Manager, IT Service Management

Novolex•Lake Forest, IL

7d•$126,000 - $210,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager, IT Service Management (ITSM) is a results-driven operational leader responsible for translating enterprise ITSM strategy into reliable, customer-focused service delivery across Novolex. Reporting to the Director, IT Service Management, this role provides operational governance for day-to-day IT service operations, ensuring services are delivered consistently, incidents are resolved with urgency, SLAs are met, and employee interactions with IT reflect a high standard of professionalism and accountability. This leader oversees three interconnected service domains: Service Desk operations, User Access Management, and the ServiceNow platform. Positioned between strategic direction and operational execution, the Senior Manager converts priorities into disciplined, measurable outcomes by driving accountability, secure access practices, continuous improvement, and consistent service performance across internal teams and managed service partners. As Novolex accelerates operations across manufacturing, packaging, and distribution, reliable IT service delivery directly impacts employee productivity, operational continuity, and business confidence in IT. The Senior Manager, ITSM delivers measurable value across four critical dimensions: Operational Service Reliability: Ensure IT services are available, performant, and continuously improving — minimizing business disruption through disciplined incident response and proactive operational practices. Service Quality: Reinforce consistent, professional IT support practices that meet business expectations and sustain confidence in operational service delivery. SLA & Performance Accountability: Own service level commitments end-to-end, driving the operational discipline to consistently achieve performance targets across all support tiers and IT service domains. Continuous Service Improvement: Identify, prioritize, and execute improvement initiatives that reduce friction, minimize repeat incidents, and elevate service quality across the organization.

Requirements

ITIL 4 Foundation certification required.
7+ years of progressive experience in IT Service Management, service desk operations, or IT service delivery within large enterprise environments.
3+ years in a management or senior leadership role overseeing a service desk or ITSM operations team.
Solid working knowledge of ITIL-aligned operational practices, including Service Request Fulfillment, service desk performance management, and access request fulfillment.
Experience using and administering an enterprise ITSM platform — ServiceNow strongly preferred, including ticket workflows, SLA configuration, catalog management, and reporting.
Proven ability to manage SLA performance, analyze service metrics, and implement targeted operational improvements with measurable results.
Experience overseeing user access request processes, identity lifecycle coordination, or access fulfillment controls in an enterprise environment.
Strong customer service orientation with a demonstrated track record of improving service quality and operational responsiveness.
Strong data-driven mindset — comfortable building and interpreting operational dashboards, performance scorecards, and executive-facing service reports.
Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, with the ability to interact professionally with end users, business stakeholders, and senior IT leadership.
Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field required.
Equivalent combination of relevant education and progressive ITSM leadership experience will be considered.

Nice To Haves

ITIL 4 Managing Professional certification or active progress toward completion.
HDI Support Center Team Lead (SCTL) or Support Center Manager (SCM) certification.
ServiceNow Certified System Administrator (CSA) or ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist — ITSM (CIS-ITSM).
Experience in manufacturing, packaging, distribution, or consumer goods industries.
Familiarity with enterprise governance frameworks including COBIT, ISO 20000, or SOX IT controls.

Responsibilities

Provide senior operational oversight of the service desk function delivered through a managed services provider, ensuring service reliability, SLA attainment, and alignment with business expectations.
Serve as the senior escalation point for high-priority service desk issues, ensuring timely resolution, effective business communication, and accountable follow-through.
Monitor service desk queue health, staffing coverage, first contact resolution rates, and service quality across all support channels.
Define service desk operating expectations, escalation standards, and performance controls to drive consistency, accountability, and measurable service outcomes.
Oversee Incident Management, Request Fulfillment, and Major Incident response coordination, including stakeholder communications, bridge management, and post-incident reviews.
Analyze ticket volume trends, recurring incident patterns, and queue aging to identify systemic issues and drive root cause remediation through Problem Management collaboration.
Report service desk performance trends, operational risks, and recommended corrective actions to the Director, ITSM and senior IT leadership.
Partner with IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, applications, and other IT tower leaders to remove service barriers, accelerate resolution, and improve cross-functional accountability.
Provide operational oversight for user access request fulfillment, ensuring access is delivered accurately, securely, and in alignment with business, compliance, and identity governance requirements.
Oversee user access request workflows, approvals, fulfillment quality, and SLA performance across enterprise systems and applications.
Partner with cybersecurity, application owners, HR, and managed services providers to ensure access is provisioned, modified, and removed according to defined controls and lifecycle events.
Monitor access request queues, aging, exception handling, and recurring fulfillment issues to improve accuracy, timeliness, and compliance readiness.
Support audit and compliance activities by ensuring access fulfillment processes are documented, traceable, and consistently followed.
Oversee the operational use and continuous improvement of the ServiceNow ITSM platform, ensuring it serves as the core platform for IT service delivery, request workflow execution, knowledge management, and performance visibility.
Ensure ServiceNow is used consistently and effectively by service desk and ITSM operations teams, maintaining accurate ticket data, categorization standards, SLA configuration, and reporting integrity.
Own the ServiceNow service catalog — maintaining accurate service offerings, fulfillment workflows, and request routing rules that reflect current IT capabilities and business needs.
Manage and expand the Novolex IT knowledge base within ServiceNow, ensuring articles are current, accurate, peer-reviewed, and accessible to both IT staff and end users via the self-service portal.
Own the ServiceNow enhancement roadmap for ITSM operations, including intake, prioritization, testing, validation, deployment coordination, workflow automation, AI-assisted capabilities, virtual agent improvements, and catalog enhancements.
Ensure ServiceNow dashboards and reports provide accurate operational visibility into FCR, MTTR, SLA attainment, backlog aging, CSAT scores, catalog performance, and overall platform data quality.
Own SLA compliance across incident priorities and service request categories, tracking performance in real time and intervening proactively when trends indicate risk of breach.
Present concise service performance summaries and trend insights to senior IT leadership, highlighting risks, corrective actions, and improvement priorities.
Establish and monitor operational KPIs aligned to business outcomes, using performance trends to improve service quality across ITSM functions.
Provide leadership, direction, and performance oversight for internal ITSM contributors while coordinating operational execution with managed services partners and cross-functional IT teams. Set clear expectations, reinforce accountability, and build a service culture focused on quality, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
Conduct regular one-on-one check-ins, performance reviews, and individual development planning conversations to grow team capability, engagement, and career progression.
Manage staffing schedules, shift coverage, and on-call rotations to ensure appropriate support coverage across all business hours and critical operational windows.
Partner with IT leadership and HR to recruit, onboard, and retain top ITSM talent, building bench strength and organizational resilience within the service delivery function.
Facilitate team training, certification support, and cross-skilling initiatives across ITIL, HDI, ServiceNow, and identity governance tools to improve service quality, access fulfillment accuracy, and career growth.
Manage the operating relationship with managed services providers, holding partners accountable for service desk performance, ITSM process execution, service quality, and continuous improvement commitments.
Participate in vendor performance reviews, providing operational data and frontline service observations to inform contract management and renewal decisions.
Drive provider accountability for service risk, major incident outcomes, recurring issue remediation, and continuous improvement commitments.