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University of California, Santa Cruz · 2 days ago

AI Service Manager

Santa Cruz County, CA

Full-time

Hybrid

Mid, Senior Level

$132K/yr - $155K/yr

2+ years exp

The University of California, Santa Cruz is a public university known for its innovative and experimental approach to education. The AI Service Manager will lead the management and coordination of the university's Generative AI platforms, ensuring they align with campus needs while overseeing stakeholder engagement and service delivery.

ArtEducationUniversities

No H1B

Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for UCSC's GenAI platforms, ensuring high-impact, equitable service delivery, and compliance with campus policy and guidance

Develop, define and implement performance metrics to track platform adoption, effectiveness, and alignment with campus objectives and identify actionable opportunities for continual service improvement

Collaborate with ITS leadership, campus AI governance bodies, and project sponsors to manage platform scope, priorities, and timelines, ensuring alignment with both strategic and tactical goals

Manage vendor relationships, including coordinating contract reviews, researching and proposing new vendors and technologies for GenAI and its offerings, and engaging vendors in support for incidents that cannot be resolved by the service team

Partner with academic, research, and administrative stakeholders to identify opportunities where Generative AI can enhance efficiency, decision-making, and innovation

Translate business and academic challenges into actionable AI use cases and collaborate on solution design

Facilitate AI literacy and adoption across campus through training, workshops, and collaborative learning communities

Monitor adoption metrics, gather feedback, and analyze the realized value and impact of AI services

Partner with academic leadership on the approach to discipline specific student AI literacy, infrastructure, and investment

Champion ethical, responsible, and effective use of AI technologies in alignment with campus and UC policies

Respond to and resolve incidents and inquiries for the service and its offerings in alignment with the service level agreement. Escalate incidents as appropriate to subject matter experts in other service areas

Fulfill pre-defined service requests. Identify and define new service requests

Manage changes; identify, analyze, and resolve problems; and identify and respond to major incidents in collaboration with the Service Desk

Draft, publish, and manage knowledge articles and knowledge feedback, ensuring articles are accurate, useful, and effective for client self-service and the Service Desk

Provide direct training, knowledge and feedback to the Service Desk to ensure early resolution of incidents and inquiries for clients

Coach and train service team members in incident, service request, major incident, problem, change, and knowledge management

Serve as the central point of coordination for platform stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, vendors, and governance bodies

Lead stakeholder engagement efforts including needs assessment, requirements gathering, use case development, and ongoing feedback loops

Build and facilitate communities of practice to cultivate shared learning and more sophisticated uses of GenAI platforms

Oversee ITS communications, training, and change management activities to ensure successful platform rollouts and service sustainability

Collaborate with partner organizations (such as Academic Affairs and Staff HR) on communications and training to support adoption and utilization of GenAI platforms

Interact with peer managers across the organization

Translate business and academic needs into technical requirements, and support solution design in partnership with technical leads and subject matter experts

Manage platform scope, priorities, and timelines in coordination with ITS leadership and project sponsors

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and develop platform solutions that meet user expectations, ensuring compliance with university policies on data privacy, security, and accessibility

Ensure compliance with UC and campus guidance and policies regarding data privacy, information security, and accessibility

Provide leadership and coordination for the AI Service function, fostering collaboration across ITS and campus partners to ensure effective service delivery and advancement of divisional goals

Establish clear goals, expectations, and performance standards for project work, ensuring accountability and alignment with organizational priorities

Support the professional growth of colleagues and project team members by modeling best practices, providing feedback, and identifying development opportunities

Qualification

Generative AI managementStakeholder engagementService managementBusiness analysisITIL frameworksITSM toolsTechnical requirementsTraining deliveryVendor managementInterpersonal skillsCommunication skillsTeam collaboration

Required

Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training

Demonstrated experience managing complex GenAI technology services or projects in an enterprise, higher education or research environment

Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical concepts into practical, accessible applications for non-technical users

Advanced knowledge of business analysis methodologies and experience leading cross-functional planning and delivery efforts

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to navigate and influence in a decentralized environment

Proven ability to lead stakeholder engagement, gather and analyze business requirements, and deliver high-quality service outcomes through continuous assessment and service improvements

Ability to recruit and retain excellent staff, provide constructive feedback, effectively evaluate performance, and motivate others

Ability to exercise sound judgment in developing creative solutions to service, coordination, and policy challenges

Demonstrated experience with strategic planning, service design, or IT governance in higher education

Proven capacity to measure and communicate the impact of technology initiatives through data and outcomes. Skilled in defining, designing, and delivering services that align with the organizational goals and client needs

Extensive knowledge of ITIL frameworks and service management principles

Experience with ITSM tools, such as ServiceNow

Familiarity with artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data-intensive applications

Client-focused with a passion for service excellence

Extensive experience with ensuring compliance with policies and regulations including information security, FERPA, and ADA

Ability to create and maintain accurate and effective knowledge documentation

Experience in providing training to technical and non-technical staff

Proven ability to work collaboratively and effectively technical and non-technical audiences, building strong relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders

Ability to develop and maintain effective vendor partnerships to enhance service quality, optimize costs, and ensure compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements

Preferred

Typically 2-5 years of experience managing an information technology organization

Demonstrated ability to develop, manage, and forecast complex service budgets, aligning financial resources with strategic priorities, vendor partnerships, and sustainable delivery of GenAI platforms

Experience working with or managing remote and hybrid IT support teams

Experience managing an information technology organization

ITIL 4 Foundations Certification