About ETS:
For more than 75 years, we have amplified products and services based rigorous research and our belief in the power of learning. Driven by our mission to advance quality and equity in education, ETS provides learning solutions, pioneering research and trusted assessments that help guide learners around the world on their path to new possibilities.
Our portfolio of trusted measures include TOEFL®, TOEIC®, GRE® and Praxis® . Along with research, development and innovation that explores new frontiers in learning and measurement our educational measurement solutions and research contribute to the development of new methods and tools, inform important dialogue with education policymakers, and shed light on critical issues and potential solutions - all with the aim of creating a world where all learners can improve their lives through education.
With new senior leadership at the helm, ETS aims to continue changing the lives of all learners as we expand our organization's global footprint. Our goal is to remain at the forefront of assessment and measurement efficacy within the education and ed tech space as it continues to grow and evolve.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Director, IT role provides strategic leadership, guidance and subject matter expertise to assigned areas of IT. This role acts as a main point of contact, communicating effectively with senior management, clients and across ETS to act as a strong advocate and steward for the IT division. The director role calls for an innovative manager with a clear vision who is willing to take risks, delegate efficiently and negotiate effectively on behalf of the IT division to obtain results. The Director has a broad effect across ETS from an organizational perspective and leverages the role through positive, productive interactions across various levels and partners both cross-functionally and internally in a highly outsourced environment. The Director strategically develops and oversees a staff of both exempt and non-exempt employees, providing innovative direction, timely coaching, planning and project objectives to the team. The Director may also manage contractors assigned to IT projects. Additionally, this role provides financial management expertise by developing the annual budget and ensuring that all work falls within the guidelines of the approved budget.
This specific Director, IT role is a pivotal leadership role responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight for delivery of network-related activities and operations for ETS and its subsidiaries worldwide. This position involves making critical decisions on future strategies, setting milestones, and ensuring the alignment of network initiatives with the overall ETS technology roadmap. The Director will build and maintain key relationships with various Technology departments, external vendors, and partners, ensuring seamless collaboration and process refinement.
In addition to supervisory and managerial duties, the Director will negotiate financial transactions and manage the fiscal aspects of the department. This role requires extensive experience in hybrid network environments, integrating on-premises and public cloud networking. The Director will oversee a wide range of network areas, including telecommunication circuits, firewalls, switching, routers, WIFI, monitoring, public cloud, DNS, DHCP, IPAM, NTP, and out of band access, guiding the teams in new projects and ongoing operations. This position demands a dynamic, excellent communicator, and proactive leader capable of navigating complex challenges and driving the organization towards its strategic goals.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Provide strategic direction for network upgrades, projects, and all operational activities. Define planning “roadmap” for network initiatives and ensure staff are aligned to it.
Make decisions on future strategies and set milestones, high level dates, etc.
Build and maintain key relationships with other areas of technology (Change Management, Information Security, Vendor Management, etc.) by collaborating on projects and refining processes.
Deliver supervisory and managerial duties for staff direct reports: one-on-one meetings, setting objectives, training, development plans, etc.
Develop and manage effective working relationships with external vendors, suppliers, and partners.
Negotiate financial transactions and purchases (hardware, software, licensing, support, professional services) with third parties, working closely with ETS Supplier Management and Vendor Management).
Provide leadership when escalation is required, support and guide staff through blockers and issues.
Responsible for financial and fiscal management of the department working closely with finance, resource managers, and technology leadership.
This role needs a broad and deep understanding of both on-prem LAN/WAN on premises and public cloud networking.
Adhere to ethical standards and comply with the laws and regulations applicable to your job function.
KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS
The candidate must have sufficient knowledge and experience in these network areas below to direct and guide the teams in both new projects and ongoing operations:
Telcom Circuits : manage telcom contacts (Verizon, AT&T, etc.), open TAC cases, process (with Vendor Management) circuit orders and shutdowns, consistently track and keep inventory up to date including circuit diagrams.
Firewall : Palo Alto/Panorama, edge devices in field offices, Panorama’s reside in AWS, virtual edge devices in Azure, besides policies, web filtering categories are managed in Panorama and dispersed. Connectivity over SDWAN, Express Route, Direct Connect, and monitoring is fully hybrid with traffic.
Switching : General specifications of current Cisco switches (e.g., number of ports, capacity, etc.). Manage firmware upgrade process, connectivity diagrams, purchasing and decommissioning. Need to know what switches are in stacks or are standalone. Knowledge of architecture and components of the core switch stacks. Protocols used as standards (BGP, SNMP for monitoring, etc.)
Routers : Both SDWAN routers and inet routers, need to know the architecture and their use and function. Use of Cisco vManage templating for SDWAN updates, changes, and maintenance. Knowledge of Megaport.com services is a nice to have.
WIFI : HPE Aruba WIFI, WIFI controllers assigned to access points are dispersed across the network inclusive of the field offices. ClearPass is used extensively for secure access to network devices and WIFI access management.
Monitoring: Work closely with partners to maintain network device monitoring using Opsview and SolarWinds for comprehensive monitoring the LAN/WAN environment, using Netflow, SNMP, and syslog. In addition, we use Cloudwatch for cloud monitoring in particular circumstances (DNS, DHCP monitoring), and Azure Monitor for Azure based infrastructure.
Cloud : With many of our applications residing in Public Cloud, experience with cloud networking services is a must. Examples include Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, NAT Gateways, VPN Gateways, Network Load Balancers, PrivateLink, VPC endpoints, VPC peering, and utilize VPC Flow Logs. Additional Azure equivalent services.
DDI: Usage of Bluecat for DNS, DHCP, and IP address management. The core address managers and the secondary, hidden masters are in AWS, with DNS and DHCP edge devices on-prem.
NTP: Meinberg NTP Time Servers utilize antennas for external time sources.
Out of Band: Opengear for secure, remote, alternative network access.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business Administration, or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience is required.
RELEVANT YEARS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
10+ years of progressively responsible experience in technology management in a midsize to large scale organization
7+ years of progressively responsible experience in Network Technology trends, analysis and development
Network Diagnostic and strategic planning
Demonstrated experience in Technology planning and development, project management and policy development
Demonstrated understanding of financial and cost analysis
Strong technical problem-solving and troubleshooting ability
Familiarity with performance management processes
Proven leadership skills and ability to build and maintain a high performing team
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ETS believes in a Total Rewards philosophy for our employees, and they include:
Health, Vision, Dental insurance plans to choose from
Generous continuous learning support, from individual learning grants to up to 6 classes a year for tuition reimbursement as well as on-line learning access!
Generous PTO and vacation time to balance your work and life
Additional 8 hours of PTO for volunteer work
Retirement plan (401(a)) and traditional Roth (403b) with company contribution
Commuter Benefits, Pet Insurance, 1 year subscription to Calm App
ETS is mission driven and action oriented
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is at the forefront of the ETS employee's daily work. To further foster an inclusive environment ETS is home to a wide variety of Affinity groups that celebrate the diversity of our talented employees.
How about cultivating growth, innovation, and continuous transformation for the next generation of rising professionals as leaders? ETS offers multiple Business Resource Groups (BRG) for you!
Are you passionate about volunteering and being active in your career and community? ETS offers our Center for Advocacy & Philanthropy (CAAP) where we encourage ETS employees to become active volunteers in their communities and schools through the ETS Cares Giving Campaign. Our employees can support any 501c3 or eligible charity of their choice.
ETS is an Equal Opportunity Employer comprised of people with different experiences, strengths, and backgrounds who share a passion for advancing quality and equity in education. We are dedicated to building teams that reflect the various backgrounds, experiences, and identities of those we serve. The Talent Acquisition team strives to ensure candidates enjoy a fair and equitable hiring process. We believe our differences empower us to be a better team, making better decisions and delivering better results.