Assistant Director, Systems

Pursuant to the State of Texas Executive Order No. GA-48, this position researches, works on, or has access to critical infrastructure and requires the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the University infrastructure. This position requires personnel be routinely reviewed to determine whether or not criminal history or continuous connections for the government or political apparatus of a foreign adversary might prevent the employee from being able to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure.

The Assistant Director, Systems will oversee the design, implementation, and management of universities technology assets. The Assistant Director will have a deep understanding of systems, cloud computing, and security best practices. They will lead a team of IT professionals and collaborating with various departments within the organization to ensure the smooth operation of our technology systems.

• Leads and oversees the design, implementation, and maintenance of all IT systems, including servers, databases, applications, and cloud services.
• Establishes strategic goals and evaluates industry trends and options.
• Analyzes business requirements by partnering with key stakeholders across the organization to develop solutions.
• Communicates job expectations and recruits, coaches, mentors, and trains team members.
• Establishes priorities for direct reports to ensure task completion; coordinates work activities with other managers to meet deadlines and objectives.
• Identifies and implements best practices for managing IT systems, including security, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
• Develops and maintains standard operating procedures, researches and troubleshoots technical issues.
• Develops, evaluates & implements service improvements by evaluating trends, policies, procedures, and standards.
• Monitors performance of systems to decide cost, productivity and find inefficiencies by conducting periodic audits and preparing performance reports with key performance indicators (KPI's).
• Assesses vendors, software & hardware procurement and develops strategies for evaluation.
• Completes customer service operational requirements by scheduling and assigning team members.
• Analyzes and finds trends and resolves quality and service issues.
• Assesses customer satisfaction with services by implementing satisfaction surveys, analyzing, and interpreting results.
• Maintains documentation

• Performs all other duties as assigned

Direct Reports:

• Full-time Employees

Delegation of Work:

• Regularly assigns work to subordinate(s)

Supervision Given:

• Has primary responsibility for conducting performance evaluations and making recommendations for hiring and dismissing employees.

Required Education:

• Bachelor's degree

Required Experience:

• Minimum of seven (7) years of related job experience, including continuing education or training in the field

License/Certification:

• None required

• None

Knowledge:

• Up to date knowledge of Linux and VMware systems, and related trends, issues, and accepted practices

Skills:

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills; excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Abilities:

• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues; ability to multitask;
• Ability to use own initiative;
• Ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals and constituencies in a diverse community
• Ability to maintain the security or integrity of critical infrastructure.

Primary Work Location:

• Works in an office environment.

Physical Demands:

• Work is performed in a typical interior work environment which does not subject the employee to any unpleasant elements; individual has discretion in relation to walking, standing etc., and has minimal exposure to physical risks
• Must have precise hand-eye coordination
• Must have the ability to move items of up to 15lbs

Commitment to Excellence - UHD

• Demonstrates a commitment to competently perform his/her job duties and responsibilities within established time frames.
• Continuously strives to improve work performance.
• Accepts responsibility for his/her commitments to the university.
• Contributes to the success of the university by consistently providing quality results in the performance of his/her job duties and responsibilities.

Integrity

• Demonstrates high ethical standards of conduct in the performance of his/her job duties and responsibilities.
• Accepts responsibility for his/her actions.
• Respects and complies with department and university policies, procedures, and work rules.

Respect and Cooperation

• Treats others with courtesy, respect, and dignity in the workplace.
• Promotes cooperation through open and honest communications and consideration of others ideas, thoughts, and opinions.

Proficiency

• Possesses required job skills and knowledge.
• Demonstrates the ability to apply those skills and knowledge to competently perform his/her job duties and assignments.

Dependability

• Takes responsibility to accomplish job assignments within reasonable deadlines.
• Willing to accept new projects and/or commitments.
• Does due diligence to complete projects within specified timeframes and/or fulfill commitments.
• Arrives to work on time prepared and ready to contribute.

Flexibility

• Willingly adjusts to changing work assignments or conditions.
• Open to changes in operational procedures, technology, and/or organizational structure.
• Views changes as opportunities for learning and professional development.
• Displays a positive attitude to encourage others.
• Promptly responds to changes in work priorities and/or unexpected circumstances or situations.

Focus on Customer Service

• Focuses on customer's needs and expectations. (Customers can be students, external constituents, employees, or university guests.)
• Respectfully ascertains customer's needs and determines appropriate response.
• Promptly responds by providing requested information, takes appropriate action, or refers customer to appropriate individual or department.
• If further actions need to be taken, advises customers of realistic timeframes for a response to their request.
• Follows up with customers on outstanding requests in a timely manner.
• Tactfully explains to customers why their needs and/or expectations cannot be met if the university does not provide the requested information or services.

Technical Expertise

• Possesses comprehensive knowledge and skills in a technical area.
• Effectively applies expertise to troubleshoot existing systems and develop solutions with existing technology.
• Competent to learn new technologies and integrate them with existing technology.
• Willing to share expertise and provide technical assistance to others.

Work Leadership

• Leads the work of assigned staff.
• Assigns projects and tasks with clear instructions and understanding of work to be performed.
• Mentors and guides by sharing expertise, knowledge of work rules and procedures, and best practices.
• Follows up to ensure tasks and projects are completed within reasonable timeframes.

Student Success Indirect Support

• Contributes to student success by assisting students with anything that supports their student experience, whether directly or indirectly.
• Helps students navigate their way through the different offices, programs, and services at the university and/or connects students with the appropriate party(ies).
• Connects students with services or resources that can help them with career exploration, goal selection, and ongoing academic assistance.
• Helps students build peer support networks.
• Encourages student participation in out-of-class activities.
• Provides encouragement and guidance to foster student success.
• Treats students with respect
• Maintains the learning environment to ensure quality and/or sound pedagogy.