Head of IT

Location

Employment Type

Location Type

Department

Compensation

IC5 or M3

$118.8K – $120.8K • Offers Equity • Offers Bonus

But we didn’t just create the insurance we’ve always wanted, we also created the company we’ve always wanted to work for. As we redefine insurance, we also want to redefine what it means to work in insurance. Find out for yourself.

Branch is open to candidates located in AL, AZ, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS. MO, NE, NV, NJ, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, and WI.

Branch is remote first, with most Branchers choosing to work from home. Our headquarters are located in Columbus, Ohio, where we come together from time to time to build relationships and connect with each other in real life. Once a year, the entire company gathers for “BranchFest”, a highlight of the year for many Branchers.

About the role

Branch is seeking a highly skilled and experienced hands-on individual to build the team responsible for managing the enterprise SaaS applications, identity and access governance platform, end-user devices, HQ office infrastructure, and Helpdesk support. The ideal candidate will possess strong technical expertise in managing cloud applications (Software as a Service) and endpoint management in a zero-trust environment, and a commitment to enhancing the end-user experience.

The Head of IT role is critical to ensuring that our corporate technology ecosystem is secure, scalable, and efficient, enabling the company to grow and innovate rapidly. You will collaborate with Security, People Operations, and other departments to understand, prioritize, and align IT projects with business objectives, and deliver solutions that lead to greater workplace productivity, and ensure seamless technology operations in a cloud-native, remote-first environment.

Branch IT support is currently outsourced to a Managed Service Provider and we are looking to bring this function in house. This role is the first hire for this function, and in collaboration with CISO, will boot strap the IT department.

Key Responsibilities

• IT Strategy & Leadership
  • In collaboration with CISO and MSP, develop a plan to bring IT function in house
  • Recruit and manage a small high-performing IT team, fostering a collaborative and efficient work environment, career growth and innovation. Lead by example in a hands-on capacity, helping to mentor and develop team members.
  • Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Develop and maintain detailed documentation, including FAQs, knowledge base (KB) articles, and IT process documents, to support consistent service delivery and knowledge sharing within the IT team,
  • Process Improvement: Continuously look for ways to improve IT processes by leveraging automation and enabling self-service.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies and trends to maintain competitive advantage, enable automation and maintain highly efficient IT operations
• Remote-First Enablement
  • Enhance and support IT tools and services to empower a globally distributed team.
  • Ensure seamless onboarding, offboarding, and day-to-day technology support for remote employees.
• Vendor & Technology Management
  • Evaluate, select, and manage relationships with technology vendors and service providers.
  • Optimize existing technology investments to balance cost, performance, and scalability.
• Budgeting & Reporting
  • Plan, monitor, and control the IT budget, identifying areas for cost optimization and investment in new technologies. Consolidate like products or services to simplify the environment.
  • Report on IT performance, KPIs, and initiatives to the executive leadership team.
• Cybersecurity & Compliance
  • Maintain compliance with security policies and practices to protect company data and systems, including encryption, EDR, and patch management.
  • Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and address risks related to endpoint devices.
  • Ensure compliance with relevant regulations (NYDFS, SOC 2). Respond to audit inquiries, ensuring that all IT operations align with regulatory requirements and industry best practices. Assist in evidence collection and documentation efforts for internal and external audits.
  • Manage MSSP/Manage EDR relationship, respond to security incidents impacting corporate IT environment, and participate in incident response planning.
  • Develop Secure Configuration Standards, and conduct vulnerability assessments, and maintain up to date patch levels
  • Enhance Conditional Access policies to enforce security requirements such as multi-factor authentication and device compliance.
• Identity and Access Governance
  • Improve the existing lifecycle of enterprise applications, from onboarding to ongoing maintenance, support, and decommissioning.
  • Enhance existing MFA configuration which supports phishing resistant hardware security keys, and biometric TPM platform authenticators.
  • Enhance existing automated identity lifecycle experience from provisioning to deprovisioning.
  • Implement and maintain SSO and SAML integrations for all enterprise SaaS applications
  • Automate distributed access reviews
• Endpoint Management
  • Develop and execute an endpoint management strategy to ensure the efficiency, security, and compliance of all endpoints within the organization.
  • Establish and maintain endpoint standards, policies, and procedures that align with the company's IT and security objectives.
  • Lead initiatives to integrate, automate, and streamline endpoint processes.

• IT Operations & Support

  • Act as the primary point of contact for all IT-related inquiries and troubleshooting for employees.

  • Oversee and resolve all help desk tickets, ensuring that our staff has reliable access to hardware, software, and IT helpdesk support. When necessary, personally handle tickets, especially for high-priority or executive issues. Implement automation, and enable self-service whenever possible.

  • Manage and provide support for Enterprise SaaS applications (Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, Asana, etc) used by our colleagues, ensuring smooth operation and troubleshooting any issues that arise.

  • Maintain automated onboarding and offboarding processes for users, including employees, consultants, and contractors, ensuring timely access management across all applications.

  • Handle hardware inventory and end user devices, own all provisioning and de-provisioning(wipe and device recall) of hardware during the onboarding/offboarding process.

  • HQ Office Environment Hardware Management: manage a small foot print of local office infrastructure in HQ, including, ISP connectivity, firewall, wireless, network equipment, card access system, video surveillance, and network printer/copier.

Skills, Knowledge, and Expertise:

• 5 years of experience in IT, preferably within a high-growth startup or SaaS environment.
• Experience managing Google Workspace/G Suite, Okta, Slack, Zoom, and other relevant platforms.
• Experience in building custom integrations with SAML, OAuth2, OIDC, and SCIM across a variety of applications and software products.
• Expertise with endpoint management tools in a hybrid Windows & Mac environment (Intune / Jamf).
• Strong understanding of endpoint security best practices, including patch management and encryption.
• Demonstrated experience with orchestration tools and scripting (PowerShell, Python) to automate and improve business processes.
• Strong knowledge of device management, security best practices, data privacy, and network security and administration.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills and the ability to manage multiple IT-related tasks.
• Experience with automating onboarding/offboarding processes, including account creation, hardware setup, and access management.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, and the ability to manage a variety of tasks and prioritize in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong commitment to maintaining clear, comprehensive documentation of IT processes, FAQs, and knowledge base resources.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with all levels of the organization.
• Committed to delivering an exceptional IT experience for employees.

Nice to Have

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or similar field, or equivalent work experience.
• Experience maintaining HIPAA and SOC2 Type 1 and Type 2 compliance and driving successful audits.
• Experience being the sole IT administrator at a high growth startup.

• Experience administering Okta and ideally experience with Okta Workflows and Okta Identity Governance.

• Ability to lead a small team, foster teamwork, and encourage personal and professional growth.

• Experience managing an IT budget, with an eye for cost efficiency.

• Experience of developing application integrations and automations in Workato, Zapier or similar platforms.

• Experience working in a regulated environment

Compensation

Branch’s Compensation Philosophy enables competitive pay structured in the form of equitable base pay and performance-driven variable pay. Every Brancher in the same role has the same base salary. The range you see listed on the job description is illustrating that the hiring team is open to considering this position at a Senior Individual contributor (IC) level or a Manager (M) level.

The salary for the Senior Individual Contributor role is $118,750. The salary for the Manager role is $120,750. Both the IC and M levels are eligible for Branch’s variable, performance-driven bonus program.

The formal job title for the IC role is Senior IT Lead. The M level title is Senior Manager, Head of IT.

Why join us at Branch?

We’re all about getting back to getting each other’s back—that means Branchers, too. So we provide benefits that let you work and live to your fullest.

• Above-market salary—Branch is a data-driven company, so we do the math on salaries, too. If you get an offer from Branch, you can expect compensation that hits above the mark.
• Pay equity and transparency—Our pay isn’t just above market, it’s equitable. We let experience and performance drive your success, never your gender, race, orientation, or beliefs.
• Remote-first (with perks)—Work from where you’re most comfortable. We’ll take care of your work from home set-up and monthly internet. We also have a Columbus headquarters office if you are local to the area and would like to join us in an office.
• Flexible YouTime—We don’t just let you control your own time off. We actually encourage you to use it. After your first year at Branch, we’ll give you $1000 toward your next vacation.
• Employee stock options—You’re not just an employee. If you’re full-time, you’re also a part-owner. You’ll have stock options so you can invest in the company you’re helping to grow.
• Medical, vision, dental—Get all the coverage you need for a healthy, happy life. We’ll also contribute $150 per month to a health savings account (HSA), administered by Branch.
• 401k and contribution matching—Invest in your future. Branch helps you get to retirement on time with a portion of your contributions matched each month.

What to expect

In light of recent hiring scams across the United States, here’s what the process will look like with Branch (so you know it’s us):

• Please apply to open positions directly through our site. If you don’t see it here, then it shouldn’t exist on another job board. If you’re ever unsure about the legitimacy of a Branch job posting found on another site, please check the listings here to verify.
• If you're selected to move onto the next phase of the hiring process, a member of our Branch talent team will reach out to you directly from the email domain @ourbranch.com to guide you through our process.
• The process will include a number of interviews, which will all happen either over the phone or on video calls.
• We will never ask for personal payment or require you to purchase equipment during our interview process. Always be sure to protect your personal information.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

At Branch, we are deeply committed to community. Branch is an Equal Employment Opportunity

employer – All qualified applicants and/or employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to the individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.