Specialist, Systems Administrator

Position Overview The mission of the Office of Data and Technology is to support schools and the district as a whole to use technology and data effectively to accelerate student achievement. The Office includes the following teams: Information Technology team provides DCPS students and staff in every school with the infrastructure, systems, and support to use technology effectively to accelerate student achievement. Data team ensures stakeholders at all levels of the organization have access to accurate, timely, and relevant data, conducting analysis and research, and building school‑based capacity to use data tools to inform planning and decision‑making. Enterprise Application team leads the district’s efforts to ensure all DCPS students and staff, in every school, have application technology and systems needed to be successful. The Specialist, Systems Administrator will play a significant role in the administration and end user support of the instructional and business‑critical operational/productivity systems. Serving as an escalation point from the service desk, the Specialist, Systems Administrator, will apply their advanced skillset and troubleshooting experience to identify the root cause and resolve issues in a timely fashion. Proficiency in core business and educational platforms, including Microsoft Office365, EntraID, and education technology, is critical to the success of this position. The Specialist, Systems Administrator is a technical support role that requires regular in‑person presence to perform essential job functions, including maintaining IT infrastructure, supporting enterprise systems, responding to operational issues, and providing hands‑on technical assistance. This position has been designated as Security Sensitive. Pursuant to section410 of Chapter4 of the D.C. Personnel Regulations; in addition to the general suitability screening, individuals applying for or occupying security sensitive positions are subject to the following checks and tests: Criminal background check; Sex Offender Registry check; Traffic record check (as applicable); Consumer credit check (as applicable); Reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol test; and Post‑accident or incident drug and alcohol test. The Specialist, Systems Administrator will report to the Director, IT Infrastructure and Operations. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Provides level2 in‑person and virtual business and education platforms support to DCPS staff and students by serving as an escalation point from the service desk. Documents incidents, problems, and service requests through the district’s ITSM. Follows strict service level agreements to ensure timely service. Supports the configuration of business and education platforms to ensure requirements are implemented with fidelity. Performs ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting of instructional platforms and applications to ensure their ongoing availability, stability, and compliance with established standards and security requirements, including but not limited to setting up users, roles, security, and internal system notifications. Works closely with various senior‑level system administrators and business application owners on SSO, data, and systems integrations. Develops secure automated solutions for administrative and domain management tasks. Maintains, administers, and supports Office365, Entra, Teams, and Exchange. Assists in administering mission critical instructional platforms such as Clever, Canvas, LightSpeed, and Adobe. Assist in administering school operation and administrative applications. Interfaces with Microsoft and other solution providers for any tier3 support requirements. Develops concise and accurate engineering and knowledge‑base documentation, including design plans, implementation guides, knowledge guides, and standard operating procedures. Identifies risks and problems and conducts qualitative and quantitative analysis to generate and evaluate alternatives and to make recommendations. Works closely with the academic and education technology teams to gather requirements and implement solutions to meet desired outcomes. Follows organizational change management processes and standard operating procedures to plan for and implement continuous improvements of the environment. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree and three to five years of related work experience, including a minimum of three years of enterprise level Azure/AD/Office365 Administration experience. Master’s degree preferred. Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus. Microsoft Azure and Office365 certifications. High degree of system‑specific knowledge and a background in the various technologies and practices required by DCPS, including: EntraID, VDI platform, Office365 Suite, Canvas and Clever. Excellent understanding and working knowledge of PowerShell and the ability to create and maintain scripts for effective use with exchange/Office365 and Azure environments. Experience with the integration of Office365 with third‑party security and application tools. Strong communication skills and experience partnering with senior IT and program leadership. Must be able to express key ideas and obtain tangible feedback from cross‑functional team members and stakeholders. Works well with clients and other vendors in achieving mission success and is committed to providing quality products and services. Obsessive attention to detail and accuracy of information. Must be available after hours and on weekends to respond to urgent requests and emergencies as needed. We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals with disabilities. Accommodation and/or application assistance is available upon request at all stages of the application and employment process. To request accommodation, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io. #J-18808-Ljbffr