Director, IT Operations

Posted:
10/30/2024, 5:00:00 PM

Location(s):
Dublin, Ohio, United States ⋅ Ohio, United States

Experience Level(s):
Senior

Field(s):
IT & Security

Workplace Type:
Hybrid

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We work hard to build the technology that connects thousands of today's libraries. But we also work hard to make a job at OCLC a meaningful part of a balanced life- not a substitute for one.

Technology with a Purpose. OCLC supports thousands of libraries in making information more accessible and more useful to people around the world.  OCLC provides shared technology services, original research and community programs that help libraries meet the ever-evolving needs of their users, institutions, and communities. With office locations around the globe, OCLC employees are dedicated to offering premier services and software to help libraries.

The Job Details are as follows:

The Director, IT Operations oversees the day-to-day operations of the organizations technology systems, ensuring the delivery of reliable and scalable IT services to meet business needs.

Responsibilities include managing IT staff, ensuring the stability, availability, and performance of business applications and infrastructure platforms while driving operational efficiencies across the technology department. The Director leverages key metrics and performance data to identify improvement opportunities across an array of systems. Additionally, this role oversees disaster recovery and business continuity planning and manages vendor relationships. The Director collaborates with platform engineering, solution support, and service delivery teams to ensure strategic alignment and foster organizational growth.

Responsibilities:

Leadership and Team Management:

  • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of IT professionals that support our Service Operations Center, IT Service Management, and Monitoring & Tools groups

  • Foster a collaborative, high-performing IT operations team aligned with business objectives

  • Establish performance metrics and conduct regular assessments to ensure team effectiveness

System Optimization:

  • Partner with other IT teams to ensure high availability, scalability and sustainability of IT systems to support business operations

  • Generate operational insights to drive action towards maintaining / increase the overall health of our platforms and line of business services

Service Management and Support:

  • Develop and manage IT service management frameworks (e.g., ITIL) to ensure high-quality IT services are provided across the organization

  • Monitor and respond to incidents, ensuring rapid resolution and minimal impact on business operations

  • Manage service level agreements (SLAs) and ensure operational goals are met or exceeded

  • Act as the lead in communications with customers concerning impacted services and maintenance windows

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity:

  • Oversee the development and implementation of disaster recovery and business continuity plans

  • Develop risk management strategies to address and minimize potential IT system and process failures

Vendor and Budget Management:

  • Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers, ensuring that they meet performance and service expectations

  • Negotiate contracts and monitor service agreements to ensure cost-effective procurement and delivery of services

  • Develop and manage the IT operations budget, ensuring efficient allocation of resources

Strategic Planning and Execution:

  • Collaborate with senior leadership to define the organization's IT strategy and align IT operations with business objectives

  • Lead initiatives to improve operational efficiencies, cost control, and overall IT performance

  • Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in IT operations

Culture and Continuous Improvement:

  • Provide empowerment and drive ownership to engineering teams

  • Develop and extend OCLC’s positive culture to increase velocity and accountability

  • Mentoring early-career leaders in the development of their capabilities

Qualifications:

Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field. Master’s degree or MBA is a plus.

Experience:

  • 8-10+ years of experience in IT operations or related field, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

  • Experience managing IT infrastructure platforms, service management, and support in a medium to large organization.

  • Strong background in network management, systems administration, and cloud computing (AWS, Azure, etc.).

  • Experience with IT service management frameworks like ITIL is highly desired.

Technical Skills:

  • Proficiency in understanding enterprise networks, data centers, and cloud environments.

  • Knowledge of security best practices, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning.

  • Familiarity with virtualization, storage, and enterprise IT tools.

Leadership Skills:

  • Strong leadership, team building, and people management abilities.

  • Excellent written and oral communication skills and demonstrated ability to interact with all technical and non-technical members of the organization, including senior management.

  • Strong problem-solving skills; prior experience working with senior/executive management teams

  • Excellent communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

  • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Working Conditions: Normal office environment.

ADA/EAA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.