Director of Infrastructure Operations

Supervisor Title: Assistant Vice President of Information & Technology, CIO Status: Full Time Regular Salary Range: $130,000 - $135,000 Position Summary The Director of Infrastructure Services provides strategic and operational leadership for the College’s core technology infrastructure, ensuring that foundational IT services are reliable, secure, cost-effective, and aligned with institutional priorities. This role oversees the day‑to‑day operations and continuous improvement of on‑premises and cloud infrastructure, including network, identity, compute, storage, telephony, and related platforms that support teaching, learning, research, and administrative functions. The Director leads a high‑performing team of IT professionals, partners closely with information security, applications, and other campus stakeholders, and contributes to the College’s technology roadmap and digital transformation initiatives. Description of Key Responsibilities Strategic & Architectural Leadership Partner with the CIO and peer IT leaders to define and execute the college’s infrastructure strategy, including network, data center, cloud, and identity services, in support of the institutional mission and strategic plan. Drive the evolution of a modern, hybrid infrastructure architecture that appropriately leverages on‑premises, cloud, and managed services to improve agility, resilience, and cost‑effectiveness. Translate campus needs into infrastructure roadmaps, standards, and reference architectures, in collaboration with enterprise applications, academic technology, and security teams. Infrastructure Operations & Service Management Oversee the design, operation, and lifecycle management of enterprise infrastructure services, including campus network (wired and wireless), firewalls, data center and virtualized compute, storage and backup, identity and access management platforms, endpoints, and telephony systems. Ensure high availability, reliability, performance, and scalability of infrastructure services through robust monitoring, capacity planning, lifecycle management, and vendor support models. Establish and mature IT service management practices (e.g., incident, problem, change, configuration, and release management). Lead major incident response and communications for infrastructure issues, ensuring timely escalation, root‑cause analysis, and implementation of corrective actions. Oversee disaster recovery and business continuity planning for infrastructure services, including documentation, testing, and alignment with institutional continuity plans. Security, Risk, and Compliance Collaborate closely with external cybersecurity partners to implement and maintain security controls across infrastructure services, including network segmentation, access controls, patching, vulnerability management, and logging/monitoring. Ensure infrastructure operations comply with relevant policies, standards, and regulatory requirements (e.g., FERPA, GLBA, data privacy, etc.), and contribute to risk assessments and audits as needed. Promote security‑by‑design principles in all infrastructure projects and changes, balancing risk reduction with usability and performance. Lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team of infrastructure professionals, including managers, engineers, and administrators across network, systems, endpoints, cloud, identity, and telephony domains. Champion use of data, automation, and AI to improve efficiency and team capabilities. Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, reliability, and service excellence aligned with the college’s values and the needs of faculty, staff, and students. Set clear goals and expectations, provide regular feedback and coaching, and conduct performance evaluations and professional development planning. Manage and develop professional competencies alongside IT skills. Governance, Budget, and Vendor Management Work with ITS leadership to create and manage the infrastructure operations budget, including forecasting, cost optimization, and alignment with institutional financial priorities. Participate in IT governance processes and committees, providing expert input on infrastructure impacts, risks, and opportunities for proposed initiatives. Oversee vendor and service provider relationships related to infrastructure, including RFPs, contracts, and performance management, to ensure value, reliability, and alignment with institutional standards. Establish and maintain infrastructure standards, policies, and procedures to promote consistency, maintainability, and compliance across campus. Campus & Stakeholder Engagement Work collaboratively with academic and administrative units to understand their needs and ensure infrastructure services effectively support teaching, learning, student success, and campus operations. Communicate complex technical concepts and decisions in clear, accessible language for non‑technical stakeholders and governance bodies. Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Strong customer service skills can build retention and visibility as NCC strives to distinguish itself from its competitors. An individual in this position must possess the proficiency, wherewithal and knowledge of principles and processes for providing high‑quality service to both internal and external constituents of the College. Strong working knowledge of enterprise network design, engineering principles, and management practices, including core networking concepts and physical layer infrastructure. Demonstrated ability to guide and evaluate the design of resilient, highly available network architectures sufficient to provide strategic direction, oversight, and risk management. Broad understanding of cloud and/or on‑premises infrastructure and backup and disaster recovery strategies, sufficient to guide infrastructure investment, trade‑off, and modernization decisions with hybrid cloud modernization. Working familiarity with unified communications systems, encompassing network, telephony, and email platforms, including Microsoft Office 365, sufficient to direct integration, reliability, priorities, and vendor management recommendations. Systemic understanding of modern cybersecurity practices, including patching management, zero‑trust conditional access, intrusion prevention/detection, encryption, disaster recovery, privileged access management, and related identity management concepts. Working knowledge and experience with CSF 2.0 standards and their application to higher education risk management and compliance. Practical experience overseeing or working with endpoint management systems (e.g., Microsoft Intune, JAMF, ManageEngine Endpoint Central), directly or through technical staff, sufficient to ensure standardized, secure, and scalable management of the College’s device fleet. Working knowledge of IT process automation tools and practices (e.g., scripting, AI, workflow orchestration, robotic process automation), sufficient to identify opportunities for improving operational efficiency and reducing manual workload across the ITS organization. Ability to influence others and move toward a common vision or goal. Strong leadership and negotiation skills to build consensus with various individuals or groups at all organizational levels on campus. Ability to motivate, develop, and manage a team of ITS staff and consultants supporting the College’s goals. Demonstrated ability to develop skills and career plans for employees that advance both themselves and the department. Ability to work both as a leader and hands‑on team member, depending on the nature and criticality of the task, and provide excellent customer service skills and performance standards for the team. Ability to consistently demonstrate outstanding interpersonal skills in dealing with persons both internal and external to the College, for example systems integration vendor’s engineers, consultants and technical support personnel of various hardware and software vendors. Possess a strong customer and collegial service ethic and holds the team accountable to the same. Ability to deal with several tasks and work with many individuals concurrently; this position requires a person who is well organized, detail oriented, flexible and able to effectively manage and prioritize tasks within larger projects and programs. Ability and willingness to pursue additional training and to share such new knowledge to enhance the functionality and resources of the College’s technology resources. Effective communication skills – both oral and written. Intellectual curiosity and the ability to engage thought partners across functional areas. Distinguishing Characteristics This position serves as a positive and proactive technology change agent, identifying and delivering practical, creative solutions that improve teaching, learning, administrative services, and communications across the College. The Director works cross‑functionally to understand operational challenges, recommend effective technical solutions, and deliver services in a timely, high‑quality manner. Because the role involves frequent interaction with faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders, success requires strong communication and interpersonal skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively in collaborative environments while maintaining a results‑oriented approach. The position has access to sensitive personal, institutional, and confidential information and therefore requires a high degree of discretion, professionalism, and sound judgment. Success also requires the effective application of technical expertise and interpersonal skills to build and maintain positive, long‑term working relationships. Education/Training Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and directly related experience. Preferred Qualifications Master’s degree in Information Technology, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related discipline. Experience Minimum Qualifications Eight (8) or more years of progressive experience in enterprise infrastructure operations (e.g., network, systems, cloud, and/or data center), with at least three (3) years in a supervisory or management role leading technical teams. Demonstrated experience operating and supporting complex, mission‑critical infrastructure environments with high availability, security, and performance requirements. Project and portfolio management experience leading multiple complex infrastructure projects. Strong hands‑on knowledge across at least one infrastructure domain, such as enterprise networking, virtualization, storage/backup, identity, access management, cybersecurity, and/or cloud platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP). Proven ability to lead and develop technical staff, manage multiple concurrent initiatives, and make sound decisions under pressure. Preferred Qualifications Experience in higher education IT. Experience implementing and using IT service management frameworks (e.g., ITIL) and tools to manage incidents, changes, problems, and service levels. Experience and/or deep knowledge in two or more infrastructure domains – enterprise networking, virtualization, storage/backup, identity, access management, cybersecurity, and/or cloud platforms e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP. Experience with implementing AI with infrastructure automation. Licenses or Certifications Relevant industry certifications, such as PMP, ITIL, CISSP, CCNA / CCNP / CCIE, Azure, AWS Solutions Architect, or similar infrastructure, security, or cloud credentials. Employment Conditions An offer of employment is contingent upon successful completion of the College’s background screening process. Number of Vacancies 1 EEO Statement North Central College is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce. NCC provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please notify the Office of Human Resources. Determinations for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case‑by‑case basis. Close Date Open Until Filled Yes Additional Information The pay offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors including (but not limited to) the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and training. North Central College provides a comprehensive benefits package, which includes: All-inclusive medical, dental and vision group insurance Health and dependent care savings plans Employer‑paid life, AD&D and disability group insurance 403(b) retirement plan with employer contributions Employee assistance plan resources Tuition waiver for full‑time employees, spouse and dependent children Generous paid time off plans, including 3 weeks vacation to start 15 paid holidays per year, including 5 days during NCC Winter Break Free access to campus health center, fitness and athletic facilities, and library #J-18808-Ljbffr North Central College