Associate Director of Client Support and Services (Hybrid Opportunity)

About UMass Amherst

The flagship of the Commonwealth, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a nationally ranked public land-grant research university that seeks to expand educational access, fuel innovation and creativity, and share and use its knowledge for the common good. Founded in 1863, UMass Amherst sits on nearly 1,450-acres in scenic Western Massachusetts and boasts state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. The institution advances a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where everyone feels connected and valued-and thrives, and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, and 100 undergraduate majors. We believe every member of our university community can contribute to our ongoing success by striving for the highest level of excellence as we seek breakthrough solutions to mounting environmental, social, economic, and technological challenges in our world.

Job Summary

The Associate Director of Client Support and Services oversees technical teams delivering desktop support and innovative computer classroom technology to the UMass Amherst community. This role manages desktop technology administration, infrastructure, security, and equipment compliance for executives, faculty, staff, and administrators. Additionally, the position ensures continuous access to cutting-edge software and services vital to academic programs, both online and on campus. The Associate Director collaborates with departments and IT teams to develop strategic solutions for instructional and administrative needs and provides expert guidance on technology procurement, security protocols, and infrastructure management.

Essential Functions

Operations Management & Technical Support

• Oversee the team that provides technical support for executives, faculty, and staff for file servers, desktops, laptops, printers, and mobile devices for end users in multiple departments. Support functions include recording, classification, troubleshooting, and resolution of client incidents and service requests. Direct support activities related to a large network of Windows or Mac desktops including software image creation and deployment experience within an enterprise-scale research university.
• Ensure appropriate communication, establish escalation processes, direct project and work prioritization, and analyze and report on Key Performance Indicators and trends to meet Service Level Agreement targets and identify efficiencies and areas of improvement. Develop and monitor daily, weekly, and monthly productivity metrics to ensure high customer satisfaction and to establish equal workload among the team members.

Infrastructure and Resource Management

• Oversee the operations related to management of groups responsible for providing access to software and services available from IT computer classrooms, departmental labs in multiple locations across campus, and virtual infrastructure to UMass Amherst students, faculty, and staff.Direct the planning and implementation of long and short-term goals for IT hardware and software acquisition development and deployment across academic, administrative and classroom spaces.
• Support facilities and budget planning activities for assigned units; manage budgets and resources to ensure their effective use and the delivery of exceptional support and services. Prepare reports as needed for broad audiences at all levels.

Performance Evaluation and Process Improvement

• Ensure appropriate communication, establish escalation processes, direct project and work prioritization, and analyze and report on Key Performance Indicators and trends to meet Service Level Agreement targets and identify efficiencies and areas of improvement. Develop and monitor daily, weekly, and monthly productivity metrics to ensure high customer satisfaction and to establish equal workload among the team members.
• Assist with selected organizational assessments of central and distributed IT operations and the development and implementation of service and business process improvements and standard operating procedures across campus. Collaborate with IT units and campus stakeholders to foster communication, innovation, and streamlined services to provide high quality, effective and reliable desktop support across campus.

Planning and Collaboration

• Participate in IT and campus strategic and operational planning efforts to align IT priorities and actions in support of university-wide goals. Establish and maintain relationships with faculty, students and academic departments and partner in the development of strategic plans that meet campus instructional needs and issues around multimodal delivery of courses, computing spaces, and online services to advance technology engagement in alignment with the IT strategic plan.

Professional Development and Governance

• Develop department onboarding plans and training for new employees designed to encourage and foster development of excellent customer relationship skills, professionalism, patience and clarity during in-person, phone, or online interactions. Represent UMass IT by serving on campus committees and participating in professional development opportunities as assigned. Contribute to and ensure adherence to IT governance and compliance processes. Establish and maintain positive campus stakeholder and vendor relationships.

Other Functions

Perform other duties as assigned or required to meet Department, Executive Area/Division, and University goals and objectives.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• A Bachelor's Degree is required, along with at least five years of progressively responsible experience. Alternatively, an Associate's Degree may be substituted for the Bachelor's Degree if the candidate has at least seven years of relevant work experience.
• At least three (2) years of supervisory experience and ability to train and manage staff and work effectively with a wide range of individuals including executives, faculty, administrative staff, and administrators.
• Experience managing a technical team devoted to enterprise desktop support and classroom technology on both Windows and Mac platforms including Windows Server and Active Directory, user security, and group policy administration in a multi domain/forest environment.
• Demonstrated collaborative team building and leadership skills, including establishing credibility and building strong working relationships with senior leadership, colleagues, and clients, promoting transparency and trust, building consensus, and pursuing service excellence and continuous improvement.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills along with the ability to communicate accurately with non-technical individuals on technical topics. Excellent telephone troubleshooting and consulting skills required.
• Experience in meeting the demands of complex production-oriented environments where timeliness and availability of systems is considered critical. Must be able to work effectively to resolve problems under stressful conditions where the rapid restoration of normal operations is critical.
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity; ability to establish and maintain harmonious relationships with co-workers and with a broad range of clients with diverse skills and backgrounds which includes executives, faculty, staff, and vendors.
• Strong assessment and analytical abilities, and particular skill in the effective resolution of complex, potentially sensitive issues.
• Experience designing and developing clear instructional materials.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail; accountability and reliability in meeting project deadlines and requirements.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

Experience in Higher Education working with faculty and staff is preferred.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

Typical Office Environment.

Work Schedule

• Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm.
• This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee's work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective
  bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

Level 30

PSU Hiring Ranges

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with the application, please submit a resume. References will be checked at the finalist stage, please be prepared to provide contact information for three (3) professional references.

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, caste, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, political belief or affiliation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related condition(s), veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, natural and protective hairstyle and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.