Director of Technology

Description

The Episcopal School of Dallas prepares young men and women for lives of intellectual discovery, integrity, and purpose. Built upon our Founding Tenets of Daily Worship, Community, Ethical Decision-Making, and Service, ESD is committed to the intellectual, spiritual, and physical wellness of every member of its community.

Founded in 1974 by The Reverend Stephen B. Swann with eight seventh-grade students, today ESD educates and inspires 1,150 students in grades beginner (age 3) through grade 12. ESD is located in Dallas, a modern metropolis of North Texas, and a commercial and cultural hub in the region.

At the heart of ESD are talented and compassionate faculty and staff who are the backbone of our institution and paramount to the school’s success. They adeptly balance rigorous, college preparatory coursework with understanding and nurturing of the whole child. Classes are small, with an overall student-teacher ratio of 7:1. ESD employees are lifelong learners, and the school invests nearly $500,000 in professional development annually. More than 250 serve the ESD community and all are appreciated and respected for their individual and collective contributions.

Purpose:  The Director of Technology leads technology practices and objectives that will provide a responsive, service-oriented culture for the school faculty, staff, and students. This position also oversees the implementation and maintenance of the technology infrastructure school-wide, and oversees the deployment of all devices related to information technology. The Director of Technology manages the technology budget, oversees policies related to technology, manages technology staff, and aids in the development of issues related to school security.  The Director of Technology is also responsible for the security of electronic data. 

Essential Functions:

Supervise the IT Department team members, while working closely with management— most notably the Directors of Educational Technology, Admissions, Human Resources, Security, and Facilities,— external vendors, and faculty. 

Plan and coordinate the IT workflow

-Plan and assign necessary tasks through consultation with appropriate constituencies

-Hold regular meetings to ensure timely completion of tasks

-Update constituencies on progress of workflow

Ensure appropriate training and development of faculty and staff. 

-Partner with the Director of Educational Technology and EdTech Coaches for faculty training related to educational technology

-Ensure technology training takes place on a periodic basis for all faculty and staff to maintain technical proficiency. 

-Ensure exposure of new technologies for IT staff at workshops, conferences, and training institutions.

-Maintain competency training programs for technology staff in regards to new software, network infrastructure, security devices, and backup systems.

Develop and maintain the strategy, design, installation and management of IT infrastructure
for the organization. 

Design the organization’s IT infrastructure 

-Maintain accurate, update inventories of IT equipment and devices 

-Assess current and projected organizational needs and goals

-Assess available and projected IT hardware and software product offerings 

-Determine appropriate IT infrastructure to service current and projected needs

Develop and implement user support policies, procedures and systems for all aspects of the organization’s technology. 

-Manage all technology support requests, including “help desk” support for faculty, staff, parents and students. 

-Manage all organization technology in a proactive manner so that it is up-to-date and functioning well. 

Participate in strategic planning processes for technology including the Technology Advisory Committee

Research and recommend new products, and lead efforts to improve IT processes. 

-Participate in strategic planning processes for application software.

-Maintain accurate, up-to-date inventories of IT equipment and devices 

-Purchase, install, and manage all technology devices throughout the school, including computer servers, wireless devices, desktop and laptop computers, security appliances, phones, printers, scanners, projectors, switches, and routers.

-Purchase, install, and manage all enterprise software. 

-Maintain software storage of original media and the documentation of all software and hardware serial numbers, software installation keys, and licensing information.

Develop and implement networks, database management and disaster recovery systems and processes.  

-Develop and manage appropriate policies, procedures and systems to ensure appropriate levels of data integrity, security and data privacy.

-Identify, develop, implement and maintain security-related processes that reduce the school’s operational risks.

-Establish security-related policies

-Establish and oversee entire security architecture.

-Conduct electronic discovery and digital forensic investigations.

-Develop comprehensive disaster recovery and business continuity plans and procedures.

Manage access to network and Internet technologies.

-Establish the School’s plan, with the Network Administrator, to secure access to data ports, wireless devices and to determine the school’s bandwidth needs.

-Develop and implement policies for the effective use of cell phone access and user devices brought into the school by outside individuals, vendors, volunteers, and board members.

Research, develop, and effectively implement organization technology policies.

-Coordinate with technology directors from area schools to share best practices and stay abreast of new educational technology trends.

-Develop and implement technology policies in a team atmosphere with educators and division heads.

-Communicate policies through oral and written announcements including during in-service training and school-wide meetings.

-Review policies for compliance with applicable laws and educational standards. 

Prepare financial budgets and present proposals for capital projects to the CFO, the Executive Team and the Finance Committee.

Supervise the IT Department team members, while working closely with management, external vendors and faculty.

Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned. 

Abuse Risk Management Standards:

• Follows employees screening requirements and uses screening instruments to screen for abuse risk.  

• Provides employees with on-going supervision and training related to abuse risk. 

• Provides employees with regular feedback regarding their boundaries with students.  

• Requires employees to adhere to policies and procedures related to abuse risk.  

• Responds quickly to policy and procedure violations using the organization's progressive disciplinary procedures.  

• Responds seriously and confidently to reports of suspicious and inappropriate behaviors. 

• Follows mandated reporting requirements

• Communicates to all employees the organization’s commitment to protect their students from abuse. 

• Reports essential abuse risk management information to the board of directors. 

Working Environment:

• Occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling.

• Generally, 40% sitting, 40% walking, and 20% standing.

• Minimal temperature variations

• Generally, a hazard-free environment. 

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer related science preferred, or equivalent experience. 

• 5+ years’ experience in Information Technology or some service-related technology position.

• Excellent communication, organizational, and leadership skills.

• Demonstrated success in the oversight and implementation of technical systems. 

• Proven network/server security experience, security related applications experience, and experience in contingency planning.

• Ability to work in a multi-layered environment of professionals and educators and to interact and coordinate with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students, and board of directors.

• Solid problem-solving skills with the ability to forecast appropriate project completion.

• Experience supervising, developing and mentoring staff.

• Able to work alone or on a team, and to manage specific projects during hours outside the typical workday.

• Ability to respond to technology emergencies after hours. 

STATEMENT ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Episcopal School of Dallas community is committed to creating, maintaining, and nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment as it prepares young women and men for lives of intellectual discovery, integrity, and purpose. We believe that diversity in our school community enhances the quality of the education that ESD provides and is essential to the development of well-rounded people.

The Episcopal School of Dallas is a faith-centered, coeducational, college preparatory, independent day school with students age 3 – Grade 12. The policy of The Episcopal School of Dallas is to recruit, hire, train, and promote employees without discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, or any other status protected by law. In our recruitment practices, we strive to create a diverse school community whose members embrace the Mission and Vision Statement of the school.