DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Job Code:
FLSA Status: Exempt
EEO-1 Code: 1.1 Executive/Sr. Officer and Managers
Salary Grade:
Division/Department: Information Technology
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Direct Reports: IT Technicians and Support Staff

Job Summary
The Director of Information Technology is to assure the successful execution of the Defender Association’s strategic plan through the development and deployment of the company’s technology based solutions. This position is responsible for leading and managing the development and implementation of strategies for enhancing client services, improving user effectiveness and fostering innovation. The Director of Information Technology will be responsible for working in a cross-functional capacity to support the strategy of other departments throughout the Association by leveraging technology.

Major Areas of Responsibility
Strategy & Planning
• Identify opportunities and risks for incorporating technology into our existing technologies and developing and/or acquiring new technology enabled systems. Identify competitive services, opportunities for innovation, assessment of legal services environment as well as internal obstacles, and technology hurdles.
• Identify technology trends in and outside of the legal services market and assess how these innovations may apply to our organization.
• Evaluate and identify appropriate technology platforms for delivering the Association’s services.
• Prioritize initiatives and develop timetables for evaluation, development and deployment.
• Develop and refine processes related to evaluation, development and deployment of our technology based solutions.
• Collaborate with internal customers to develop use cases and specifications to enhance the Association’s service offerings.
• Work closely with engineering and designers to develop user interfaces which improve user experience.
• Maintain the highest standard for product quality and team efficiency.
• Oversight of vendor management including possible out-sourced data center hosting solutions.

Operational Management
• Analyzes complex needs presented by the user community (internal managers) and/or clients and recommends technical solutions.
• Ensures the consistency and maintainability of existing applications by creating, maintaining, and enforcing standards/procedures for implementing technical solutions.
• Manage the deployment, monitoring, maintenance, development, update and support of all IT systems, including but not limited to client support, telecommunications, servers and PC operating systems, laptops and desktops, data security and storage technologies.
• Lead the IT department in prioritizing projects and negotiating the allocation of department resources to advance the Association’s objectives.
• Oversee the design and implementation of new applications and changes to existing computer systems.
• Develop, track, and control development of department and Technology-wide operating budget(s).
• Directly responsible for capacity planning, patch and asset management, audit compliance, security compliance and software levels and system redundancy and disaster planning.
• Prepare, review, and approve vendor proposals and contracts.
• Establish IT performance metrics and reports out to executive team.
• Evaluate and optimize overall information technology operations. Directs operations in executing production tasks according to a documented schedule that meets or exceeds customer expectations.
• Produces detailed time line for each application release and implements effective project control by monitoring the progress of the software release and reporting the status.
• Directs and prioritizes the work load of subordinate personnel. Directs education programs for her/his staff.
• Promote the Association’s technology innovations, utilizations and achievements internally and externally to customers, and at industry events.

Key Relationships
Internal: Develop and foster relationships with executive and management teams
External: Court administration, external agencies, and applicable vendors