THECB - Director of IT Operations (ITS)

About the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) works to ensure that all Texans have access to high-quality, affordable higher education opportunities that prepare students for successful careers and strengthen the state's workforce and economy. Through collaboration with colleges, universities, policymakers, and education partners across Texas, THECB advances initiatives that expand educational opportunity, promote student success, and support the future of higher education. About Information Technology Services The Information Technology Services (ITS) Division advances THECB's mission by delivering secure, reliable, and customer-focused technology services that enable agency staff to effectively serve Texas students, institutions, and communities. Our organization is committed to operational excellence through modern technology, strong governance, strategic partnerships, and continuous improvement. We are modernizing how technology services are delivered by strengthening infrastructure and operational resilience, advancing cloud-first and hybrid infrastructure, improving platform reliability and security, and building a culture centered on accountability, collaboration, innovation, and service excellence. At THECB, we believe technology is more than infrastructure and support. It is a strategic business partner that enables our agency to better serve students, institutions, and the State of Texas. About the Role The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is seeking an experienced and collaborative technology leader to serve as the Director of IT Operations. Reporting to the Senior Director of Technology, this position is a key member of the Information Technology Services leadership team and provides strategic leadership and oversight for the agency's IT operations function, including infrastructure, networks, platforms, and enterprise support systems. The Director is responsible for ensuring the stability, performance, security, and scalability of the technology environment that enables agency business operations and advances THECB's mission, strategic priorities, and service objectives. This position establishes the strategic direction for IT operations by developing goals, objectives, operational policies, procedures, standards, service delivery practices, and performance measures that promote reliable, secure, and efficient technology operations across the agency. Responsibilities include directing enterprise IT operations and service delivery; overseeing operational risk management, security practices, disaster recovery, and continuity planning; directing financial planning, budgeting, and cost optimization for IT operations; managing vendor relationships, service agreements, and statements of work with external service providers for infrastructure and operational support services; and providing leadership for operational governance, regulatory compliance, and organizational change. Working collaboratively with ITS leadership, IT Service Delivery, Product Management, Product Engineering, Data Engineering, the Project Management Office (PMO), and agency stakeholders, the Director helps align operational services with business needs and long-term technology strategy while ensuring the consistent delivery of the key platforms and services that agency teams rely on. This position supervises management and professional staff and exercises significant initiative and independent judgment while serving as a trusted advisor on IT operations, infrastructure, cloud modernization, and operational resilience. Why Join Our Team This is an exciting opportunity to help shape how the technology environment that supports the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is operated, secured, and modernized. As a member of the ITS leadership team, you'll play a critical role in advancing cloud modernization, strengthening infrastructure and security operations, improving operational resilience, and building a high-performing team focused on delivering reliable, secure, and scalable technology platforms and services. In this role, you'll have the opportunity to: Lead the agency's infrastructure and cloud strategy, including the move from on-premises to private and public cloud environments. Build, mentor, and develop high-performing engineers, administrators, and managers across networking, systems, platforms, and security engineering while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Strengthen operational resilience through disaster recovery, continuity planning, and security practices that protect agency systems and data. Establish operational standards, service levels, and performance measures that improve reliability and support executive decision-making. Strengthen the partnership between IT Service Delivery, Product Engineering, Data Engineering, Product Management, and the PMO to deliver the key platforms and services agency teams depend on. Make a lasting impact by helping technology enable the agency's mission of expanding educational opportunity and supporting higher education across Texas. If you are passionate about developing people, modernizing infrastructure, strengthening operational resilience, and building technology operations that create measurable business value, we encourage you to apply. General Description Performs highly advanced (senior-level) managerial work for the Information Technology Services (ITS) Division of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Serving as the Director of IT Operations, this position provides strategic leadership and oversight for the agency's IT operations function, including infrastructure, networks, platforms, and enterprise support systems. The position is responsible for ensuring the stability, performance, security, and scalability of the technology environment that enables agency business operations and advances the agency's mission, strategic priorities, and service objectives. Work involves establishing strategic plans, goals, and objectives for IT operations; developing operational policies, procedures, standards, and service delivery practices; and establishing priorities, performance measures, and evaluation tools to assess operational effectiveness, system availability, and service quality. Responsibilities include directing enterprise IT operations and service delivery; overseeing operational risk management, security practices, disaster recovery, and continuity planning; directing financial planning, budgeting, and cost optimization for IT operations; managing vendor relationships, service agreements, and statements of work with external service providers for infrastructure and operational support services; and providing leadership for operational governance, regulatory compliance, and organizational change. Collaborates with ITS leadership and agency stakeholders to align operational services with business needs and long-term technology strategy, and provides operational input into agency-wide planning efforts. Supervises the work of others, including management and professional staff. Works under minimal supervision, with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. This position reports to the Senior Director of Technology. Performs other duties as assigned. General Duties and Responsibilities Strategic People Leadership & Talent Strategy - Leads managers, senior individual contributors, or a combination of both by setting leadership expectations, supporting performance management, and guiding workforce and succession planning. Develops leadership capability and subject-matter expertise; aligns talent to strategic needs; and fosters a culture of accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement. Strategic Execution, Governance & Resource Alignment - Defines and oversees execution of strategies within assigned domains by establishing goals, priorities, standards, and performance measures. Aligns budgets, staffing, and resources to objectives; ensures compliance and governance; and monitors organizational performance to achieve agency outcomes. IT Operations & Service Delivery Leadership - Directs enterprise IT operations and service delivery functions that support agency infrastructure, platforms, and end-user technology services. Establishes operational standards and performance expectations to ensure reliable, secure, and efficient technology services that support agency programs and mission-critical activities. Operational Risk, Security & Continuity Management - Oversees operational practices that protect the integrity, availability, and security of enterprise technology services. Establishes standard and procedures that support operational resilience, risk mitigation, and continuity of services while ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and enterprise governance expectations. Financial, Vendor & Resource Management - Directs financial planning, budgeting, and resource allocation for IT operations. Oversees vendor relationships, contractual service agreements, and external service providers to ensure operational services are delivered efficiently and in alignment with organizational objectives and fiscal accountability standards. Enterprise Collaboration & Operational Alignment - Collaborates with IT leadership, agency executives, and business stakeholders to align operational technology services with organizational priorities. Provides operational insight into agency planning efforts and ensures IT services remain responsive to evolving business and mission requirements. Performs other duties as assigned. Knowledge Skills or Abilities Knowledge of enterprise infrastructure architecture and operations, including on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud environments. Knowledge of cloud migration and infrastructure modernization strategies, including rehosting, replatforming, and hybrid cloud approaches. Knowledge of cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, or comparable solutions, and enterprise networking technologies, including connectivity, segmentation, and network security. Knowledge of systems and platform administration, including servers, virtualization, identity, storage, backup, monitoring, and infrastructure automation. Knowledge of security engineering, operational risk management, disaster recovery, and business continuity practices within enterprise environments. Knowledge of IT governance, security, and compliance practices related to infrastructure operations and service delivery. Skill in leading infrastructure, network, systems, and security engineering teams operating across on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud environments. Skill in evaluating and guiding hosting, platform, and cloud versus on-premises decisions within enterprise environments. Skill in managing IT budgets, vendor relationships, service agreements, and statements of work. Skill in providing hands‑on technical leadership, including guiding design, reviewing solutions, and supporting teams through complex challenges. Skill in coaching and developing engineers and managers to improve technical capability and operational practices. Skill in managing and prioritizing work across a unified portfolio and roadmap. Skill in collaborating effectively across IT Service Delivery, Product Management, Product Engineering, Data Engineering, PMO, business, and executive stakeholders. Ability to provide strategic direction for enterprise infrastructure and operations while remaining actively engaged in technical decision‑making and delivery. Ability to drive modernization through cloud migration and adoption of cloud‑native, automated, and hybrid infrastructure solutions where appropriate. Ability to align infrastructure, platform, and security operations with product strategy, business needs, and engineering execution into a single, integrated delivery model. Ability to guide teams through transformation by reinforcing standards, demonstrating best practices, and improving operational maturity. Ability to balance priorities, capacity, and technical sequencing across a portfolio of work. Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including executive leadership. Ability to foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement. Required In-Office Days This position is authorized for a hybrid telework schedule. Employees are required to work in the office three (3) days per week, with the remaining two (2) days eligible for telework. Specific in‑office days may be determined by the department to meet business needs. Military Crosswalk Required Minimum Education and Experience Bachelor's degree from an accredited four‑year college or university with major coursework in computer science, information systems, computer engineering, or a related field. Ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional experience in information technology, business operations, or a related field. Six (6) years of progressively responsible leadership experience in information technology, including responsibility for leading technical teams. Additional related work experience may substitute for the required education on a year‑for‑year basis. Preferred Extensive experience leading enterprise IT infrastructure and operations functions, including networking, systems administration, platform administration, and security engineering, in complex organizational environments. Experience operating within a product‑oriented delivery model, including collaboration with Product Management, Product Engineering, Data Engineering, and portfolio or program management functions. Demonstrated experience leading infrastructure modernization efforts, including migrating on‑premises systems and workloads to public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid environments. Experience establishing technology strategies that emphasize cloud‑first and automated infrastructure, including hosting, platform evaluation, and vendor selection. Experience with operational risk management, disaster recovery, business continuity planning, and security incident response. Demonstrated ability to lead and develop high‑performing technical teams while managing cross‑functional initiatives across business, product, engineering, and data stakeholders. Experience with organizational planning, including capacity management, budgeting, vendor management, and resource alignment across a portfolio of work. Experience in public sector or government technology environments. Physical Requirements and/or Working Conditions Work is performed in a standard office environment and requires: Regular, reliable, and punctual attendance at work. Frequent use of personal computers, copiers, printers, telephones, and other standard office equipment. Frequent sitting, with occasional standing, walking, and movement throughout the office. Frequent interaction with agency leadership, staff, vendors, and external stakeholders. Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet established deadlines in a fast‑paced environment. Workforce Must be able to: Demonstrate a strong commitment to customer service and the agency's mission. Provide strategic leadership that promotes collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement. Build and maintain effective working relationships with agency leadership, staff, vendors, and external stakeholders. Show flexibility and adaptability to changing priorities, assignments, and organizational needs, including working extended hours when necessary. Adhere to the agency's internal management policies, procedures, and applicable federal and state requirements. Contribute to the agency's strategic goals, organizational performance measures, and mission. Application Requirements The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is an Equal Opportunity Employer. A State of Texas application is required to apply. For more information on how to apply for this position, go to the Coordinating Board's employment opportunities website at The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board participates in E‑Verify for each new employees¿ Form I‑9 to confirm work authorization. For questions, please call the HR Department at View phone number on click.appcast.io. For vocal and/or hearing assistance call 7‑1‑1. Veterans Information THECB is committed to hiring Veterans. To receive Veteran's Preference, a copy of the FORM DD214 -member #4, must be attached when submitting your application. AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER THECB does not discriminate on the basis, of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability in employment or the provision of services. Job offer and continuation of employment with THECB is contingent upon Proof of education and experience listed on the application. Eligibility/authorization to work in the U.S. Satisfactory results from a pre‑employment criminal history background check. Compliance with the Selective Service Law for males ages 18‑25. Please be advised that under Texas law, names and other information concerning applicants or nominees may be subject to disclosure upon request. THECB does not allow dual employment with other state of Texas agencies or institutions. Skills assessment may be conducted at time of interview. Salary for this position will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. No phone calls or emails, please. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not accept telephone calls and cannot reply to all email inquiries. Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted. #J-18808-Ljbffr Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board