Lead Incident & Operations Specialist

Virginia Commonwealth University•Richmond, VA

4d•$77,000 - $98,000•Remote

About The Position

VCU Telecommunications Services is seeking an experienced Lead Telecommunications Incident & Operations Specialist to join their team. This position strengthens operational support by leading first-level escalations, coordinating the timely triage and resolution of incidents and service requests, supporting daily telecom operations, and collaborating with internal teams and external vendors to deliver reliable, responsive, and high-quality telecommunications services across the university and health system. The Lead Incident & Operations Specialist is responsible for leading the response to telecom-related incidents and service requests, serving as the first-level escalation point before engaging senior technical, operational, or management stakeholders. This role ensures high quality support by assessing, triaging, and resolving a wide range of issues, including call quality problems, voicemail access issues, and service outages. The specialist performs advanced troubleshooting, escalates critical or unresolved issues according to established protocols, and ensures all incidents and changes are managed in alignment with department procedures and intervals. In addition to incident management, the role supports day-to-day telecom operations by processing complex MAC (Moves, Adds, and Changes) requests, coordinating with internal teams and external vendors, and driving efficient, accurate resolution of telecom service needs. The Lead Specialist is responsible for clear and timely communication with stakeholders, ensuring end users and management are kept informed during major outages. The role collaborates closely with cross-functional teams to support seamless service delivery. Additionally, the Lead Specialist maintains thorough documentation of incidents and work orders, and actively contributes to the development and maintenance of knowledge base resources to enhance team efficiency and drive continuous improvement. This position will require the ability and willingness to work flexible hours based on business needs and to support occasional on-site meetings, customer engagements, and/or attend professional development opportunities.

Requirements

College degree in telecommunications, information technology, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience.
Working knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) tools and practices, including incident, problem and change management processes.
Strong understanding and hands-on experience supporting enterprise voice telecommunications environments, including Avaya Aura Communication Manager, RingCentral, Avaya Workplace, and OpenText Voice Messaging or similar.
Skilled in voice system administration, call flow design, call routing, SIP trunking, VoIP and SIP endpoint provisioning, and softphone applications.
Proficiency in the use of technology to compose professional business email correspondence, manage inboxes efficiently, schedule and coordinate meetings, create reports and documentation, and build and manage spreadsheets for data tracking and reporting.
Proven experience leading the resolution of complex voice services incidents through advanced troubleshooting, exercising seasoned judgment in non-routine situations, coordinating cross-functional teams and vendors, and driving escalations to senior technical, operational, or management stakeholders when broader impact, risk, or strategic intervention is required.
Ability to work independently and effectively in a remote environment while remaining highly responsive and accountable during scheduled work hours.
Ability to exercise sound judgment, and proactively identify and recommend process improvements.
Ability to analyze incident trends and identify opportunities for service improvement.
Demonstrated ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple tasks in a fast paced, ticket driven environment while meeting deadlines with accuracy and adapting to changing priorities.
Exhibit strong written and verbal communication skills with proven ability to translate technical concepts into user-friendly language for diverse audiences, including end users, vendors, and leadership.
Proven ability to maintain a positive, professional, and empathetic demeanor, especially when dealing with frustrated clients.
Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a cross-functional team, fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment.
Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a university, academic medical center, or hospital setting with an understanding of the unique telecommunications needs in these environments.
Hands-on experience with caller menus.
Experience troubleshooting ACD services.
Experience with telecom expense management software (billing, incidents, service orders, inventory).

Responsibilities

Leading the response to telecom-related incidents and service requests.
Serving as the first-level escalation point before engaging senior technical, operational, or management stakeholders.
Assessing, triaging, and resolving a wide range of issues, including call quality problems, voicemail access issues, and service outages.
Performing advanced troubleshooting.
Escalating critical or unresolved issues according to established protocols.
Ensuring all incidents and changes are managed in alignment with department procedures and intervals.
Processing complex MAC (Moves, Adds, and Changes) requests.
Coordinating with internal teams and external vendors.
Driving efficient, accurate resolution of telecom service needs.
Communicating clearly and timely with stakeholders, ensuring end users and management are kept informed during major outages.
Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to support seamless service delivery.
Maintaining thorough documentation of incidents and work orders.
Contributing to the development and maintenance of knowledge base resources.
Mentoring or providing guidance to junior team members.
Meeting defined response and resolution intervals.
Providing leadership, guidance, and oversight to ensure team compliance with service targets and timely issue resolution.
Organizing, prioritizing, and managing multiple tasks in a fast-paced, ticket-driven environment.
Meeting deadlines with accuracy and adapting to changing priorities.
Translating technical concepts into user-friendly language for diverse audiences.
Maintaining a positive, professional, and empathetic demeanor, especially when dealing with frustrated clients.
Working effectively both independently and as part of a cross-functional team.
Fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment.
Working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.