user device engineering and experience, and the Client Services Managed Services program, including providing coaching, feedback, and performance management.
• Develop and execute sourcing strategies to ensure the best value service delivery model.
• Lead the district towards hardware and software that is highly available and high performance.
• Work with peers in Infrastructure Services to lead in developing automation, integration, and efficiency.
• Leverage quality, cost, and customer satisfaction metrics to deliver the right services and service levels to the select schools participating in the managed services program.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with vendor partners and CPS schools, ensuring technology service needs are met and issues resolved.
• Effectively manage vendor partners, including addressing issues/concerns and providing solutions.
• Develop technology strategies that support long-term growth and sustainability in the end-user technology space.
• Collaborate with industry leaders and peers to set standards of high-quality service, desktop software solutions, and hardware solutions for CPS schools and business units.
• Identify and implement innovative solutions to business problems and apply as relevant in support of the CPS's mission and key initiatives.
• Lead, develop and implement best practices and drive the process of creative thinking and solutions.
• Provide opportunities and framework for team members' career advancement.
• Create and manage department budget, forecast, and report on end-of-life OS and HW lifecycle within a 5-Year planning cycle.
• Other duties as assigned.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Manager, Enterprise IT Device Systems & Support must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required.
• Professional certifications/designations such as CompTIA A , Microsoft Office Specialist, Microsoft Certified Professional, Apple Certified iOS Technician, Google ChromeOS Administrator or Engineer, ITIL v4.0, preferred.

Experience Required:

• Minimum of seven (7) years of professional IT experience in Service Desk Management, Field School Support, Desktop Support, or Device Management, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience in a supervisory/management position responsible for leading a team of direct reports, including first and second-tier field engineers (schedules, performance, metrics, processes, etc.).
• Experience managing user requests, staff performance, problem resolutions, root cause analysis, change management, and knowledge base management.
• Experience managing operational metrics, project tracking, and reporting.
• Experience with LAN and WAN technologies.
• Experience providing technical support for computing infrastructure.
• Experience developing, implementing, and managing service-level agreements, operating-level agreements, and underpinning contracts.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to maintain knowledge of competing projects and programs across departments and outside areas of responsibility.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including capabilities in conflict resolution, negotiation, influence, and delivering/facilitating presentations to broad audiences.
• Strong leadership and team building skills, e.g. ability to develop high-performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success
• Strong technical expertise in Microsoft Windows & Office 365 Suite, Apple iOS Apps for Education, and the Google Workspace Apps for Education Suite.
• In-depth knowledge of Mobile Device Management (MDM) and familiarity with MDM solutions, e.g., Microsoft Intune Mobile Device Management, Absolute IT Asset Management, Jamf Apple Device Management.
• Strong Knowledge of end-user mobile hardware, software, and support services.
• Strong technical expertise and experience with Macintosh software and Apple hardware.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex systems.
• Ability to build effective, collaborative relationships with a variety of stakeholders at all levels of the organization, including external partners, to ensure the team operates in the most effective manner possible to support organizational success.
• Self-motivated with an ability to successfully prioritize tasks.
• Strong background in enterprise information systems management, including networking.
• Familiarity with Windows server architectures.
• Wireless network (Wi-Fi) setup.
• Analysis and investigation skills, with a structured approach to problem-solving.
• Understanding of associated ITIL principles.
• Ability to write, review and edit Root Cause documentation summarizing incidents & problems and corrective actions necessary to ensure there is no recurrence.

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. "Up-to-date" on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.