Assistant Director, IT Experience and Service Delivery - IT Operations and Service Management

Position Summary

Applications are welcome from all qualified candidates. In line with UAE regulations, Emirati candidates are encouraged to apply.

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) seeks to appoint a Assistant Director, IT Experience and Service Delivery reporting to the Director, IT Operations and Service Management. 

The Assistant Director,  IT Experience and Service Delivery leads the delivery and continual improvement of NYU Abu Dhabi’s primary end-user facing technology service capability. The role is responsible for ensuring faculty, students, staff, researchers, residents, visitors, guests, and campus partners receive consistent, responsive, professional, and user-centered technology support across academic, research, residential, administrative, instructional, meeting-room, public-computing, and event environments.

The portfolio encompasses Client Services, including the IT Experience Center and on-site support across workspaces, instructional, meeting-room and special spaces; endpoint and end-user technology service delivery; Event Services; Community Services; Residential technology support; and VIP and high-touch support. The role brings these capabilities together within an integrated service-delivery model with clear ownership, standards, escalation paths, performance measures, and accountability for the quality of the end-user technology experience and journey.

The Assistant Director leads a blended IT Experience & Service Delivery organization consisting of NYUAD service leads together with managed services providers and external support providers. The role maintains institutional accountability for service quality regardless of delivery model, ensuring internal and external teams operate as a coordinated organization against common service expectations, processes, performance measures, and values.

Working within the strategy, governance, and operational frameworks established by the Director, IT Operations and Service Management, the Assistant Director translates service objectives into effective operating models, workforce plans, processes, standards, and continual-improvement initiatives. The role works closely with NYUAD IT teams, NYU global partners, vendors, and service providers to provide a cohesive technology experience across NYUAD.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead IT Experience & Service Delivery and the end-user technology experience

• Lead the full portfolio of end-user facing technology services across NYU Abu Dhabi, establishing an integrated operating model model spanning Client Services, the IT Experience Center, academic technology and learning-space support, endpoint and end-user technology service delivery, Event Services, Community Services, residential technology support, and VIP and high-touch support

• Translate the strategic direction and service expectations established by the Director, IT Operations and Service Management into operational plans, service standards, staffing models, performance expectations, and continual-improvement priorities

• Provide leadership, direction, coaching, and performance oversight for NYUAD service leads and staff across the IT Experience & Service Delivery portfolio, while ensuring managed-services personnel operate as an integrated extension of the NYUAD IT Experience & Service Delivery organization. Maintain clear institutional ownership and accountability for service outcomes regardless of whether services are delivered by NYUAD employees, contractors, or managed-services partners

• Ensure services provide a consistent, responsive, and professional experience across user communities, engagement channels and physical environments while appropriately responding to the distinct needs of faculty, students, researchers, administrative staff, residents, visitors, guests, and institutional leadership. Maintain accountability for the quality of the end-user journey, including communication, follow-up, escalation, and hand-offs where technical resolution depends on other resolver groups

• Facilitate user onboarding interviews, targeted end-user training and office hours, as required, to promote technology adoption, strengthen user capability, and address emerging community needs

• Represent IT Experience & Service Delivery in cross-functional IT planning and contribute operational expertise and user insight to departmental discussions regarding service strategy, operational priorities, technology adoption, service improvement and the overall technology experience

Lead Client Services, the IT Experience Center and learning-space support

• Lead Client Services and the IT Experience Center as NYUAD's primary on-campus, end-user facing Tier 1 capability, together with on-site and end-user technology support across workspaces, instructional rooms, meeting rooms, special spaces, and shared campus environments. Ensure effective intake, triage, resolution, escalation, communication, request fulfillment, classroom readiness, and first-line AV support
• Develop and maintain a tiered and integrated support model that emphasizes resolution at the earliest appropriate level, equips frontline teams with the knowledge, tools, and authority required to resolve a broad range of issues, works in close partnership with the Global IT Service Desk and provides clear and accountable escalation to service owners and specialist teams when needed
• Establish and maintain operating procedures, staffing and scheduling models, knowledge-management practices, service standards, quality measures, and performance expectations that support consistent and effective service delivery across walk-up, appointment-based, phone, email, portal, classroom, and other agreed user-facing support channels and campus environments
• Monitor service demand, response and resolution performance, first-contact and first-visit resolution, escalation trends, user satisfaction, walk-in wait times, appointment availability, room readiness, recurring issues, and other relevant service indicators. Use these insights to improve operational effectiveness, service quality, and the overall technology experience
• Advance guided self-service, knowledge-centered support, automation, remote-support capabilities, practical digital-enablement sessions, and other modern service-delivery approaches that improve accessibility, build user capability, increase resolution efficiency, and reduce avoidable support demand

Oversee endpoint and end-user technology service delivery

• Provide functional leadership for the end user facing delivery of endpoint and end-user computing services, including university-managed desktops, laptops, mobile devices, peripherals, software delivery, device provisioning, equipment lending, and associated end-user technologies
• Oversee the operational service lifecycle of end-user devices from provisioning and deployment through configuration, support, refresh coordination, asset management, and secure retirement, ensuring clear ownership and effective hand-offs with the teams responsible for underlying platform and engineering services
• Direct NYUAD staff, service leads, and managed-services personnel responsible for endpoint and user technology services, establishing clear standards, responsibilities, performance expectations, documentation requirements, and escalation practices
• Work closely with Infrastructure Services and Information Security, Technology Governance, and relevant engineering teams to ensure endpoint environments are standardized, securely managed, supportable, current, and appropriately responsive to academic, research, administrative, and specialized requirements
• Promote modern management practices including automated provisioning, endpoint-management platforms, proactive monitoring and remediation, remote support, software automation, and accurate asset and configuration information
• Ensure new or changed end-user technologies transition effectively into service with appropriate documentation, knowledge, support processes, training, tools, and escalation pathways

Drive service performance, continual improvement, and operational maturity

• Work closely with the Service Management function to implement ITSM standards, processes, performance measures, service reporting, and continual-improvement practices across the IT Experience & Service Delivery portfolio
• Establish and review a balanced set of SLAs, KPIs, service-quality measures, end-user experience indicators, and performance expectations across Client Services, the IT Experience Center, learning spaces, Event Services, Community Services, asset and equipment support, NYUAD teams and managed-services providers
• Analyze operational data, user feedback, recurring incidents, escalation patterns, support demand, vendor performance, and service trends to identify opportunities for process improvement, automation, knowledge development, workforce optimization, and service redesign
• Promote participation in IT service surveys across the community and work with service owners to incorporate survey findings into service-improvement priorities and actions
• Participate actively in incident, request, problem, change, knowledge, major incident, service transition, and continual-improvement processes, ensuring the IT Experience & Service Delivery perspective and end-user impact are appropriately represented
• Ensure managed-services providers meet contractual and operational expectations and work with service leads, vendors, and the Director, IT Operations and Service Management to address performance gaps, capacity concerns, or systemic delivery issues
• Ensure IT Experience & Service Delivery teams are operationally ready to support new technologies and services prior to transition into production, including appropriate knowledge, documentation, support procedures, training, tools, workforce capacity, and escalation paths
• Promote a culture of accountability, service excellence, collaboration, continuous learning, and data-informed decision-making across the IT Experience & Service Delivery organization

Lead Event Services and VIP/High-Touch Support

• Lead the delivery of AV and technology support for academic, institutional, leadership, and selected commercial events, including conferences, ceremonies, executive engagements, visiting dignitaries, strategic guests, and other high-visibility activities requiring coordinated technology services
• Establish repeatable event-technology service models based on the scale, complexity, visibility, and risk of individual events, including appropriate requirements capture, planning, staffing, technical rehearsals, readiness checks, onsite support, contingency handling, escalation, and post-event review
• Direct the work of NYUAD staff, technical leads, managed-services personnel, contractors, and external technology providers supporting events, ensuring responsibilities and accountability are clearly established
• Partner with event organizers, Events, Public Affairs, Communications, Facilities, Campus Services, academic and administrative units, Infrastructure Services, AV Infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders to understand requirements and ensure technology services are appropriately planned and delivered
• Develop standards, procedures, service offerings, and support tiers that reduce dependence on ad hoc or individual-dependent practices while retaining the flexibility required for specialized, high-profile or institutionally critical activities
• Use event feedback and operational experience to continuously improve readiness, service quality, resource utilization, and the overall event technology experience

Lead Community Services and residential technology support

• Lead Community Services across NYUAD, including user-facing IT communications, support guidance, basic digital enablement, tool adoption, community engagement, and feedback capture, while retaining clear and effective technology support for the University's residential community
• Establish defined community-facing and residential technology service models with clear service boundaries, ownership, support channels, escalation pathways, performance expectations, communications service guides, and adoption support
• Provide operational direction and performance oversight for NYUAD and managed-services personnel delivering community-facing and residential technology support, ensuring consistent service standards and effective coordination with other IT teams
• Partner closely with Infrastructure Services, Student Affairs, Residential Education, Campus Services, Facilities, Information Security, academic units, and other relevant stakeholders to resolve cross-functional issues, strengthen service communication and adoption, and improve the community technology experience
• Use service data, recurring issue analysis, self-service usage, user feedback, and engagement with faculty, students, researchers, staff, and residents to identify service gaps, improve support processes and guidance, and inform future technology and service improvements
• Ensure Community Services and residential technology support are integrated into the broader IT Experience & Service Delivery and IT Operations model rather than operating as a separate or ad hoc support functions

Qualifications

Required Education: 

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience

Preferred Education: 

• Master's degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, Business Administration, Service Management, or a related discipline

Required Experience: 

• 7+ years of progressive experience in IT experience and service delivery, client services, enterprise support, endpoint services, service management, technology operations, or a related field, including significant direct experience within end-user facing or end-user technology services

• Prior management or supervisory experience leading technical or service-delivery staff

• Experience managing Service Center, IT Experience Center, service desk, deskside, endpoint, field-support, learning-space, event-support, or comparable end-user facing technology functions in a complex organization

• Experience managing blended teams comprising employees, contractors, vendors, or managed-services personnel

• Demonstrated experience using service performance data, end-user feedback, support analytics, and operational metrics to improve service quality and efficiency

• Experience with endpoint lifecycle management, enterprise device-management platforms, software deployment, asset management, remote support, and associated end-user technology services

• Experience coordinating support across multiple teams, service providers, locations, or operational environments

• Experience supporting high-visibility or time-sensitive services, learning environments, events, or executive/VIP activities where effective coordination, communication, readiness, and escalation are critical

• In-depth knowledge of end-user facing IT service delivery, client-services and end-user support operating models, with working knowledge of related infrastructure, information security, identity, collaboration, network, academic technology, and enterprise technology services

• Strong understanding of ITIL-aligned service management, including incident, request, problem, change, knowledge, service-level, and continual-improvement practices

• Strong knowledge of Service Center and IT Experience Center operations, tiered support, walk-up and appointment-based support, deskside support, learning-space support, endpoint management, device lifecycle management, asset management, software distribution, remote support, knowledge and self-service

• Ability to translate departmental service objectives into practical operating plans, staff expectations, processes, workflows, service standards, and measurable outcomes

• Ability to manage and develop staff through goal setting, coaching, regular performance feedback, professional development, and clear accountability

• Demonstrated ability to manage service providers through operational governance, KPIs, SLAs, performance reviews, corrective-action planning, and relationship management

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to address complex operational issues within established policies and frameworks and to recognize when broader institutional or strategic issues require escalation

• Strong stakeholder-management skills and ability to collaborate effectively across technical and non-technical organizational boundaries

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to communicate appropriately with students, faculty, staff, university leaders, technical teams, vendors, and service providers

• Ability to manage competing operational priorities and maintain effective service delivery during high-demand periods, major incidents, high-profile events, or other time-sensitive situations

Preferred Experience:

• ITIL Foundation, ITIL Managing Professional, or related service-management certification

• HDI or equivalent service/support management certification

• Relevant Microsoft, Apple, endpoint-management, collaboration-platform, or cloud certifications

• Project management, Agile, or related delivery certification

• Understanding of the technology needs of higher-education communities, including faculty, students, researchers, administrative staff, residents, and guests

• Knowledge of end-user experience and service-experience measurement in addition to traditional operational KPIs

• Familiarity with emerging approaches to service delivery including AI-enabled support, virtual agents, automation, proactive support, predictive analytics, and modern digital employee-experience capabilities

• Understanding of accessibility, assistive technology, and inclusive technology-service practices

• Ability to balance standardization and operational efficiency with appropriate flexibility for academic, research, residential, and institutional requirements

Additional Information

About NYUAD

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYU’s global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.