Manager of Technology Operations

Job no: 536435
Work type: Administrative & Professional
Senior management: VP for Finance
Department: VP for Finance
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Categories: Business / Accounting / Finance, Information Systems / Technology, Other

Job Description

The Finance Information Technology and Innovation (FITI) department leverages technology
to improve and sustain the financial operating environment of the Vice President for Finance Division and its university-wide constituents. FITI is seeking an experienced and highly skilled technology professional to provide technical leadership, operational accountability, and hands-on support for the technology services supporting approximately 200 administrative users.
The Manager of Technology Operations serves as a senior technical leader responsible for the design, integration, security, and day-to-day reliability of endpoint, server, virtual, and cloud-based environments, while remaining actively engaged in hands-on technical and help desk support. This role intentionally blends leadership and direct contribution, requiring independent judgment to resolve complex technical issues, lead implementations, and ensure technology services remain secure, resilient, and aligned with institutional priorities.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership & Hands-On Engineering
• Provide technical leadership for endpoint, server, virtual, and cloud environments, personally performing hands-on configuration, troubleshooting, maintenance, and remediation for complex or high-impact systems.
• Lead and directly contribute to system integrations, upgrades, migrations, and
security initiatives, ensuring services are not compromised during implementation.
• Serve as a senior technical authority for diagnosing and resolving complex issues that exceed routine support capabilities.
• Define, document, and enforce technical standards, procedures, and operational policies to ensure consistency, security, and long-term sustainability.
• Monitor emerging technologies and industry best practices; evaluate applicability, risk, and cost; and recommend enhancements based on organizational needs.

Help Desk Operations & Direct User Support
• Maintain direct responsibility for help desk operations supporting Finance users.
• Perform hands-on help desk support, including direct ticket resolution, advanced troubleshooting, and user assistance for complex or sensitive issues.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for high-impact incidents, outages, or service disruptions requiring advanced technical expertise and decision-making.
• Provide highly responsive, professional, and customer-focused support through in-person, phone, and electronic channels.
• Model best practices in documentation, communication, and customer service, setting expectations for the support team.

Operational Oversight & Service Delivery
• Oversee daily technology operations to ensure systems and services meet availability, security, and performance expectations.
• Monitor service desk metrics, incident trends, and recurring issues; perform root cause analysis and drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure service level agreements (SLAs) and customer experience expectations are met or exceeded.
• Ensure compliance with institutional policies, security standards, and regulatory requirements.

Supervision, Workforce Development & Planning
• Supervise, mentor, and provide technical leadership to Computer Support Specialists and Computer and Server Technology Specialists.
• Plan and prioritize work assignments, balancing operational needs, project deadlines, and hands-on workload.
• Establish performance expectations, evaluate outcomes, and provide coaching and feedback.
• Identify current and future skill needs; develop and support training and professional development plans to maintain appropriate expertise across the team.

Strategic Planning, Collaboration & Resource Management
• Participate in strategic planning related to technology services, infrastructure modernization, security, and service delivery.
• Collaborate with Finance leadership, Central IT, vendors, and campus partners on cross-functional initiatives.
• Contribute to budgeting, cost analysis, and resource planning for technology operations and projects.
• Engage stakeholders on complex technology needs, recommend solutions, and support adoption of systems and tools.

Required Qualifications
• A Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education OR an equivalent level of training, certifications and experience.
• Extensive experience providing supervision and guiding technical support staff in a help desk or related role and managing a help desk ticketing system in a higher education setting.
• Experience in training and coaching team members to ensure appropriate types and levels of skills are maintained.
• Extensive experience overseeing all technology resources for a vast number of users at all levels of the organization across many departments.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate a positive end user experience with timely communication and follow up on technology support issues through a variety of channels (in person, phone, email, etc.).
• Experience with server and network technologies, and advanced system administration and security tasks in a Windows or Mac operating system environment.
• Demonstration of exceptional customer service under high pressure situations.
• Ability to lead and work on multiple projects simultaneously, independently prioritize tasks, and meet project deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience setting and monitoring key performance indicators and service level agreements.
• Experience with remote management software (Microsoft SCCM, IBM, BigFix, etc.)
• Experience with advanced system administration tools (Microsoft MDT, PowerShell, etc.).
• Experience in Microsoft Intune.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting and utilizing problem analysis techniques.

Overtime Status

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Regular

Salary Information

Commensurate with experience with a salary range of $85,000-$100,000 per year

Hours per week

40

Review Date

June 2, 2026

Additional Information

This position is primarily on-site.

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Advertised: May 19, 2026
Applications close:

Whatsapp Facebook LinkedIn Email App