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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for IT Services Advisor

💰 $ - $

Information TechnologyService DeskIT SupportAdvisory

🎯 Role Definition

The IT Services Advisor is a frontline technical consultant and customer advocate responsible for delivering consistent, high-quality IT services across users and business units. This role blends incident and request management, technical troubleshooting, service improvement, and stakeholder communication. The advisor acts as the escalation point for complex user issues, collaborates with engineering and operations teams to resolve root causes, and proactively recommends service improvements that align with organizational objectives and ITIL best practices.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Service Desk Analyst / Level 1 Support
  • Desktop Support Technician
  • Junior IT Support Specialist

Advancement To:

  • Senior IT Services Advisor / Team Lead
  • IT Service Manager / Incident Manager
  • Technical Account Manager / IT Consultant

Lateral Moves:

  • Change/Release Coordinator
  • IT Asset & Configuration Analyst
  • Cloud Support Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Serve as the primary point of contact for medium-to-high complexity incidents and service requests, performing end-to-end incident management from initial triage and diagnosis to resolution and closure while maintaining SLA compliance.
  • Diagnose, troubleshoot, and remediate hardware and software issues across Windows, macOS, and mobile devices, including workstation imaging, driver conflicts, OS updates, and peripheral support.
  • Manage and resolve network connectivity problems (LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi), including VPN troubleshooting, DNS issues, IP configuration, and collaborating with network engineers for complex outages.
  • Administer user account lifecycle tasks in Active Directory and Azure AD, including account provisioning, group membership management, password resets, access rights reviews, and user deprovisioning.
  • Provide expert support for Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) including mailbox migrations, permission troubleshooting, and collaboration tool configuration.
  • Lead incident investigations and perform RCA (Root Cause Analysis) for recurring or high-impact incidents, documenting findings and recommending corrective actions to prevent repeats.
  • Escalate and coordinate cross-functional incidents with application owners, cloud engineering, security teams, and third-party vendors to ensure timely resolution and clear communication to stakeholders.
  • Maintain and operate ticketing and ITSM platforms (ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, BMC Remedy, Zendesk), ensuring accurate ticket categorization, documentation, priority setting, and SLA tracking.
  • Implement, document, and enforce ITIL-aligned processes for incident, problem, change, and request fulfillment, including assisting with change advisory board (CAB) meetings and pre/post-change validation.
  • Perform endpoint management tasks using tools such as Intune, SCCM, Jamf, or other MDM solutions: application deployment, compliance reporting, OS patching, and remote remediation.
  • Support cloud services and infrastructure troubleshooting (Azure, AWS) including authentication, resource access, VM connectivity, and basic cost and usage inquiries.
  • Execute routine security-related activities such as malware detection/cleanup, applying security patches, performing system hardening checks, and collaborating on vulnerability remediation workstreams.
  • Provide onboarding and offboarding support for employees, including workstation preparation, application provisioning, access configuration, and secure data transfer or wipe procedures.
  • Create and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, knowledge base articles, and user-facing how-to guides to empower self-service and reduce repeat tickets.
  • Deliver in-person, remote, and phone-based end-user training and coaching for standard workflows, new tools, and best-practice security behaviors to improve adoption and reduce risk.
  • Monitor IT service health and KPIs, generate operational reports, and present findings to service owners to drive continuous service improvement and SLA attainment.
  • Coordinate vendor relationships for hardware repair, warranty claims, and third-party support escalations, ensuring service credits and SLAs are enforced.
  • Participate in after-hours rotation for on-call support, perform emergency incident response, and contribute to post-incident reviews and service restoration plans.
  • Support change implementation activities such as deployments, cutovers, rollbacks, and validation tests in production and staging environments to minimize user impact.
  • Lead projects of moderate complexity such as device refreshes, application rollouts, or process automation initiatives, managing timelines, stakeholders, and communications.
  • Conduct regular asset inventories and assist with IT asset management processes including tagging, lifecycle tracking, and coordination with procurement.
  • Facilitate communication to end-users and business stakeholders during outages or planned maintenance, producing timely updates, status notifications, and incident summaries.
  • Apply customer experience principles to ensure empathetic, clear, and consistent interactions; escalate feedback and feature requests to product or service owners.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist in building and curating knowledge base content and FAQs to improve first-contact resolution rates.
  • Test and validate software patches, updates, and configuration changes in test/staging environments prior to production release.
  • Mentor junior support staff, provide training, and perform knowledge transfer sessions to elevate team capabilities.
  • Support business continuity and disaster recovery exercises by participating in simulations, runbooks validation, and failover tests.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Hands-on experience with ITSM/ticketing systems such as ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, Zendesk, or BMC Remedy.
  • Strong proficiency administering Windows OS, Active Directory, Azure AD, and Microsoft 365 (Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive).
  • Endpoint management experience with tools like Microsoft Intune, SCCM/Configuration Manager, Jamf, or equivalent MDM/EMM solutions.
  • Familiarity with networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DHCP, DNS), VPN technologies, wireless troubleshooting, and basic firewall/router configuration.
  • Experience supporting cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) for user access, VM support, and identity integration (SSO, OAuth, SAML).
  • Practical knowledge of ITIL processes: incident, problem, change, release, and request fulfillment.
  • Proficiency in remote support tools (e.g., Microsoft Remote Desktop, TeamViewer, AnyDesk, ConnectWise Control) and diagnostic utilities.
  • Basic scripting or automation skills (PowerShell, Bash) to automate repetitive tasks and gather system diagnostics.
  • Understanding of endpoint security technologies (antivirus/EDR, patch management, encryption) and secure configuration best practices.
  • Experience with mobile device management, BYOD policies, and troubleshooting iOS/Android device issues.
  • Ability to produce reporting and dashboards using Excel, Power BI, or built-in ITSM reporting tools.
  • Familiarity with asset management systems and hardware lifecycle processes, including procurement coordination and warranty management.

Soft Skills

  • Strong customer service orientation with the ability to manage difficult conversations calmly and professionally.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for clear incident updates, documentation, and stakeholder reports.
  • Analytical problem-solving skills with a methodical approach to root cause analysis and remediation planning.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to handle multiple concurrent incidents while meeting SLAs.
  • Collaboration and teamwork across cross-functional groups and third-party vendors.
  • Adaptability and eagerness to learn new technologies, processes, and industry best practices.
  • Attention to detail for accurate ticket documentation, change records, and compliance activities.
  • Initiative and ownership mindset: drive issues to closure and proactively suggest service improvements.
  • Training and mentoring capability to elevate junior team members and promote knowledge sharing.
  • Resilience under pressure, particularly during major incidents and high-impact outages.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree or equivalent technical certification in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field; OR equivalent practical experience in IT support roles.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, IT Management, or related discipline.
  • Professional certifications such as ITIL Foundation, CompTIA A+/Network+/Security+, Microsoft Certified: Modern Desktop Administrator, or Azure Fundamentals.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Information Technology
  • Computer Science
  • Information Systems
  • Network Engineering
  • Cybersecurity

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years in IT support, service desk, or desktop/technical support roles. Candidates with 5+ years and proven escalation or advisory experience are preferred for senior advisor positions.

Preferred: Prior experience in an enterprise environment supporting 500+ users, demonstrated exposure to ITIL processes, cloud services (Azure/AWS), and proven success with service improvement initiatives.

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