Director of IT Operations

Position Summary:

The Director of IT Operations is responsible for the strategic leadership, operational excellence, and continuous improvement of enterprise IT service delivery. This role oversees the Help Desk, Network Installation & Infrastructure, Microsoft Tenant Engineering, Systems Administration, and Automation Development teams, ensuring reliable, secure, and scalable technology services aligned with business objectives.

Reporting to the VP of Technology, the Director of IT Operations will improve system uptime and service reliability, reduce incident volume and time to resolution, and increase automation and operational efficiency. Will offer high employee engagement and work to increase retention, lead strong audit and compliance outcomes, and positive end-user satisfaction scores.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

IT Operations Leadership & Strategy

• Define and execute the IT operations strategy aligned with organizational goals and growth plans.
• Lead multi-year roadmaps for infrastructure modernization, automation, and service improvement.
• Act as a senior escalation point for critical incidents and business-impacting outages.

Team Oversight & Management

• Directly oversee managers and technical leads across varying IT disciplines (Help Desk / End User support; Network Installation & Infrastructure; MS365 / Azure Tenant Engineering; Systems Administration; Automation & IT Process Development).
• Foster a culture of accountability, documentation, continuous improvement, and customer service excellence.

Service Delivery & Operations

• Ensure consistent delivery of reliable, secure, and scalable IT services.
• Oversee incident, problem, change, and request management processes.
• Drive SLA achievement and improve user satisfaction metrics.
• Standardize tools, workflows, and operational procedures across teams.

Infrastructure, Cloud & Systems

• Oversee enterprise infrastructure including networks, servers, endpoints, identity, and cloud platforms.
• Ensure stability, security, and scalability of Microsoft 365, Azure, Active Directory, Intune, and related services.
• Partner with network teams to support multi-site connectivity, segmentation, and deployments.
• Guide system administrators in capacity planning, patching, backups, and disaster recovery.

Automation & Process Optimization

• Lead automation initiatives to reduce manual effort, improve accuracy, and scale IT operations.
• Oversee development of workflows, scripts, and integrations across IT systems.

Security, Compliance & Risk

• Partner with the cybersecurity team to support frameworks such as NIST, CMMC, SOC, or ISO.
• Ensure operational controls support compliance, audit readiness, and risk management.
• Enforce least-privilege access, change controls, and secure configuration standards.

Minimum Qualifications (Experience, Skills, and Education):

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field (equivalent experience may be considered). Master’s degree (MBA, MIS, or related field) preferred.
• Ten (10) plus years of progressive IT experience with five (5) plus years in leadership or management roles.
• ITIL, CISSP, CISM, or Microsoft certifications preferred.
• Proven experience managing multiple IT teams and disciplines simultaneously.
• Strong background in Enterprise IT operations; MS365 and Azure environments; Networking & Infrastructure; Systems administration; and IT service management (ITIL or similar).
• Experience supporting M&A, rapid growth, and/or multi-site enterprises highly preferred.
• Is a strategic thinker able to execute plans and decisions timely and consistently.
• Demonstrates strong people leadership and coaching skills; deliver executive-level communication.
• Work with attention to detail, and operational vigor; is self-directed and self-motivated.
• Manage IT Operations budget; manage vendor relations.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

Normal, temperature-controlled office environment. Work includes frequent work at a computer terminal with extended periods of sitting, occasional walking, and lifting or moving materials weighing up to 10 pounds. Frequent use of keyboard / mouse, cellular and land-line telephones, and standard office equipment. The Director of Accounting may need to occasionally perform work in a non-temperature controlled or warehouse environment. Travel required - may require occasional overnight stays.

Additional Requirements:

Work with a Top-of-Mind Awareness for the safety of yourself and everyone at the job site. Must be able to work in a high functioning team environment. Display the highest levels of honesty, integrity, and professionalism. Take pride in your work and in the company. Communicate openly and strive for peak performance in daily tasks. Know and deliver the quality service MEI’s customers have come to expect.

Disclaimer: This job description is intended to summarize the type and level of work performed by the Director of IT Operations and is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and/or requirements. MEI reserves the right to change or modify this job description or the essential duties of the job, as necessary.

MEI is an Equal Opportunity, M/F/Disabled/Vet Preferred Employer.