GSD Escalation Manager

Amex GBT is a place where colleagues find inspiration in travel as a force for good and – through their work – can make an impact on our industry. We’re here to help our colleagues achieve success and offer an inclusive and collaborative culture where your voice is valued.

The Global Service Desk Escalation Manager is responsible for proactively managing customer escalations, service risks, aging tickets, SLA compliance, VIP support oversight, and cross-functional service coordination across a Global Service Desk operation. The role serves as the operational control point for customer-impacting issues, ensuring timely progression of tickets, resolution of service blockers, stakeholder communication, and protection of the overall customer experience.

This role operates across multiple regions and support teams, partnering with Service Desk Team Leads, resolver groups, and business stakeholders to identify and mitigate operational risks before they become escalations.

Key Responsibilities

Service Escalation Management

• Own and manage operational escalations through to resolution.

• Monitor and proactively address user-impacting issues.

• Drive resolution activities for aging, stalled, and business-critical tickets.

• Coordinate actions across multiple support teams and resolver groups.

• Escalate risks and blockers to management when appropriate.

• Ensure clear ownership and accountability throughout the ticket lifecycle.

SLA & Service Assurance Governance

• Monitor SLA and operational performance across the Service Desk.

• Identify tickets at risk of SLA breach and coordinate corrective actions.

• Analyze trends relating to ticket aging, backlog growth, and recurring escalations.

• Ensure adherence to Service Level Agreements and operational processes.

• Drive proactive remediation activities to reduce SLA risks.

Backlog & Queue Management

• Monitor open ticket queues and aging backlogs.

• Identify tickets requiring intervention due to inactivity or delayed progress.

• Work with Service Desk Team Leads to improve ticket movement.

• Conduct regular reviews of backlog health and escalation trends.

• Support backlog reduction initiatives.

VIP & Executive Support Oversight

• Provide enhanced oversight for executive and business-critical user tickets.

• Ensure timely communication and resolution progress for priority users.

• Coordinate with resolver teams to address business-impacting issues.

• Manage stakeholder expectations throughout the support lifecycle.

Customer Experience Management

• Monitor customer satisfaction trends and service feedback.

• Investigate customer complaints and recurring service concerns.

• Identify opportunities to improve the end-user support experience.

Collaboration Channel Monitoring

• Monitor Zoom channels for emerging risks and service concerns.

• Identify potential user escalations before formal escalation occurs.

• Monitor for signs of service degradation, customer dissatisfaction, and business impact.

• Coordinate responses and ensure appropriate ownership of concerns raised through collaboration channels.

• Provide visibility of emerging themes and operational risks to leadership.

Cross-Functional Service Coordination

• Facilitate coordination between Service Desk, Infrastructure, Applications, and vendors.

• Remove operational blockers impacting ticket progression.

• Ensure handoffs between support groups occur effectively.

• Drive accountability for actions and commitments across resolver teams.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Produce operational reports related to escalations, SLA performance, backlog health, and customer experience.

• Identify recurring service issues and process improvement opportunities.

• Recommend improvements to workflows, knowledge management, and service delivery practices.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

• 5+ years of experience in IT Service Management, Service Desk Operations, or Technical Support.

• 2+ years of experience managing escalations, service delivery, or operational governance activities.

• Strong understanding of ITIL-based support environments.

• Experience working in global support organizations.<