Associate Director, AI Service Desk
Job Overview
An operational leadership role accountable for building and running ECI's AI Service Desk capability under the direction of the Microsoft Modern Work & AI Solutions organization.
Position Summary
ECI is seeking a Associate Director, AI Service Desk to lead the growth, delivery, and evolution of its AI Operations organization. This leader will build the operational foundation that helps clients adopt, operate, govern, and expand their use of Microsoft 365 Copilot, Anthropic Claude Enterprise, OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise, Copilot Studio, and future approved AI technologies.
The Associate Director owns day-to-day managed AI service execution, including service performance, team leadership, escalation management, governance coordination, client value realization, service reporting, workforce planning, and continuous improvement.
This is not a traditional Service Desk Manager role. The position combines service delivery leadership, customer success, AI operations, managed services, governance coordination, and team development. The Associate Director works alongside AI engineers, governance specialists, adoption resources, the Business Development Representative, Client Service, and senior AI leadership to translate client demand into reliable operational outcomes and appropriate service paths. Overall AI strategy, portfolio direction, pricing authority, and executive commercial ownership remain with the Director of Microsoft Modern Work & AI Solutions and designated leadership teams.
Missio
Build and operate a scalable AI managed services function where every client request, platform need, governance concern, and business objective has a clear owner, defined process, and measurable outcome, while executing the strategy established by ECI's AI leadership.
Core Focus Areas
01 Service Leadership Run quality, performance, escalations, and outcomes.
02 Team & Capability Build the team, operating discipline, and career paths.
03 Portfolio Growth Recommend service improvements using demand and operational data.
04 Client Value Coordinate operations, governance, adoption, and opportunity handoffs.
Key Responsibilities
AI Operations & Service Delivery Leadership
Lead daily AI Operations execution and advance operational maturity under the direction of senior AI leadership.
Establish service standards, operating procedures, escalation frameworks, service levels, and quality controls.
Own day-to-day service performance, client experience, and operational accountability across supported AI platforms.
Serve as the leadership escalation point for material client, service, vendor, or cross-functional issues.
Ensure requests are classified, routed, coordinated, communicated, and closed with a confirmed outcome.
Implement and continuously improve an operating model that keeps support inside a broader operations discipline rather than allowing the function to become a traditional help desk.
Team Leadership & Capability Development
Recruit, onboard, coach, and retain AI Support Specialists, AI Operations Analysts, and future specialist roles.
Define role expectations, coverage models, career paths, competency frameworks, training plans, and certification goals.
Perform workforce planning, capacity forecasting, scheduling, and succession planning.
Create a culture of ownership, client empathy, technical curiosity, disciplined escalation, and strong documentation.
Develop team leads and senior individual contributors who can operate independently and scale the function.
Managed Service & Client Success Ownership
Own the delivery model for managed AI services and ensure contracted commitments are executed consistently.
Oversee service review cadence, client action tracking, service roadmaps, operational backlogs, and value-realization discussions.
Coordinate priorities across AI Operations, AI Engineering, AI Deployment, AI Adoption, AI Governance, Security Operations, and Client Service.
Use operational…