Job Description: Associate Manager – L1 Monitoring Operations

About the Role

We are looking for a dynamic and technically grounded Associate Manager to lead our L1 Monitoring Operations team. This is a dual-hat role that demands the right balance of people leadership and hands-on technical acumen. You will be responsible for managing a team of Monitoring Engineers who are at the frontline of our operations — monitoring alerts, triaging incidents, and taking proactive actions to prevent potential client impact across our infrastructure landscape.

If you are someone who thrives in a 24x7 environment, leads with empathy, thinks methodically about problems, and has a solid technical foundation in Windows infrastructure and IT Operations — we want to hear from you.

What You Will Do

Team Leadership & People Management

• Directly lead, coach, and mentor a team of 10+ Monitoring Analysts, fostering a high-performance, motivated, and accountable culture.
• Oversee new employee onboarding and drive career development planning and growth opportunities for team members.
• Empower team members to take ownership of their responsibilities by delegating effectively and establishing clear expectations, accountability, and feedback loops.
• Lead employees through a structured performance management and development process, including goal setting, regular feedback, and performance development planning.
• Maintain transparent and open communication across the team through department meetings, one-on-ones, email, IM, and regular interpersonal touchpoints.
• Identify, recruit, and develop internal and external talent to ensure the right mix of competencies within the team.
• Recognize and reward high performers to sustain motivation and retain key talent.
• Regularly communicate company news, organizational updates, and team progress against business goals.

Monitoring Operations Management

• Manage day-to-day operations of the L1 monitoring team responsible for monitoring systems, infrastructure, Windows Servers, SQL databases, and networks hosted on Microsoft Azure.
• Ensure the team effectively utilizes monitoring tools including AppDynamics, Logic Monitor, and Azure Monitor to detect, triage, and respond to alerts.
• Oversee the management of incidents via ServiceNow (SNOW), ensuring timely logging, escalation, and resolution in adherence to defined SLAs.
• Drive adherence to ITIL-aligned processes — Incident Management, Problem Management, and Change Management — across all team operations.

Problem Management

• Champion a methodological problem-solving culture using structured frameworks such as 5 Whys, Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methodology.
• Work towards solving problems "ONCE" by ensuring permanent fixes and driving a zero-repeat-incident mindset.
• Partner with cross-functional teams and leaders to improve and expedite problem resolution across the environment.
• Track and report on key Problem Management KPIs through weekly and monthly dashboards and reports.

Reporting & Governance

• Deliver daily, weekly, and monthly operational reports and dashboards to stakeholders and leadership.
• Balance demand management across multiple simultaneous complex projects, operational enhancements, break-fix requests, and maintenance activities.
• Lead internal operational improvement projects and drive efficiencies within the team.
• Ensure full team adherence to all team, account, and client policies and procedures.

What We Are Looking For

✅ People Management Competencies

• Proven ability to lead a team of 10 or more individual contributors in a fast-paced, operations-driven environment.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills with a genuine interest in people development.
• Ability to delegate effectively, drive accountability, and provide structured, constructive feedback.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills — able to inspire, influence, and align teams toward shared goals.
• Experience in recruiting and building well-rounded, competent teams.

✅ Technical Competencies

• Strong understanding of Global Command Center / NOC / Monitoring Operations and associated ITSM KPIs.
• 3–5 years of hands-on experience in Windows Server Administration, IIS, Application Support & Troubleshooting, SQL blocking analysis, and Windows Cluster Management — must have held at least one technical role within the past 5 years.
• Working knowledge of monitoring tools such as Azure Monitor, Logic Monitor, AppDynamics (AppD), SentryOne, or equivalent platforms.
• Familiarity with cloud-hosted infrastructure, particularly Microsoft Azure.
• Experience with ServiceNow (SNOW) for ITSM ticketing and workflow management.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools — Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams — for reporting, presentations, and collaboration.
• Solid understanding and prior experience with ITIL processes — Incident, Problem, and Change Management.

Academic & Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Any relevant IT Certifications (e.g., ITIL Foundation, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator, CompTIA Network+) are a plus.

Travel Requirements

• Willingness and ability to travel regionally and/or internationally as required by business needs.

Working Arrangements

• Must be willing and able to work in a 24×7×365 rotational shift environment.
• Work is performed in a standard office environment with minimal exposure to health or safety hazards.