Director, Department of Infrastructure and Operations

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION:
Under general direction of the chief of strategic initiatives, aligns, supervises, and deploys staff to coordinate the work of the Department of Infrastructure and Operations, which includes data center operations, enterprise systems administration, technology services and support, IT help desk, database administration, telecommunication services, IT security and school technology support. The primary function of this position is to lead the ongoing work to design, develop, and deliver an operational infrastructure that is highly secure and provides high availability uptime and that scales to meet the district's growing commitment to anywhere, anytime access to required instructional and administrative systems. Aligns the priorities of the department with the vision of the Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI). Manages the operating budget and spending for the department. Ensures the work carried out by staff supports the policies of the Board of Education and the expectations of the superintendent and executive staff.

CERTIFICATE LICENSE:
None

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:
Ability to manage multiple complex projects and achieve results within required deadlines, functionality, performance, quality and budget. In collaboration with peers, staff, and the chief of strategic initiatives, the director leads the development and integration of state of the art data center, IT security processes and procedures, telecommunications, enterprise systems administration, storage, server, and practice methodologies to maintain and build a reliable, secure and robust computing environment. Skilled in fiscal management and able to develop/manage operating and capital budgets. Demonstrates skills and ability to manage projects and staff, implement and integrate purchased or developed solutions, and model effective customer management practices. Skilled in negotiating and managing vendor relationships the director confers with the office's leadership and staff in developing a clearly defined and articulated vision for how the district's enterprise infrastructure is designed, developed, and managed. The director must be technically competent, hands-on self-starter with strong communication, leadership and organizational development skills, and leads with a continuous improvement mindset. Knowledge and administration of best practices in employee professional growth, including staff development and providing timely feedback to staff. Knowledge of a variety of technology architectures, software development lifecycle, application security, infrastructure security, project/process management and the operations of a large public school system are essential. Knowledge of or ability to quickly learn and apply the three MCPS Professional Growth Systems (PGS), evaluation criteria and procedures.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE:
Bachelor's degree in technology or related discipline from an accredited college or university, Master's degree preferred. A minimum of 5 years of progressively more relevant experience, including supervisory experience. Experience with multi-platform computing environments, cybersecurity, infrastructure and IT security, enterprise network operations, cloud-based system architectures, as well as centralized and distributed client server functionality. Specific experience with Cisco systems and Microsoft server/workstation architectures and design. Significant experience in managing multiple complex systems projects and prior supervisory or leadership experience. Experience in creating and managing the operating budget for an organization or department.