IT Operations Manager

Full Job Description

Under the direction of the Director of the Senate Business Office (SBO) and supervised by the Senate Information Services (SIS) Director, the IT Operations Manager manages the SIS Operations teams, Service Desk and Infrastructure, and supports the implementation of technology initiatives for the Michigan Senate.

The IT Operations Manager coordinates day-to-day IT operations and works with the SIS Director to translate strategic objectives into operational plans and priorities.

The IT Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing the performance and alignment of IT Operations staff, ensuring effective communication of operational status, risks, and outcomes, and supporting the execution of initiatives to maintain reliable, efficient, and high-quality IT services.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Serves as the central communication point for IT Operations, ensuring consistent, timely, and accurate information flow between SIS leadership, supervisors, and key partners
• Manages and mentors IT Operations supervisors to support leadership development, decision-making, and accountability
• Provides regular structured status reports that identify progress, risks, dependencies, and decision points rather than raw activity
• Guides supervisors on workload planning, staff development, conflict resolution, and performance management
• Oversees day-to-day IT Operations with an emphasis on service modernization, security, and customer experience
• Maintains strong situational awareness across all IT Operations teams
• Identifies and communicates issues, trade-offs, and resource constraints, and provides recommendations for resolution
• Establishes and reinforces expectations for professionalism, responsiveness, and service excellence
• Translates Senate goals, directives, and strategic initiatives into clear operational plans with measurable outcomes
• Coordinates and aligns activities across Infrastructure, Service Desk, Technical Services, and Security teams to ensure alignment and effective execution
• Balances competing priorities and resource constraints while maintaining transparency with leadership
• Ensures work activities align with Senate priorities, deadlines, and risk tolerance
• Promotes a culture of trust, collaboration, and continuous improvement across all internal teams and external Senate departments
• Ensures appropriate processes are in place for incident management, change management, problem management, and escalation
• Monitors workload, staffing levels, and skill requirements; makes recommendations regarding resource needs
• Ensures projects and initiatives are appropriately scoped, prioritized, and tracked to completion
• Develops strong and effective working relationships with Senate leadership, staff, legislative offices, external partners, and peer IT organizations
• Supports the development, implementation, and enforcement of IT policies, standards, and best practices
• Ensures appropriate consideration of security, compliance, disaster recovery, and risk management practices
• Evaluates processes and tools to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and service quality

SECONDARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Exhibits a thorough understanding of Senate policies, procedures, and operations, and of the legislative process
• Participates in budget planning, vendor coordination, and technology lifecycle discussions as needed
• Serves as a liaison to the other Senate departments and offices, vendors, and the public, as requested by the SIS Director
• Performs all other duties as requested by the Director of the Senate Business Office and the SIS Director

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in business administration, information technologies, or another related field required
• Three or more years of supervisory experience required; experience managing IT teams required
• Five years of related, progressively advancing work experience within an information technology department required
• Experience in an IT leadership role bridging strategy and execution
• Experience working within structured operational frameworks (ITIL, NIST, ISO, DevOps and Agile) required
• Other combinations of education and experience evaluated on an individual basis

Qualifications

• Knowledge of computer programming languages and database concepts that facilitate communication with other information technology personnel
• Knowledge of concepts relating to the development and maintenance of effective organizations
• Knowledge of the principles and techniques of management, including organization, planning, staffing, training, budgeting, and reporting; ability to instruct, direct, and evaluate employees
• Knowledge or experience with conflict and change management and the ability to deal effectively with a wide variety of situations

• Ability to show demonstrated emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and professionalism
• Ability to maintain operational awareness across IT functions while avoiding direct involvement in detailed technical activities
• Ability to inspire confidence, motivate others, establish, and maintain effective relationships; ability to work closely and interactively as part of a technical support team; ability to work cooperatively with information, technical and development analysts to solve problems
• Ability to keep abreast of developments in relevant emerging technologies, read technical journals and attend seminars, workshops, and other computer-related presentations
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment, and work within time frames that may be rigid, or subject to change on short notice
• Ability to recognize, gather, assemble, correlate, and analyze facts and use them to draw conclusions, define problems and devise solutions or suggest alternatives
• Ability to communicate with others, both orally and in writing
• Ability to work outside of prescribed work hours when necessary
• Ability to maintain favorable public relations, while maintaining confidentiality, in a nonpartisan and professional manner
• Ability to use diplomacy, discretion, and judgment in disseminating information
• Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with legislators and other elected officials, staff, vendors, and other agencies

Additional Information

This job description is not intended as a comprehensive list of all of the duties required of this position. Additional duties may be assigned from time to time, and the listed duties are subject to change at any time, with or without notice.

STATUS: Salaried, with a standard benefits package
SALARY: $100,000 - $140,000, based on experience
GOVERNING CAUCUS: Nonpartisan

This is a non-civil service, at-will position.

Interested applicants, please submit a cover letter and resume with your application.

The Michigan Senate considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, height, weight, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected status. If you are a person with a qualified disability, you may request any needed reasonable accommodation to participate in the application, testing, and/or interview process by contacting the Senate ADA Coordinator at 517-373-1675.