Senior Director, IT Operations

PLI is searching for a technology professional to fill the role of Senior Director, IT Operations (responsibilities and qualifications are described below). Work in a collaborative environment with a diverse, employee community where staff enjoy a generous benefits package and a genuine commitment to a work-life balance (4+ weeks of paid time off and hybrid remote/in-person schedules for most roles). This position does require working onsite at our newly renovated NY office at least two days of each work week.

POSITION OVERVIEW 

Reporting to the CIO, the Senior Director, IT Operations is responsible for ensuring the various segments of the IT department are providing the required tech support to PLI’s business teams in a manner that considers use of efficient processes, optimal deployment of IT staff and external consultants, meets established deadlines, and are within IT budgetary parameters.  

In addition to managing these outcomes, the Senior Director will have direct accountability and management responsibilities for the Network/Help Desk and Multimedia departments within the IT group.  

The Senior Director will work closely with the CIO to generate and execute strategic IT goals and initiatives, the development of which will be informed by working collaboratively with and getting input from a variety of business team stakeholders across the organization to ensure requested requirements are being incorporated into the work undertaken in IT. In addition, the Senior Director will manage outside consultant relationships retained to support the technological needs of PLI.   

A key responsibility of this role will be to provide leadership to PLI's team of IT professionals. An important goal will be to continually improve IT services and ensure that the group is capable of anticipating, preventing, and responding to events that disrupt PLI's business and/or technical operations, making sure IT resources are leveled and efficient, and eliminating duplication and waste in development work.  

The Senior Director will also oversee the development of the annual IT budget. 
 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• The Senior Director will assess and put into place measures that detect technology problems across the IT group and ensure that teams are activated quickly to resolve problems when they arise. 
• Evaluate current processes in Multimedia and implement long-term improvements with regard to reliability and reducing outage frequency and duration in the delivery of PLI's live and archived continuing legal education programs. 
• Maintain a modern and cost-effective broadcast and on-demand video delivery tech stack, develop a strategy to keep systems in top condition, and execute a sound procurement strategy. 
• Ensure that the Network/Help Desk group is maximizing support of PLI staff tech needs, as well as implementing high standards of IT security protection and compliance with any required certifications. 
• Serve as a key leader in the IT department, working collaboratively with all teams within the group. This requires building strong inter-departmental relationships, influencing decisions, and guiding teams towards shared objectives in operational reliability and customer/staff support. 
• Provide feedback and ideas across IT while striving for operational excellence, and across the organization for responsive incident management. Oversee operational reliability across all IT domains, including website, cloud data center, and business systems uptime. Foster a culture of high reliability standards and continuous improvement. 
• Customer service is a cross-organizational responsibility. This role will coordinate with Customer service and other departments to ensure they have the best guidance for how to respond to customer complaints and that departmental SOP meets our regulatory and contractual obligations. Response to complaints will involve communication and guidance to staff in all IT teams.
• Provides supervision, leadership and mentoring to staff in assigned IT groups.
• Manage employee relations issues that may arise within assigned IT departments in a professional and timely manner.  
• Responsible for developing and presenting annual and mid-year performance appraisals to direct reports, and reviewing and providing input on appraisals written by managers in Multimedia and Network/Help Desk for their teams, as appropriate.
• Leads the process for the development of the annual IT budget, with support from the Manager, IT Administration. The Senior Director will be accountable for ensuring the IT department adheres to the approved budget for the group.
• Works with CIO to develop strategic, operational, and capital budgets.
• Other duties, as assigned. 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• PLI’s Associate Director, Multimedia Services and Director, Network Operations will report to the Senior Director. 

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS 

• Bachelor's Degree with a concentration in Computer Science/Information Systems or related business fields such as business management, finance and/or analytics required.  
• 6-10 years’ experience in staff leadership and management in IT environment required. 
• 2-4 years’ experience in project management is essential.  
• Business experience in an IT environment is strongly preferred.  
• Experience in the fields of Network, IT Infrastructure, IT Security and/or Help Desk strongly preferred.  
• Knowledge of computer programming and analytical capabilities is valuable.  
• Background in video/audio production, presentation technologies, live event production, live webcasting or encoding is a plus.  
• Experience developing and being responsible for adhering to budgets is required. 
• Experience working with software applications for reporting and budgets is a plus. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills required. 

YOUR BENEFITS AT PLI 

PLI offers a generous benefits package and is committed to maintaining an interesting, collegial, and supportive work environment: 

• Medical, dental and vision plans for employees and their families 
• Generous employer contribution to employee retirement savings account 
• Ample paid time off and holidays, summer Fridays 
• Flexible hybrid remote/in-person scheduling for most roles 
• Unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning web-based training along with other career development opportunities 
• Work-life balance initiatives 
• One-time $500 Home Office Allowance 
• Gym/Wellness Allowance of up to $300 each calendar year 

COMPENSATION RANGE FOR THIS POSITION 

$215,000-$230,000 per annum  

(Exact compensation offer may vary based on the candidate’s job-related skills and work experience.)