Director of IT and Artificial Intelligence

Job Description

Job Description:\n\n \n Position Summary\n Genesis Companies seeks a highly skilled Director of IT & Artificial Intelligence to manage and oversee the day-to-day IT operations, enterprise AI adoption, and strategic IT initiatives for the entire organization, including Genesis Companies, VPH Management Services LLC, and GP Construction. The Director of IT & Artificial Intelligence will be responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning of all technology systems, supporting Microsoft 365, sourcing and managing computer equipment and mobile devices, overseeing IT project management, and working with third-party vendors for security, and will serve as the administrator and owner of the company’s enterprise AI platform (Claude), including its governance, data controls, integrations, custom skills library, and staff training. The role is both hands-on and strategic: the Director personally supports users and systems while advising executive leadership on technology, AI, data, and cybersecurity.\n \n Reports to: VP of Operations. Location and Work Arrangement: New York City office; hybrid schedule, with on-site presence required for hands-on device, network, and user support and as operational needs require.\n \n Essential Duties and Responsibilities\n The Director of IT & Artificial Intelligence will conduct all business in accordance with company policies and procedures, and state and federal laws (OSHA, ADA and Fair Housing). Essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:\n \n IT Operations and Technical Support:\n \n \n Manage and maintain the company’s IT systems and infrastructure, including desktops, laptops, printers, mobile devices, and servers.\n Provide technical support to all employees, troubleshooting hardware and software issues to ensure a smooth workflow.\n Configure, install, and maintain software applications and operating systems across devices.\n Ensure all network systems (Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN) are functioning optimally and securely.\n Oversee and support the Microsoft 365 suite, including email, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Exchange, and Microsoft Entra ID (identity, access, and single sign-on), ensuring seamless access and performance across departments.\n Provide hands-on technical assistance with issues related to system malfunctions, device setup, and system upgrades.\n Manage and resolve security-related issues, ensuring compliance with IT security protocols to protect company data and networks.\n Issue devices to employees and establish a system for tracking accountability and cost efficiency for these devices.\n Oversee and monitor the security camera network to ensure cameras are operational and used consistent with company policy.\n Provide regular IT reports to the VP of Operations, including updates on system performance, project status, and any issues impacting operations.\n Document IT processes, policies, and procedures, ensuring consistency and efficiency across all company systems.\n Manage the company’s IT support contractor, including scope of work, service levels, ticket assignment and quality of resolution, and system access.\n \n \n \n IT Strategy Development:\n \n \n Develop and implement a technology and AI strategy that supports the operational and business objectives of Genesis Companies, VPH Management Services LLC, and GP Construction.\n Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership regarding technology, AI, cybersecurity, automation, data, and emerging technology.\n Identify and evaluate technological trends and solutions to improve operational efficiency and meet future business needs.\n Recommend and implement new technologies and upgrades that enhance productivity and business performance.\n \n \n \n Budget and Resource Management:\n \n \n Develop and manage the IT budget, ensuring that spending is aligned with the company’s strategic goals and operational needs.\n Oversee IT resource allocation, ensuring that both hardware and software expenditures are efficient and cost-effective.\n Track and report on IT expenditures, helping the VP of Operations understand budgetary impacts and provide insights on cost-saving opportunities.\n Manage AI platform subscriptions and seat licensing as a line item of the IT budget, tracking utilization and cost per user and recommending plan or seat changes.\n \n \n \n IT Project Management:\n \n \n Manage IT projects, including system upgrades, network improvements, and new technology implementations from start to finish.\n Develop and maintain IT project plans that detail timelines, resources, budgets, and potential risks.\n Ensure that IT projects are completed on time, within budget, and meet the expected requirements.\n \n \n \n Risk Management and Security:\n \n \n Identify IT-related risks (e.g., cybersecurity threats, data breaches) and develop strategies to mitigate them.\n Ensure compliance with data security standards, protecting sensitive company and client data.\n Implement and maintain security protocols, including firewalls, encryption, and regular data backups, to safeguard company information.\n Conduct routine audits and assessments of IT systems and security measures to ensure the company is protected against emerging threats.\n Extend security, access, and data-protection controls to AI platforms and their integrations (connectors, browser extensions, desktop and mobile applications), including identity and single sign-on, least-privilege permissions to Microsoft 365 data, audit-log review, and incident response for any AI-related data exposure.\n \n \n \n Vendor Management:\n \n \n Coordinate with third-party vendors for IT support services, security systems, software solutions, and hardware procurement.\n Negotiate contracts with vendors and ensure that services are delivered in accordance with agreed-upon terms, including performance standards and pricing.\n Manage vendor relationships, ensuring timely delivery of services and products, troubleshooting issues as they arise.\n Own the vendor relationship with the company’s AI platform provider (Anthropic), including contract and renewal terms, data-processing and confidentiality terms, support escalation, and tracking of product and pricing changes that affect the company.\n \n \n \n AI Strategy and Governance:\n \n \n Drive the company’s AI adoption strategy, including training, change management, and promoting effective use of AI tools across the organization.\n Evaluate AI platforms, applications, vendors, and tools before implementation; maintain an approved-tools list and a process for employees to request new tools.\n Lead the development and growth of AI-driven platforms, workflows, and automations that improve business performance across development, property management, construction, and finance.\n Develop, publish, and maintain the company’s AI Acceptable Use Policy and related standards for the responsible use of generative AI, including: what company, resident, employee, financial, and legal information may and may not be entered into AI tools; required human review and verification of AI output before it is relied upon or sent outside the company; and a requirement for compliance review before AI is used in resident screening, employment, or other decisions that carry Fair Housing, employment-law, or agency-compliance risk.\n Provide strategic oversight on AI-related risks, including data privacy, confidentiality of resident, employee, financial, and privileged legal information, model reliability, and cyber security.\n Monitor new AI technologies and recommend strategic solutions.\n Partner with leadership to identify technology and AI learning needs and develop targeted solutions.\n \n \n \n Enterprise AI Platform Administration (Claude):\n Genesis Companies has standardized on Anthropic’s Claude as its enterprise AI platform. The Director is the platform’s administrator and is accountable for the following:\n \n \n Workspace administration: Administer the Genesis Companies Claude organization, including user provisioning and deprovisioning tied to onboarding and offboarding, roles and admin permissions, identity and single sign-on integration with Microsoft Entra ID, organization-level settings (organization instructions, project visibility, capability and network settings), and seat and usage management.\n Data governance and connectors: Control what company data Claude can reach. Evaluate, approve, configure, and periodically re-certify connectors and integrations, including Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Calendar, SharePoint, Teams), the desktop application’s folder access, the browser extension, and any MCP or third-party connectors, applying least-privilege permissions and documenting the approved set. Ensure resident and tenant PII, employee PII, financial data, and privileged legal or investigative material are handled in accordance with company policy, lender and agency requirements (including HUD and NYCHA program requirements), and applicable privacy law.\n Skills library: Own the company’s centrally managed library of Claude skills (the standardized role-based advisors for executive, finance, legal, construction, asset management, and HR functions). Maintain version control and a single source-of-truth repository; review every skill for removal of confidential content before release; distribute skills only through Claude’s built-in sharing feature, never as emailed files; restrict privileged skills (HR, legal) to authorized users; run the intake and change-request process; test skills before release; and retire stale dates, benchmarks, and references.\n Projects, scheduled tasks, and automations: Set standards for how staff build Claude projects, scheduled tasks, and automations, including when a task may run in the cloud versus bound to a specific device, which connectors it may use, and what it may read or write. Maintain an inventory and recovery record of business-critical configurations (project instructions, scheduled-task prompts and schedules, memory and folder bindings) so they can be recreated after a workspace change, device reinstall, or account event; monitor scheduled runs for failures or suspensions and restore them.\n Executive and power-user support: Provide direct, high-touch support for executive-level Claude configurations, including custom skills, projects, scheduled briefs, persistent memory, and connector setup, with documented procedures for device linking, folder access, and application reinstallation that preserve existing configurations.\n Deployment and end-user support: Manage deployment and updates of the Claude desktop and mobile applications and browser extension across company devices; serve as first- and second-line support for Claude users (sign-in and SSO, connector authorization, folder access, application errors); maintain the Employee Setup guide and an internal knowledge base; and escalate to the provider as needed.\n Training and adoption: Deliver onboarding and role-based training for all staff on Claude and the skills library, with emphasis on effective prompting, verification of outputs against source documents, confidentiality rules, and appropriate use cases by department; run office hours or a champions program; and measure adoption.\n Usage, cost, and value: Monitor seat utilization, usage limits, model access, and spend; report quarterly to the VP of Operations on adoption, cost per user, and business impact.\n Roadmap and integration: Track Anthropic product releases (models, features, administrative controls, and pricing) and evaluate new capabilities, including API- and agent-based workflows, for pilots that connect Claude to the company’s property management, construction, and accounting systems, in coordination with department heads.\n Audit and compliance: Review audit logs and usage patterns for policy violations or data-exposure risk; maintain documentation of settings, approvals, and policy exceptions; and support any lender, agency, or legal inquiry regarding the company’s use of AI.\n \n \n \n Perform special projects and other responsibilities as assigned.\n \n Qualifications, Experience and Skills\n \n \n Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.\n Experience: Minimum of 5 years of experience in IT support, IT operations, or a related role, with at least 2 years in a strategic or management capacity, preferably in real estate, construction, or a similar fast-paced industry.\n Hands-on experience administering an enterprise generative-AI platform (Claude for business preferred; Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, or Gemini for Workspace acceptable), including user provisioning, single sign-on, data and permission controls, integrations and connectors, and audit.\n Working knowledge of how large language models operate and where they fail, including context limits, prompting, retrieval, tool and agent integrations (MCP or similar), and hallucination and verification, sufficient to set standards and train non-technical staff.\n Strong knowledge and experience with Microsoft Office 365, including Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange, and Microsoft Entra ID, including management of Microsoft Graph application permissions and SharePoint permissions for third-party integrations.\n Proficient in managing hardware, including desktops, laptops, printers, and mobile devices.\n Experience with network systems management, including wireless networking, routers, VPNs, and firewalls.\n In-depth knowledge of cybersecurity best practices and risk management.\n Familiarity with cloud technologies, including Azure and AWS.\n Demonstrated experience with IT project management and vendor management.\n Strong understanding of data backup solutions and best practices for data protection.\n Scripting or automation skills (PowerShell, Python) and comfort working with API documentation and structured configuration files.\n Experience drafting and enforcing technology and AI acceptable-use policies; familiarity with privacy law and with legal limits on AI use in housing and employment decisions (e.g., the Fair Housing Act and NYC Local Law 144) preferred.\n Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to troubleshoot complex IT issues.\n Strong communication skills, able to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.\n Demonstrated ability to evaluate, implement, and scale AI or automation tools that improve business workflows and decision-making.\n Demonstrated ability to train and support non-technical staff in adopting new tools and to write documentation others can follow.\n Attention to detail and ability to prioritize tasks effectively in a fast-paced environment.\n Able to manage multiple tasks and deadlines independently.\n Able to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.\n High ethical standards and a commitment to confidentiality and integrity, including in the handling of