Ithaka

Ann Arbor, MI

Supported by the Mellon, Hewlett and Niarchos Foundations, Ithaka is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping accelerate the adoption of productive and efficient uses of information technology for the benefit of the worldwide higher education community.  Our initial focus is on helping promising not-for-profit projects develop sustainable organizational and economic models.  Ithaka is affiliated with JSTOR and ARTstor, and is currently incubating three new initiatives:  Portico, an effort to build a trusted and reliable archive of born-electronic journals; Aluka, a project with an aim to make primary source material from the developing world more widely available in digital form; and NITLE, an effort to help smaller colleges make full use of new electronic and networking technologies to support teaching and research.   We are a small, growing entrepreneurially-minded organization that values teamwork, a collegial spirit and collaboration.

Ithaka supports the affiliated and incubated entities through the provision of three types of services: 1) strategic services, through which we offer strategic advice based on our combination of experience and access to a unique network of relationships with leaders in higher education, philanthropy, business and technology; 2) shared services, which includes provision of administrative, financial and technical services.  The objectives of the shared services are to lower costs and increase effectiveness for the affiliated and incubated entities while enabling them to focus on mission-specific activities; and 3) research, which is dedicated to supporting the cost recovery goals of affiliated and incubated entities while also informing the general higher education community of the impact of new technologies. 

We are searching for an energetic, customer service oriented person to be based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  This person will report directly to the Sr. Support Specialist at the Ann Arbor location, and ultimately to the Manager of IT Support Services.  The individual in this role will work with a  team of specialists, primarily in support of local staff (however some remote support will be necessary at times) using the internal desktop systems of a group of affiliated organizations which provide access to large databases of academic and research materials, primarily to institutions of higher educations.  The help desk staff is geographically dispersed at Ithaka and affiliate locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan Princeton, NJ; and several other locations in New York City.  The Jr. Support Specialist will be assisting the Sr. Support Specialist on site.  The hardware and software are housed in offices and machine rooms in multiple locations across the country. 

The Jr. Support Specialist will investigate and resolve the software and hardware problems of computer users.  The job includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks:

Required Skills and Experience:

• The ideal candidate should be seeking a computer related degree or certificate and have customer service experience in the field or related area
• Must have knowledge of Microsoft operating systems (Windows 2000, XP) and Microsoft Office
• Have experience learning new software quickly
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, along with superb follow-up skills and attention to detail are required
• Experience with FileMaker, Talisma, Adobe products, and Citrix are highly desirable
• Experiencing supporting Mac OSX is also desirable

Ithaka offers a competitive salary, a comprehensive benefits package, and the opportunity to grow and expand your technology skills. If you want to join a high quality team, e-mail your resume, cover letter, and salary history/requirements to: ITtemp@ithaka.org. Please note that we will consider each response carefully, but only contact those individuals we feel are most qualified for the position. No telephone calls will be accepted. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.

Ithaka is an equal opportunity employer.