| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Information Technology |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | IT Head |
| Direct reports | System Administrator, Network Administrator, Desktop Support Engineer, IT Support Engineer, IT Executive |
| Experience | 7 to 12 years in IT support and infrastructure, with 2 or more years managing an IT team |
IT Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: IT Manager
Department: Information Technology
Reports to: IT Head
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
An IT Manager runs day-to-day IT operations for a company, office or plant: the helpdesk, network, servers, laptops and desktops, email, backups, printers and CCTV, along with the vendors who support them. They manage system administrators and support engineers, keep IT assets and licences in order, and make sure new joiners have working accounts on day one. In Indian SMEs, hospitals, schools, factories and BPOs the IT Manager usually reports to the IT Head, or to the finance or admin head. A good one keeps users working and problems small.
Key responsibilities
- Run the IT helpdesk, assign tickets to support engineers and follow up on anything that breaches the agreed response time.
- Keep the LAN, Wi-Fi, internet links and firewall working at every office or plant, with backup connectivity for critical sites.
- Manage servers, Active Directory, email and file shares, including account creation on joining and removal on exit.
- Check that daily backups run, and test a restore of servers and critical data every month.
- Maintain the IT asset register for laptops, desktops, printers, phones and network devices, with issue and return records.
- Track licences and renewals for Microsoft 365, antivirus, design tools and ERP users, and stop unlicensed installs.
- Coordinate AMC vendors, ISPs and OEM service centres, and escalate when they miss SLAs.
- Apply patches and antivirus updates on schedule, and enforce basics such as USB control and the password policy.
- Plan IT for new joiners, office moves and new branches, including devices, cabling and access.
- Prepare a monthly IT report on tickets, uptime, assets and spend for management.
Requirements
- B.E., B.Tech, B.Sc IT, BCA or MCA
- Microsoft 365 administrator certification is an advantage
- CCNA and ITIL Foundation are an advantage
- 7 to 12 years in IT support and infrastructure, with 2 or more years managing an IT team
KRAs and KPIs for a IT Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Helpdesk SLA | At least 90 percent of tickets resolved within the agreed SLA each month |
| Network uptime | Internet and LAN available for 99.5 percent of working hours at every office |
| Backups | Daily backups completed and one restore test done every month |
| Joiner readiness | Every new joiner has a laptop, email and system access ready on the first day |
| Asset accuracy | IT asset register matches physical verification within 2 percent at the half-yearly audit |
| Patch compliance | At least 95 percent of devices patched within 30 days of a release |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Active Directory, Microsoft 365 admin centre, Fortinet or Sophos firewall, Veeam or Windows Server Backup, Freshservice, GLPI or another helpdesk tool, Asset register in a tool or Excel, AnyDesk or a remote support tool.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: IT Head, Infrastructure Manager, Head of IT Infrastructure
Interview questions for a IT Manager
- The internet is down at a branch and the ISP says it is fine on their side. What do you check?
- How do you make sure an employee who resigned cannot reach email or files after their last day?
- Walk me through your monthly backup restore test.
- Fifty new joiners start on Monday. What do you prepare this week?
- How do you stop users from installing unlicensed software?
- A vendor keeps missing AMC visit dates. What do you do?
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What does an IT manager do?
An IT manager runs daily IT operations: the helpdesk, network, servers, laptops, email, backups and IT vendors. They manage the support team, keep asset and licence records, set up access for joiners and remove it for leavers, apply patches and prepare IT reports for management. In smaller companies they handle all of IT.
What qualifications does an IT manager need in India?
Most IT managers hold a B.E., B.Tech, B.Sc IT, BCA or MCA and have several years of hands-on support and system administration behind them. Certifications such as CCNA, Microsoft administrator certifications and ITIL Foundation help. SMEs especially value someone who can fix problems personally as well as manage vendors.
Who does an IT manager report to?
In larger companies an IT manager usually reports to the IT head. In small and mid-sized companies without an IT head, the IT manager often reports to the CFO or the admin head, or directly to the owner or managing director.