Senior IT Support Specialist

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Senior IT Support Specialist

Job Profile Title

Information Technology Support Specialist Senior

Job Description Summary

Working within the Libraries’ Client Services unit, the Senior IT Support Specialist coordinates support in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center and assists with a portfolio of campus departmental libraries. This role focuses on ensuring positive customer support experiences for staff and patrons, building strong collaborative relationships with colleagues to support library services, planning and executing complex IT projects, and managing systems and services to ensure maximum availability and security.

This position provides 2nd Tier support for Windows and Mac computer hardware, mobile devices, emerging technologies including 3D printers, scanners, and VR/XR equipment, software, and networking issues. The Senior IT Support Specialist is expected to proactively identify ongoing problems and trends, assessing, addressing, or escalating as appropriate, routinely liaise with department leadership, ensuring that technical services meet evolving needs, write and maintain documentation for non-technical end-users and internal use, and assist with ensuring IT security, privacy of user data, and enforcement of acceptable use and other technology policies.

The Senior IT Support Specialist is expected to be able to work independently but will frequently work as part of a team of IT professionals. As part of a systems administration group, this role works with the IT Systems Manager in managing endpoint management platforms including Active Directory, BigFix, Jamf, and CrowdStrike as well as email and collaboration services used throughout the Libraries. Additional areas of focus include testing and deploying software and OS updates, deploying new systems and services, generating reports and analyzing trends, and participating in campus-wide projects and teams.

The successful candidate will stay current on new technology and trends, work effectively with people of varying levels of technical expertise including subject matter experts, be able to communicate effectively in person and in writing, and exercise independent judgment to determine how best to meet customer needs.

Job Description

Job Responsibilities

• Coordinate IT Support for the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center while ensuring positive customer support experiences. Provide 2nd Tier support services to 1st Tier support and general staff, monitor the ticketing system, lead response efforts during major incidents, and maintain internal documentation.
• Administer servers, server-based applications, and services. Work with Library system administrators to manage Active Directory users, computers, and group policies used to manage hundreds of Windows computers throughout all libraries.
• Plan and execute complex IT projects. Work independently with leadership within departments to plan new services and upgrades to existing services. Research technical options, develop project plans, coordinate and execute work, identify key metrics, and document work.
• Act as a primary administrator for endpoint management applications including Jamf, BigFix, and CrowdStrike, used to deploy, update, and secure library hardware systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 2-3 years of experience supporting a variety of computing systems and software or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2+ years of experience providing support for a variety of desktop operating systems, including Windows and macOS, mobile operating systems, and a wide variety of software applications, including Microsoft Office, endpoint security, and software utilities are required.
• Effective interpersonal skills, excellent social skills, independent problem-solving and decision-making, self-direction, and ability to handle a complex workload.
• Excellent customer service skills with the ability to exercise excellent judgment, tact, and confidentiality.
• Experience with Active Directory management tools, patching and remote management applications, and enterprise cloud services required.
• Experience with endpoint management and security tools such as BigFix, Jamf, and CrowdStrike highly desirable.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

University Library

Pay Range

$71,733.00 - $86,187.32 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement 

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

Special Requirements 
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay