Director of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies

Position Title:

Director of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies

Position Type:

Regular

Hiring Range:

$159,800 - $207,710 / annual; Compensation will be based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity.

Pay Frequency:

Annual

A.         POSITION PURPOSE

The Director of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies provides leadership for the units providing infrastructure technology support to the University. They define and deliver enterprise-class technology infrastructure solutions in support of  the University’s administrative and academic needs. They provide leadership for the University-wide technology and communications infrastructure, including the data center; the University’s local and wide area networks; Inter- and intra-net  services; cable plant; the University’s server farm and related operating system environments, both on-premise and in the cloud; email and directory services; voice services; technology service monitoring and response; the central storage environment; and disaster recovery services.

They provide vision and leadership for the planning (strategic and tactical), budgeting, technology evaluation and selection, implementation, and assessment of the University’s technology infrastructure systems. They facilitate the creation and implementation of policies, procedures, processes, and strategies for the adoption and utilization of the University’s infrastructure technologies. 

The Director of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies provides leadership to and management of assigned staff, including hiring,  training, managing, and establishing projects and resource priorities. They manage direct reports to promote teamwork and to develop professional and technical qualities necessary in order to meet the goals and objectives of IS and the University. They function as a member of the senior leadership team of the Information Services Division and act as directed as a  representative of the Division to University and external constituencies. They recommend, initiate, and implement  improvements to infrastructure, and contribute constructive suggestions for change or improvement in other IS areas.

The Director of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies will build consensus and develop collegial, collaborative working relationships with a broad range of constituencies in support of the IS mission. They determine the most appropriate  and effective means of successfully implementing infrastructure technology solutions for the user community. They  coordinate their activities with the CIO and Vice Provost for IS in support of University priorities and strategic plans.

The Director of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies will have a passion for providing excellent customer service, and a focus on continual improvement across all units; a commitment to supporting innovative infrastructure technologies; and a desire to identify and deliver the best possible technology resources and services to meet the needs of the campus community.

B.         ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Management and Strategy 

a. Hire and manage performance and productivity of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies personnel.

b. Conduct annual performance reviews of staff. 

c. Cultivate organizational values and hold employees accountable for fostering these values for a healthy, professional, and productive work environment. 

d. Provide individualized consultation, guidance, and development to team members. 

e. Initiate and develop technologies and systems to support short-term and long-term strategic goals.

f. Create an environment of technology innovation. 

2. Coordination and Collaboration 

a. Work with the campus community, other campus technology support personnel, strategic IT vendors, other IS Departments, and off-campus service providers to coordinate the design and delivery of infrastructure technologies to the campus community in an architecturally sound manner. 

b. Play an active role as a technical expert during the planning and implementation phases of new technologies and participate in architecture brainstorming and design discussions with technical team members.

c. Provide technical guidance on complex infrastructure architecture challenges to IS team members and other solution partners.

d. Participate in IS management team decision-making processes to meet campus obligations.

e. Promote and ensure a customer-service focus among staff members.

f. Build consensus and enhance positive relationships based on trust, predictability, and communication.

g. Collaborate with the CIO and other IS Directors and staff on campus-wide technology initiatives.

3. Resource Planning 

a. Determine Cyberinfrastructure Technologies priorities and allocate resources accordingly.

b. Refine the organization and develop staff through job development and training, skills forecasting and development, direct report coaching and development, and staff engagement.

c. Collaborate with the CIO and other IS Directors and staff on campus-wide technology initiatives.

d. Participate in technology planning processes.

4. Service Delivery 

a. Lead and supervise the operations of SCU’s networking and computing infrastructure in accordance with established best practices.

b. Ensure that architecture principles and standards are consistently applied across the data center, computer, storage, and network services.

c. Create and document enterprise-wide standards and practices regarding data center, computer storage, and network services.  

d. Ensure services are monitored and supported with on-call availability.

e. Manage operating and capital budgets.

5. Service Optimization 

a. Assist in the design, planning, and implementation of infrastructure systems optimization and process improvement projects.

b. Test and assess existing infrastructure against industry standard internal and external benchmarks to ensure optimal performance and service delivery.

c. Participate in IT and information-security audits and supervise corrective actions.

d. Lead and participate in the change management process to ensure all changes to relevant services are documented, tested, deployed, and prepared for back-out strategies if necessary.

e. Serve as a good steward of SCU resources: evaluate and pursue cost-containment and cost-reduction strategies.

f. Act as the Service Manager for Google Workspace, Alumni Email, and Retiree Email services.

6. Communication

a. Add technical input during the planning phase of projects in the form of technical architecture standards, designs, and recommendations.

b. Regularly communicate with Cyberinfrastructure Technologies staff regarding IS and University issues, initiatives, and activities.

c. Update the campus community as needed regarding Cyberinfrastructure Technologies activities.

d. Keep the CIO informed of current and potential issues, activities, service outages or impairments, and any other risks that might negatively impact IT service delivery to the University community.

7. Leadership 

a. Consult and advise the CIO on information technology trends, opportunities, strategy, solutions, resources, and compliance.

b. Foster partnerships with key stakeholders across the University.

c. Build a strong network of peers at comparable institutions.

d. Actively participate in University activities and initiatives.

e. Work with the Planning, Projects, and Facilities Offices to meet the infrastructure needs for new or renovated campus buildings.

8. Unit Administration

a. Manage the Cyberinfrastructure Technologies functional units:

i. Networking and Telecommunications

1. Design, implement, and validate network components of campus technology efforts.

2. Support ISP connections, perimeter firewall, core routers, and VPN services.

3. Manage networking services including DNS, DHCP, distribution- and access-layer switching environment, firewalls, wireless access points and controllers, and connections to off-campus and campus-adjacent buildings in Santa Clara and Berkeley..

4. Maintain physical copper and fiber infrastructure.

5. Provide Data Center networking support.

6. Administer infrastructure applications including Identity and Account Management, Single Sign On and Two-Factor Authentication, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.

7. Support telephone system and endpoints.

ii. Enterprise Systems

1. Monitor and maintain SCU’s on-premises Data Centers.

2. Architect, deploy, and maintain SCU’s core compute, storage, and backup infrastructure.

3. Administer mission-critical virtual and physical machines.

4. Manage and monitor storage arrays that support virtual infrastructure, physical compute, and file shares.

5. Back up and protect SCU data.

6. Monitor SCU technology, and alert administrators and application owners when services are offline or impaired.

7. Manage secure file transfers between SCU systems and third-party vendors.

8. Lead the cross-functional Cloud Team to encourage cloud enablement for student projects, researchers, and other IT staff.

9. Perform advanced troubleshooting for systems and services.

iii. Local Academic Computing Support

1. Provide support for the School of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, and interdisciplinary initiatives.

2. CAS: Provide computer-application support to CAS faculty, staff, and students; manages CAS labs and related resources, including software and licenses.

3. SoE: Manage the ECC computer labs and related infrastructure, including software and licenses; manages the SoE IT environment; provides hardware and software support to SoE researchers.

9. Other duties as assigned.

C.   PROVIDES WORK DIRECTION

Manage full-time staff currently configured into three units: Networking and Telecommunication, Enterprise Systems, and Local Academic Computing Services. 

Currently, five of the full-time staff have managerial/supervisory responsibility.   

D.   GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Recommends initiatives and implement changes to improve quality and services.

2. Identifies and determines cause of problems; develops and presents recommendations for improvement of established processes and practices.

3. Maintains contact with customers and solicits feedback for improved services.

4. Maximizes productivity through use of appropriate tools; plans training and performance initiatives.

5. Researches and develops resources that create timely and efficient workflow.

6. Prepares progress reports; informs supervisor of project status and deviation from goals. Ensures completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of all operational functions.

7. Prepares and submits reports as requested and required.

8. Develops and implements guidelines to support the functions of the unit. 

E.   QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The items below are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience required or preferred.

This position requires the ability to effectively establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within a diverse multicultural environment and to promote and contribute to an inclusive and respectful workplace.

1.         Knowledge

General:

• Knowledge of information technology and campus technology issues and trends in higher education. 

• Appreciation for the University’s mission, vision, values, priorities, procedures, and policies.

Position-specific: 

• Understanding of the full spectrum of information technologies.  

• Understanding of, and preferably experience working in, cloud-based computing environments.

• Thorough understanding of enterprise infrastructure design and support. 

2.         Skills

General:

• Ability to listen and understand customer needs. 

• Self-motivated and shows initiative. 

• Proven track record in project planning and project management. 

• Must possess impeccable integrity and be able to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information.

Position-specific: 

• Deep technical skills in one or more of the technical domains that they supervise. 

• Experience managing infrastructure systems delivery in a large, complex IT environment, preferably in Higher Education.

• Experience planning and leading  short- and long-range infrastructure projects. 

• Experience developing and maintaining annual operational and capital budgets. 

• Experience providing leadership and supervision of technical staff. 

• Familiarity with server virtualization, preferably VMware. 

• Familiarity with high availability and disaster-recovery architectures.

• Familiarity with Microsoft Active Directory. 

• Familiarity with managing enterprise storage.

• Experience leading the development, implementation, and improvement of operational standards, with an emphasis on the security, performance, reliability, and availability of the University’s information assets.

• Experience with assessment, selection, and implementation of new technologies.

• Familiarity with email administration, and with managing collaboration suites like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

• Familiarity with principles of identity and account management.

• Familiarity with enterprise networking (wired and wireless).

• Experience negotiating contracts with vendors.

3.         Abilities

General:

• Ability to listen and understand customer needs. 

• Ability to plan, implement, and evaluate customer service initiatives and to serve as a leader in providing excellent customer service.

• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative environment. 

• Ability to manage a diverse workforce. 

• Ability to exercise independent judgment, and to engage in critical thinking and problem solving.

• Ability to work effectively under pressure in a busy (often chaotic) and demanding information services environment, while maintaining a sense of humor. 

• Ability to explain technical issues and policies to non-technical people.  

• Ability to foster and maintain good working relationships with faculty, administrators, students, senior management, and other leaders. 

• Ability to handle sensitive matters with diplomacy and the ability to mediate between competing parties.

• Ability to speak truth to power. 

Position-specific: 

• Ability to plan and execute technology infrastructure initiatives strategically, tactically, and expansively. 

4.         Education

Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution of higher education required. Advanced degree preferred.

5.         Years of Experience

Minimum of twelve years of experience, with a focus on providing excellent customer service to support technology in support of an organization’s mission, preferably in Higher Education. 

F.   PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met  by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the California Fair Employment & Housing Act, and all other applicable laws, SCU provides reasonable accommodations for qualified persons with disabilities.

A qualified individual is a person who meets skill, experience, education, or other requirements of the position, and who can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation. 

• Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer terminal. 

• Required to travel to other buildings on the campus.

• Required to attend conference and training sessions within Bay Area or in- or out-of state locations. 

• Required to travel to outside customers, vendors or suppliers. 

G.   WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. 

• Typical office environment. 

• Mostly indoor office environment with windows. 

• Offices with equipment noise. 

• Offices with frequent interruptions. 

EEO Statement​

Santa Clara University is an equal opportunity employer.  For a complete copy of Santa Clara University’s equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies, see https://www.scu.edu/title-ix/policies-reports/

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Santa Clara University does not discriminate in its employment practices or in its educational programs or activities on the basis of sex/gender, and prohibits retaliation against any person opposing discrimination or participating in any discrimination investigation or complaint process internally or externally. Information about Title IX can be found at www.scu.edu/title-ix. Inquiries can also be made to the Assistant Secretary of Education within the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).     

Clery Notice of Availability

Santa Clara University annually collects information about campus crimes and other reportable incidents in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. To view the Santa Clara University report, please go to the Campus Safety Services  website . To request a paper copy please call Campus Safety at (408) 554-4441. The report includes the type of crime, venue, and number of occurrences.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Santa Clara University affirms its commitment to employ qualified individuals with disabilities within the workplace and to comply with the Americans with Disability Act. All applicants desiring an accommodation should contact the Department of Human Resources, and 408-554-5750 and request to speak to Indu Ahluwalia by phone at 408-554-5750 or by email at iahluwalia@scu.edu.

Telecommute

Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform their work within one of these states.