Director of Information Technology

Responsibilities and Duties

• Develop and maintain a rolling 1, 3, and 5-year technology roadmap and provide leadership for strategic technology initiatives, including classroom upgrades, system integrations, and infrastructure transitions
• Serve as the Seminary's primary point of contact for key technology vendors and contractual partners, including network/MSP, Zoom, security monitoring, and major software providers
• Evaluate current vendor relationships on an ongoing basis to determine which services should continue to be outsourced versus brought in-house, including planning now for the conclusion of the current managed network services (Segra) contract
• Bring in specialized vendors to assess needs in complex spaces (e.g., classroom technology and meeting spaces) and synthesize their recommendations into a clear plan and budget request
• Research and recommend membership in relevant purchasing consortiums, including theological school consortiums, to optimize costs on software, hardware, and services
• Provide direct technical support and troubleshooting as a regular part of the role, including help desk support, classroom technology, and event support on both campuses
• Oversee day-to-day operations of the IT department and ensure Help Desk requests are being addressed within established service level expectations, including response time commitments and ticket resolution benchmarks
• Maintain accountability for department performance metrics, including user impact, response times, and ticket resolution, and use these to set ongoing priorities
• Work closely with Hospitality and Facilities to support technology needs for campus events
• Oversee the management and integrity of institutional databases, including Sonis and PowerFAIDS (financial aid system), ensuring data accuracy, appropriate access controls, and coordination with relevant offices

Budget Oversight

• Develop and manage the department's operating and capital budgets and approve expenses
• Plan for hardware and software lifecycle replacement in accordance with established inventory management policy, including managing the Seminary's four-year computer replacement cycle and planning purchases in stages rather than full-scale replacement
• Plan and budget for network and backend infrastructure needs (switches, power, equipment) ahead of need, with particular attention to requirements created by the Segra contract transition
• Identify opportunities for cost savings through software consolidation, licensing review, and vendor negotiation
• Prepare budget reports and forecasts as needed

Policy, Security, and Governance

• Develop, maintain, and periodically review IT governing policies, including computer usage, password management, data governance, disaster recovery
• Maintain overall accountability for data and infrastructure security in partnership with the Systems Administrator and third-party security providers and ensure appropriate disaster recovery and business continuity planning is in place and tested
• Oversee compliance with relevant regulations and standards as they pertain to technology and data

Operational Support and Oversight

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the IT department and ensure Help Desk requests are being addressed within established service level expectations, including response time commitments and ticket resolution benchmarks
• Maintain accountability for department performance metrics, including user impact, response times, and ticket resolution, and use these to set ongoing priorities
• Act as Seminary contact for the upsem.edu domain and other back-end web functions, in consultation with the Communications Office
• Oversee the management and integrity of institutional databases, including Sonis and PowerFAIDS (financial aid system), ensuring data accuracy, appropriate access controls, and coordination with relevant offices
• Work closely with Hospitality and Facilities to support technology needs for campus events