Director of IT Customer Service

Join Team NCSSM at the #1 rated Best Public High School in America for 2025

POSITION TYPE: Permanent, 12-month, EHRA Exempt Professional Staff (EPS), FLSA Exempt, 1.0 FTE

HIRING SALARY RANGE: $81,434 - $85,000

Hiring salary will be determined based on education, experience, equity, budget, and market considerations.

NCSSM and Information Technology Services (ITS) foster an environment of collaboration across departments and divisions and support community-engaged service and research. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as an individual with a disability, or status as a protected veteran or national guard. If you are an individual with disabilities requiring accommodations in the application and interview process, please contact us at hr@ncssm.edu.

Description of Duties:

The Director of IT Customer Service provides leadership for NCSSM's customer-facing IT operations across both campuses. This role is responsible for cultivating a customer-centric service culture while managing a diverse team of IT professionals who deliver comprehensive support spanning help desk services, hardware deployment and maintenance, software licensing and support, and technical guidance of all kinds. The director oversees four full-time staff members, establishing service standards, implementing best practices, and ensuring consistent high-quality customer support throughout the institution.

This position requires a collaborative leader who can bridge technical operations with user needs, proactively identify emerging requirements, and implement innovative solutions to fulfill the missions of ITS and NCSSM in general. This director anticipates organizational technology needs, mitigates potential risks, and develops forward-thinking strategies to continuously improve IT service delivery. Additionally, this role manages a portfolio of projects ranging from immediate operational improvements to strategic initiatives with long-term institutional impact, requiring thorough organizational abilities, a strong work ethic, and exceptional communication skills when engaging with faculty, staff, students, and executive leadership.

The Director is responsible for overseeing and improving critical IT service areas including, but not limited to:

• Device management and procurement (computers, mobile devices, printers, and peripherals), in partnership with ITS' cybersecurity team

• IT asset inventory, lifecycle management, and surplus

• User account creation, management, and secure best practices, in alignment with our institutional data governance initiatives

• Software deployment, licensing, support, and vendor management

• Knowledge base and documentation management in ITS' community-facing wiki

• Help desk ticket system administration and workflow optimization

• Customer support processes, including in-person and remote, and review of service level agreements and performance metrics

• Technology onboarding, training, and professional development programs

• Recurring preventative maintenance processes for end user equipment and software

• Audio-visual equipment and classroom technology selection, deployment, and support

• Print services and management, in partnership with ITS' infrastructure and operations team

This position will be eligible to be hybrid, with a portion of the work in-person and a portion remote.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Customer service leadership and supervision

• Leads a team of customer-oriented IT professionals, including two help desk technicians, a device manager, and an application administrator

• Monitors and evaluates the performance of the IT customer service team

• Develops procedures for ITS' customer service operations

• Works with team to ensure customer issues and complaints are resolved in a timely and efficient manner

• Provides and supports training and professional development opportunities for ITS' customer service team

• Represents ITS to customers and the institution as a whole

• Collaborates with other departments to ensure that IT needs are met

• Identifies and implements solutions to improve the quality of ITS' services and the customer experience

Application administration

• Deploys applications to the community based on an assessment of institutional needs, and in line with ITS' evaluation processes

• Ensures that all user-facing IT systems and applications are properly configured, maintained, updated, and documented

• Monitors application efficacy and performance, and identifies and resolves issues as they arise

• Manages vendor relationships around critical institutional applications

• Partners with ITS' cybersecurity team to implement security measures to protect against threats

Account management

• Oversees account management work for all institutional programs and locations, including onboarding, offboarding, maintenance, and support in partnership with ITS' infrastructure and operations team

• Coordinates with stakeholders for development of efficient processes for account creation and suspension in all systems, both internal and external to ITS

• Ensures development of appropriate role assignments and permissions, and builds processes to promote accurate assignment and mitigation of risk

• Collaborates with ITS leadership to ensure ongoing adherence to best practices in data governance, cybersecurity, and privacy

Project management

• Oversees and manages a variety of IT projects of all sizes

• Develops project plans and timelines

• Coordinates resources and ensures projects are completed on time and within budget

• Manages project risks and issues

• Communicates project status to ITS leadership stakeholders, and the community

• Evaluates project outcomes and makes recommendations for improvements

User support

• Serves as top tier of escalation for customer support requests

• Directly troubleshoots and resolves technical issues for users related to hardware, software, and and more

• Monitors and ensures timely completion of overall requests for support

• Collaborates with other ITS team members to ensure a seamless user experience

Training and communication oversight

• Oversees the development and implementation of IT training programs and resources for the community

• Provides direct training for, and writes user-facing documentation on, the ITS' systems and service offerings

• Develops and implements communication plans to keep the community informed about ITS operations

• Ensures that ITS' customer service staff are up-to-date on the latest technologies and best practices

Leadership & Supervision

• Experience managing and developing customer-oriented IT teams in an educational environment

• Proven ability to mentor, motivate, and evaluate staff performance effectively

• Excellent communication, in individual and group settings, which extends to setting clear expectations and goals

• Skill in leading staff in making service delivery improvements

• Ability to coordinate and balance workloads across team members while ensuring timely service quality

Customer Focus

• Demonstrated commitment to exceptional customer service and satisfaction

• Experience translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences

• Skill in building strong relationships with diverse stakeholders across an organization

• Excellent listening skills and a history of implementing customer feedback mechanisms to improve service

• Ability to anticipate user needs and proactively develop solutions

Technical Knowledge

• Strong understanding of IT equipment, applications, systems, and methodologies, in particular in an academic environment

• Familiarity with educational needs, specifically including, but not limited to, Student Information Systems (SISs), Learning Management Systems (LMSs), and the equipment and applications used in the classroom

• Knowledge of help desk ticketing systems, service management tools, project management products, and documentation systems

• Clear understanding of information security and privacy best practices and compliance requirements

Problem-Solving

• Exceptional analytical skills for diagnosing complex technical issues

• Experience implementing effective and efficient troubleshooting practices

• Ability to identify root causes of recurring problems, and proven track record in the mitigation of these types of issues

• Skill in developing and deploying scalable solutions to improve service reliability

• Creative approach to resolving service challenges and user requirements with limited resources

Communication

• Excellent written and verbal communication across all levels of the organization and at all levels of comfort with IT

• Experience creating clear documentation and step-by-step knowledge base articles

• Ability to quickly and effectively communicate service changes and technical updates to community

• Skill in leading productive technical and service-oriented meetings and trainings

• Talent for advocating for IT resources and explaining technical needs

Innovation

• Demonstrated ability to identify and implement emerging technologies

• Experience modernizing IT service operations and workflows

• History of leveraging automation and self-service options to improve efficiency and drive process improvement

• Skill in evaluating new tools and technologies for improved service delivery

• Forward-thinking approach to evolving customer support methodologies

Education can be substituted year-for-year with additional experience.

Master's degree and 1-2 years of relevant experience, or bachelor's degree and 2-4 years of relevant experience.

Team NCSSM Benefits

NCSSM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package designed to support the well-being, growth, and work-life balance of our employees. Highlights include generous vacation and sick leave; 12 annual holidays; paid parental, family medical, and community service leave; and flexible work schedules where applicable. Leave is earned monthly and pro-rated for part-time employees and those working less than 12 months. Employees also enjoy access to the State Health Plan, multiple retirement options (including TSERS and ORP), supplemental retirement savings plans, tuition waiver benefits across the UNC System, and free access to on-site facilities like a gym, library, and cafeteria. Additional perks include life insurance, disability coverage, flexible spending accounts, and membership eligibility with the State Employees Credit Union.

Please visit NCSSM Employee Benefits for more information.

About NCSSM:

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a world-class public high school with statewide reach empowering academically talented students from diverse backgrounds from every corner of the state to design their own future. We offer residential high school programs in Durham and Morganton for juniors and seniors or virtual high school courses and programs that students can take alongside their local curriculum, all tuition free. Our wide array of summer offerings for rising 5th- through 12th-graders includes free opportunities for in-state students alongside paid options for students from anywhere in the world. NCSSM Extended Learning partners with communities and regions to advance student learning and outcomes.

Specializing in science, technology, engineering, and math, and embracing the fine arts and humanities, NCSSM has become the model for 18 such specialized schools around the globe since its founding in 1980 and is a full constituent of the University of North Carolina System. NCSSM's Ignite + Transform comprehensive campaign seeks to raise $50 million in private support for our mission.

The new NCSSM-Morganton campus opened in 2022 for summer programs and its first fall academic term. NCSSM-Morganton focuses on the booming fields of data science and artificial intelligence, preparing the leaders of tomorrow to navigate a future driven by data and machine learning, with emphasis on the humanistic implications and ethical use of these tools.

Nearly two-thirds of NCSSM graduates earn a bachelor's degree in a STEM field -- over three times the national average, including 58 percent of our underrepresented minority graduates, which is nearly four times the national average. Nearly three-quarters have earned or are seeking a graduate degree. A 2020 economic impact study found that 54 percent of our alumni continue to live and work in North Carolina, catalyzing nearly $1.3 billion in annual economic activity. NCSSM values the diversity in our student body, and all members of the NCSSM community are expected to foster a safe environment of respect and inclusion for all faculty, staff, and students.

For more information, please read the NCSSM strategic plan and visit ncssm.edu.

How to Apply:

Submit electronic application via this link: Director of IT Customer Service.

Please complete your application in full. All required Competencies, Work History, and Credentials must appear on the application in the Education and Work Experience sections of the application to receive consideration during the selection process. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completing the State Application form in its entirety. "See Attached Resume or an Embedded Text Resume" will be considered incomplete and will not be processed. Degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Applicants seeking Veteran's Preference must attach a DD form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, along with the state application. Applicants seeking National Guard Preference must attach a NGB 23A (RPAS) if they are a current member of the NC National Guard in good standing. If applicants are a former member of the NC National Guard who served for at least six years and was discharged under honorable conditions, they must attach either a DD256 or NGB 22 along with their state application.

Final candidates are subject to criminal and sex offender background checks. Some vacancies also require a motor vehicle check. If the highest degree is from an institution outside of the U.S., final candidates are required to have their degree equivalency verified at www.wes.org or equivalent service. NCSSM participates in E-Verify. Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States.

Please refrain from submitting multiple applications. However, if multiple applications are submitted to a posting, only the most recent application received prior to the posting close date will be accepted. There is a 24 hour waiting period before an applicant can re-apply to a position.

If you have questions, please contact Tracy Fullgraf at fullgraf@ncssm.edu.

NCSSM is an EEO/eVerify/VEVRAA Employer