Senior Director of IT

It’s no secret that technology has changed, especially for schools. Competing and staying successful in an ever-evolving world of digital transformation takes more than just a technology friend, it takes a true technology powerhouse.

Based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota with locations in the greater Twin Cities as well as locations in Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia, and North Carolina, Trafera is a dynamic and growing company wholly immersed in the K-12 and higher education marketplaces and state and local governments. We provide and service both new and recertified technology ranging from Chromebooks, desktops, servers, storage, and networking hardware to our customers with support to educators and admins to ensure that the technology we sell can be meaningfully integrated into the student learning experience.

We are passionate about serving the needs of not only our customers but also our employees. Working at Trafera, you will be part of an energetic team who support open, honest, and transparent communication, continual learning, and employee-driven initiatives. Come join us!

The Senior Director of Enterprise IT is responsible for planning and managing Trafera’s enterprise IT strategy including selecting, maintaining, and optimizing enterprise systems, application software, network hardware/software, databases, internal helpdesk, telecommunications, and IT processes to support the organization’s business priorities. This role is typically focused on IT service delivery for internal audiences/users but may have an external customer focus related to company-hosted, web-enabled, or outsourced solutions delivery. This is a people leader role responsible and accountable for leading, managing, and developing the IT team members performance and capabilities.

Essential Responsibilities

• Create and implement a comprehensive IT strategy that supports Trafera’s strategic plan ensuring a balanced focus on meeting current needs and future state
• Establish an IT governance program that engages cross functional groups, including senior leaders, in continuous review and improvement of IT strategy, key projects, technology demand management, IT team capacity and security
• Ensure IT programs and policies are created and maintained such as disaster recovery, data integrity and reliability, cybersecurity, and compliance
• Lead and model cross functional collaboration to ensure technology tools, systems, and processes are optimized to meet the needs of the organization
• Ensure reporting, data analytics, and data visualization tools and processes are reliable and accessible for the organization including tools such as machine learning
• Ensure best practice project management processes are in place and scalable for IT solutions including comprehensive requirements gathering, design, integrations, documentation, and stakeholder buy in
• Lead and support change management initiatives across the organization
• Oversee the development of workflow automation and integration tools and processes
• Establish IT operation standards for the delivery of services and applications
• Leverage MSP or other external resources to deliver selected IT services
• Develop a vendor management strategy, including vendor selection, contract negotiation and management, and ongoing assessment of vendor capabilities to ensure timely delivery and SLA’s are met
• Lead, manage, and develop the enterprise IT team:
• Build trusted and effective relationships to support an organizational culture that lives the values
• Maintain active presence within the team, providing daily support and communication to build and foster strong teams and reporting structures
• Create and implement standard policies and processes throughout the team
• Demonstrate a continuous improvement mindset and empower the team in these efforts
• Establish clear expectations and set goals in alignment with strategic plans and ensure accountability for meeting quality and delivery expectations
• Manage performance and career development to include taking corrective action if necessary
• Maintain professional competence, knowledge, and skill necessary in your role
• Maintain effective staffing levels and proactively create succession plans, actively participate in recruiting efforts

Minimum Skills, Abilities, and Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in MIS, CS or a relevant field, or the equivalent amount of training and hands-on experience sufficient to perform the essential functions of the position
• 10 years of progressive experience in enterprise IT roles with at least 4 years leading, mentoring, and developing direct reports
• Demonstrated project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously
• Demonstrated competencies in selecting, maintaining, and optimizing enterprise systems, application software, network hardware/software, databases, analytics tools, cybersecurity, internal helpdesk, telecommunications
• Proven track record of implementing and executing continuous improvement projects and leading change efforts
• Strong business acumen and ability to think strategically and contribute toward organizational planning
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively present ideas and deliverables to internal and external stakeholders
• Creative, and results oriented mindset with the ability to collaborate with others to identify and solve issues, make proactive recommendations, and lead through influence
• Self-directed work style, able to work autonomously prioritize and deliver results
• Ability to travel to multiple sites throughout the Twin Cities routinely. Ability to travel to facilities throughout the US when necessary

Technology and Systems:

• Infor, CSI, Channel Online
• HubSpot
• MS Office,365