Hiring an Incident Manager: Job Description, Interview Questions

Even short-term IT disruptions can have a long-lasting impact on productivity, customer satisfaction, or sales. Incident managers help maintain business continuity by managing and resolving incidents that might interrupt service by swiftly identifying, analyzing, and addressing issues. They’re vital to maintaining service quality and reliability!

Let’s cover the bones of how you can best identify and hire incident managers with the right job description and interview questions. But first, let’s dig more into their impact.

The Importance of Hiring An Incident Manager

Incident managers use their expertise and experience to streamline incident response and resolution. They effectively prioritize incidents, coordinate with various IT teams, and implement effective solutions, reducing the time it takes to resolve incidents and restore normal operations.

They’re kind of like project managers, but for unforeseen issues! (However, there is certainly proactive and risk planning an incident manager does.)

Businesses hire an incident manager to:

Minimize system downtime and enhance IT stability by proactively detecting and resolving potential problems before they escalate.
Enhance incident response and resolution by prioritizing incidents, coordinating with various IT teams, and implementing effective solutions.
Minimize business disruptions and productivity loss by minimizing downtime and resolving incidents quickly.
Improve communication and stakeholder management by managing expectations, keeping everyone informed, and addressing concerns promptly.
Implement more effective preventive measures, reducing the likelihood of future incidents and preventing recurring problems.
Optimize resource allocation, improve incident resolution rates, and contribute to overall IT cost savings.

What to Include in Your Incident Manager Job Description

When writing a job description for an incident manager, it’s important to be accurate, comprehensive, and tailored to the exact role.

While there may be industry-specific skills and requirements, here are some of the primary responsibilities and skills to target in your job description.

Primary Responsibilities

Lead the incident management process and oversee team members involved in resolving incidents.
Oversee and manage every aspect of the incident, starting with its assessment and leading up to its resolution.
Respond to reported service incidents, identify the cause, and initiate the management process.
Produce documents outlining incident protocols, such as handling cybersecurity threats or correcting server failures.
Prioritize incidents according to their urgency and influence on the business.
Collaborate with the incident management team so all protocols are diligently followed.
Communicate with upper management if significant issues are found.
Interact with users who open IT support tickets throughout the incident lifecycle, from initial impact assessment to follow-up after the incident is closed.
Log all incidents and their resolution to identify and prevent recurring malfunctions.
Conduct diagnostics, data collection, and troubleshooting activities to identify and resolve technical issues.

Top Skills/Qualities

Proficiency in incident response, infrastructure, ITIL, metrics, production environment, incident reports, technical issues, NOC (Network Operations Center), client-facing, network operations, Java, mainframe, and SharePoint
Ability to analyze a high volume of technical data to identify incident trends and solutions while working in a high-pressure and fast-paced environment
Strong leadership and decision-making skills to guide and manage the incident response team
Proficiency in ITSM (IT Service Management), including incident management, documentation, and hardware
Proven problem-solving and analytical skills
Excellent communication skills for coordinating with IT teams and communicating with stakeholders
Ability to handle major incidents swiftly and judiciously
Team player and leader who can also work independently when necessary

Education and Experience

Incident managers often have a degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field. Relevant experience in IT service management, particularly in incident or problem management, is highly valued. Certifications in ITIL or other service management frameworks can be a significant advantage depending on your required skill level.

Incident Manager Salary

According to Salary.com, the median base salary for an Incident Manager in the United States is $130,126. That salary changes based on location, management level, experience, and more.

Incident Manager Interview Questions

A successful incident manager can work well under pressure, sometimes managing multiple incidents. They need to be able to prioritize and make prudent decisions quickly.

Here are a few interview questions to use when you hire an incident manager:
How do you prioritize incidents?
Describe a complex IT incident that you successfully managed and resolved. What were the challenges, and how did you overcome them?
What tools and methodologies do you use to manage and track IT incidents?
What’s the most challenging part of communicating incident updates to stakeholders?
What strategies do you use to prevent recurring incidents?
Can you give an example of a time when you had to handle a stressful or demanding situation under pressure? How did you remain calm and focused?
Tell me about a time you had to learn a new technology or tool quickly. How did you approach this learning process?
How do you stay current with IT service management best practices?

Check out our full blog post of 30+ incident manager interview questions!

Hire an Incident Manager

A skilled incident manager keeps your IT operations running smoothly and efficiently. If you’re ready to add this key player to your team but aren’t sure where to start, consider partnering with a recruitment expert.

At Insight Global, the second-largest IT staffing company in the U.S., we specialize in connecting businesses with top-tier IT talent. Our extensive network and expert recruitment process ensure we find candidates who will keep your IT operations resilient and robust. Connect with us to get started.