Job Title: Director of IT Operations
Department: Technology
Classification: Exempt
Reports to: Chief Financial & Administrative Officer
Schedule: Year-Round
The Director of IT Operations is responsible for the reliable, secure, and well-governed operation of the school’s technology environment. This role focuses on the school’s core technology environment, including infrastructure, vendor management, systems governance, device lifecycle management, compliance and implementation support.
This is not an instructional technology role. The Director of IT Operations, partners closely with the Director of Instructional Technology but is accountable for infrastructure stability, operational discipline and institutional systems reliability. Success will be defined by improved system reliability, stronger vendor accountability, reduced reactive support volume, and increased operational discipline across the school’s technology environment.
Primary Responsibilities
IT Operations & Infrastructure
- Oversee day-to-day operation of network, identity management, endpoint management, servers and core administrative systems.
- Maintain security standards, patching, backups, access controls and monitoring systems.
- Serve as escalation point for complex technical issues.
- Establish documentation and training across team member and vendors to reduce institutional knowledge risk.
- Standardize and streamline technology workflows to reduce operational friction.
Information Security & Compliance
- Oversee implementation and enforcement of technology security policies in coordination with MSP and leadership.
- Ensure compliance with data protection laws and school policies.
- Coordinate security posture management, remediation efforts and incident response planning in partnership with MSP, vendors, partners and school leadership.
- Review AI-related tools for data privacy and compliance in coordination with instructional leadership.
Vendor & Managed Service Provider Management
- Serve as primary liaison to managed service provider and technology vendors.
- Review scopes of work, invoices, contracts and service levels.
- Hold vendors accountable for performance and cost discipline.
- Identify opportunities to streamline services and reduce unnecessary spend.
- Manage procurement and renewal of software licenses and subscriptions.
Systems Governance & Intake
- Own and enforce the school’s technology intake and prioritization process.
- Evaluate new technology requests for clarity of need, institutional value and sustainability.
- Prevent unmanaged tool proliferation and low-value custom development.
- Maintain documentation of systems architecture, workflows and decision rights.
- Establish guardrails and review processes for emerging technologies, including AI tools used outside the classroom.
Device Lifecycle & Support
- Lead student and staff device lifecycle planning, deployment and replacement strategy.
- Develop and monitor support workflows for devices.
- Provide escalated troubleshooting support when necessary, particularly during peak periods.
- Implement ticketing and service management systems to track and reduce reactive support volume.
- Recruit and supervise student technology workers or support programs.
Campus Technology Systems
- Oversee operational standards and reliability for classroom, office and event A/V systems, ensuring consistent functionality and alignment with infrastructure and network standards.
- Collaborate with Director of Facilities on HVAC controls, access systems, cameras and intercom integration.
Microsoft 365 & Collaboration Environment
- Administer and optimize the Microsoft 365 environment (Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive).
- Establish standards for file management and collaboration.
- Improve information architecture and reduce redundancy and shadow systems.
Technology Project Leadership
- Serve as internal project lead for technology initiatives, including infrastructure upgrades, system improvements, and potential administrative system implementations as priorities evolve.
- Coordinate stakeholders, timelines and vendor accountability.
Budget & Asset Management
- Assist in development and monitoring of annual technology budget.
- Maintain comprehensive inventory of hardware, software licenses, and subscriptions.
- Provide visibility into replacement cycles and future capital planning needs.
- Manage E-Rate and technology-related grant applications and reporting.
Qualifications:
- 7+ years of experience in IT operations or systems management.
- Demonstrated success holding external vendors and MSPs accountable for service, cost control and outcomes.
- Demonstrated experience implementing operational processes, governance structures or service management improvements in a technology environment.
- Strong experience administering and optimizing Microsoft 365 environments in a collaborative setting.
- Experience with endpoint management and infrastructure oversight.
- Comfortable operating hands-on capacity within a small organization.
- Experience in nonprofit or K–12 environments preferred but not required.
- Commitment to cross-train team members to promote operational continuity, and shared knowledge.
Skills & Abilities:
- Demonstrates sound judgement and high level of professional accountability in decision making.
- Confident in upholding standards while exercising discretion when making difficult decisions.
- Effectively balances hands-on technical execution with strategic operational oversight.
- Leads with strong organizational discipline, process orientation, and attention to detail.
- Maintains composure and provides steady leadership during incidents, high-pressure situations or periods of change.
- Experience communicating technical concepts and operational tradeoffs to non-technical leaders.
Benefits:
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Holidays
- Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
- Flexible Spending Account
- Life Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- 401k
To Apply: Please apply at: www.cristorey.net/careers
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School: Founded in 1996, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School provides a Catholic, college preparatory education and professional work experience to students from Spanish-speaking families across the southwest side of Chicago. To make the school both sustainable and affordable to our families, Cristo Rey Jesuit pioneered the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP). Our unique and highly successful funding model inspired what is now a national network of Catholic high schools serving low-income families across the country. The CWSP enables our students to earn a portion of their annual cost of education by working one school day a week at a corporation in the Chicago area. Learn more at www.cristorey.net.
Jesuit Schools Network and Cristo Rey Network: Cristo Rey Jesuit is sponsored by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), the largest religious order in the Roman Catholic Church, and is well known in the United States with over 50 high school and 28 colleges and universities. Cristo Rey Jesuit is a member of the Jesuit Schools Network, the national association of Jesuit schools in the United States and Canada. Additionally, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is a member of the Cristo Rey Network, the national association of schools operating on the Cristo Rey model. Currently, there are 41 high schools serving more than 13,000 students throughout the country that are associated through the Cristo Rey Network and operate using the educational model named for the flagship school in Chicago.
