Manager, IT Operations

 

 

At Cision, we believe in empowering every individual to make an impact. Here, your voice is heard, your ideas are valued, and your unique perspective fuels our collective success. As part of our global team, you'll thrive in an environment that champions curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, all while making meaningful contributions to the brands we accelerate.    Join us in shaping the future of communication and building authentic connections that matter. Whether you're solving complex problems or driving bold innovations, your growth is our success, and together, we’ll create the conversations of tomorrow.    Empower your impact at Cision. Be seen, be understood, be you.    Job summary: We are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking IT Manager to lead a team of administrators and engineers responsible for the delivery, support, governance, and continuous improvement of enterprise collaboration and productivity platforms. This role combines people leadership, operational ownership, technical depth, and strategic vision.

The ideal candidate will serve as both a technical subject matter expert and an organizational leader, overseeing platforms such as Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Power Platform, application integrations, Five9, Slack Technologie, and a small footprint of Google Workspace services.

This individual will manage operational support, escalations, platform governance, vendor coordination, service reliability, and 24x7x365 operational coverage while helping shape the future vision for enterprise productivity and collaboration technologies. The role requires a strong understanding of ITSM and ITIL-based operational processes, along with experience managing initiatives, operational workstreams, and platform enhancement efforts.

A successful candidate would be a seasoned people leader, expert communicator and who can balance operational rigor with transformation, ensuring reliable service delivery while continuously improving process maturity, tooling, and user experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers and administrators responsible for enterprise productivity and collaboration platforms.
• Oversee and help coordinate 24x7x365 operational support coverage, including on-call rotations, escalation management, and incident response processes.
• Act as a senior technical escalation point for complex incidents, outages, integrations, and platform-related issues.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, AI capabilities, automation opportunities, and collaboration tooling enhancements.
• Serve as a thought leader for modern workplace technologies and employee productivity solutions.
• Manage day-to-day operations, administration, governance, and lifecycle management of:
• Microsoft 365 / Office 365
• SharePoint Online
• Microsoft Teams
• Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio)
• Voice/Telephony Services (Teams, Zoom, On-prem)
• Slack
• Five9
• Google Workspace (limited scope)
• Enterprise application integrations and connected services
• Drive operational excellence through ITSM and ITIL-aligned processes including Incident, Problem, Change, Request, Knowledge, and Major Incident Management.
• Manage operational backlogs, enhancement requests, platform projects, and service improvement initiatives using Jira.
• Own operational service health, uptime, support models, SLAs, and continuous service improvement initiatives.
• Develop and manage team on-call schedules and participate in after-hours support and escalation activities as needed.
• Establish operational standards, monitoring, alerting, documentation, and support procedures.
• Partner with Security, Infrastructure, Networking, IAM, Compliance, Legal, and business stakeholders to ensure secure and compliant platform operations.
• Drive platform governance, licensing optimization, automation, and adoption strategies.
• Lead vendor relationships, escalations, and strategic roadmap discussions.
• Oversee platform integrations, API connectivity, authentication models, and enterprise application interoperability.
• Support organizational initiatives involving migrations, consolidations, acquisitions, and platform modernization efforts.
• Develop operational metrics, KPIs, dashboards, and executive-level reporting.
• Manage incident response coordination and participate in major incident management activities.
• Ensure documentation, knowledge management, and operational runbooks are maintained and continuously improved.
• Assist with budgeting, forecasting, licensing, and capacity planning activities.
  
  

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 7+ years of progressive IT experience with enterprise collaboration and productivity platforms.
• 3+ years of direct people management experience leading technical teams.
• Strong technical expertise administering and supporting Microsoft 365 technologies.
• Experience supporting enterprise collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, Slack, and Five9.
• Experience managing 24x7x365 technical operations 24x7x365 in a global enterprise environment.
• Experience leading platform migrations, consolidations, or digital transformation initiatives.
• Experience serving as a senior escalation point for high-severity incidents and operational issues.
• Experience with Power Platform governance and administration.
• Experience with Copilot, AI-powered productivity platforms, or automation technologies.
• Strong understanding of SaaS operations, governance, integrations, and lifecycle management.
• Experience with API-based integrations and enterprise application connectivity.
• Strong organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on operational leadership.
• Willingness to participate in on-call rotations and after-hours escalations.
• Understanding of ITSM operations – incident and request management.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with identity, authentication, and access management concepts including SSO, SAML, OIDC, and SCIM.
• Experience with enterprise contact center platforms such as Five9.
• ITIL Foundation or advanced ITIL certifications.
• Knowledge of compliance, security, and data governance requirements for SaaS platforms.
• Microsoft certifications related to Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Security, or Power Platform.
• Strong understanding of ITSM and ITIL operational frameworks and service delivery processes.
  
  

Technical Skills

• Microsoft Ecosystem Administration
• Microsoft 365 / Office 365
• Exchange Online
• Microsoft Teams
• SharePoint Online
• OneDrive for Business
• Power Platform
• PowerShell automation and scripting
• Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD
  
  

Collaboration & Communication Platforms Administration

• Slack
• Five9
• Google Workspace
  
  

Integration & Automation

• API and Webhooks Integrations
• SAML / OIDC / SCIM
• Workflow automation
• SaaS Platform Integrations
• PowerShell
  
  

Leadership & Delivery

• Vendor Management
• Team Leadership and Coaching
• Service Delivery Management
• Governance and Compliance
• Project and Program Coordination
• Continuous Improvement Methodologies
  
  

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinker with strong operational execution capabilities
• Ability to lead through ambiguity and organizational change
• Strong customer service and employee experience mindset
• Collaborative leadership style with strong cross-functional partnership skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with both executive leadership and technical teams
• Continuous improvement and innovation mindset
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities

 

Cision is the global leader in consumer and media intelligence, engagement, and communication solutions. We equip PR and corporate communications, marketing, and social media professionals with the tools they need to excel in today's data driven world. Our deep expertise, exclusive data partnerships, and award-winning products, including CisionOne, Brandwatch, and PR Newswire, enable over 75,000 companies and organizations, including 84% of the Fortune 500, to see and be seen, understand and be understood by the audiences that matter most to them.   Cision is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees can be their authentic selves and perform at their best. We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion is vital to driving our culture, sparking innovation and achieving long-term success. Cision is proud to have joined more than 600 companies in signing the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ pledge and named a “Top Diversity Employer” for 2021 by DiversityJobs.com.   Cision is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or other protected statuses.   Cision is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. In keeping with our commitment, Cision will take the steps to assure that people with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. Accordingly, if reasonable accommodation is required to fully participate in the job application or interview process, to perform the essential functions of the position, and/or to receive all other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact hr.support@cision.com   Cision, Inc. "the Company" only communicates with candidates and extends job offers through direct channels, not third parties.   Please review our Global Candidate Data Privacy Statement to learn about Cision’s commitment to protecting personal data collected during the hiring process.