Director, Information Technology

Associated Students•Long Beach, CA

About The Position

Under the direction of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Director, Information Technology provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the technology infrastructure, systems, and staff supporting Student Auxiliary Enterprises (SAE) at CSULB, the shared-services organization for Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) and Beach Shops. The Director oversees the IT Operations Manager and technical staff, including student employees, and leads strategic planning, project management, network architecture, hardware and software support, LAN management in collaboration with CSULB Network Services, and technology supporting SAE facilities and operations. This includes point-of-sale, electronic access control, video surveillance, audiovisual, and network-connected building control systems. As a peer partner to the Senior Director, Facility Operations & Sustainability and a strategic technology partner to SAE departments, the Director builds collaborative relationships to understand operational priorities, customer service needs, and compliance requirements. The role leads the IT component of SAE’s evolving technology and facilities service model by strengthening cross-functional partnerships, developing shared processes, and taking on expanded responsibility for building-systems technology as systems are added or modernized. The Director identifies, recommends, and implements technology solutions that improve organizational effectiveness, strengthen internal controls, enhance documentation, support audit readiness, and provide a seamless customer experience where technology and facility operations intersect. The position fosters a service culture focused on collaboration, accountability, and responsive support, ensuring requests are owned through resolution and users receive consistent, effective service. The Director supervises full-time, part-time, and student employees and carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with Associated Students and Beach Shops policies and applicable laws.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
At least 8 years of experience in Information Technology.
At least 5 years of supervisory experience.
Experience partnering with facilities, construction, or operations teams on building technology projects such as access control, video surveillance, audiovisual, or building automation systems.
Project management experience with vendors, design-build contractors, and multi-stakeholder implementations.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-departmental processes and build collaborative working relationships with peer department leaders and campus partners.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a customer-service orientation.
Ability to communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing.
Good communication and leadership skills.
Ability to follow written and verbal instructions.
Knowledge of firewalls, routers, switches, and intrusion systems.
Knowledge of wireless connectivity, Active Directory and Group Policy, Microsoft 365 and cloud services, intrusion detection, SQL databases, Windows and Linux server environments, and scripting.
Successful completion of a comprehensive background check is required for appointment.
Must comply with mandated-reporter requirements under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and CSU Executive Order 1083.

Nice To Haves

Experience with PCI DSS compliance and point-of-sale environments in retail or dining operations.
Experience in higher education, auxiliary services, or a shared-services environment.
Relevant professional certification, such as Microsoft, Cisco CCNA, CISSP, ITIL, or PMP.

Responsibilities

Select, train, motivate, and evaluate senior IT staff; develop advanced training; communicate and enforce service, responsiveness, follow-through, and cross-departmental coordination standards.
Allocate budget and personnel strategically to maximize the impact of IT initiatives.
Plan, communicate, implement, and manage projects, staff, and daily work; provide proactive status updates to stakeholders and the CFO on projects, incidents, and service performance.
Maintain effective, cooperative working relationships with staff, students, and co-workers from diverse backgrounds.
Define, deliver, and support strategic plans for information technology that maintain organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
Create and maintain a technology roadmap, including business continuity and a lifecycle and replacement plan for building technology systems developed jointly with Facilities and aligned with capital plans.
Establish IT efficiency and efficacy standards and recommend infrastructure improvements.
Identify and evaluate emerging technologies.
Deploy technology solutions using business and management principles, including project management, budgeting, forecasting, and organizational goals.
Direct technological research and oversee work performed by third-party programmers, outside vendors, and other staff.
Build and maintain working relationships with ASI and Beach Shops division and department managers; learn their operations, workflows, pain points, and compliance requirements.
Identify, evaluate, and recommend technology solutions to operational problems and lead or support implementation through adoption, training, documentation, and follow-up.
Partner with management, Accounting, and HR to apply technology in support of compliance standards and internal controls.
Oversee installation, maintenance, and support of LAN infrastructure, user computers, POS systems, business applications, and networked building technology in coordination with Facilities.
Assess, develop, implement, and oversee technology services, including LAN servers, user computers, POS systems, business applications, and system integration.
Maintain service quality through standards, benchmarking, and technical and professional training; define and report service-level targets and ticket metrics, and review customer feedback with the CFO.
Ensure adherence to industry standards, including PCI compliance in partnership with the SAE Projects Department, and work with Projects to guide technology solutions through the CSULB Procurement Compliance Review process.
Develop and implement business continuity protocols to minimize operational disruption in emergencies or following data loss.
Protect IT assets through asset management, disaster recovery, application currency, data backup, and data confidentiality procedures and compliance.
Build relationships with system users, staff, management, Facilities leadership, vendors, and campus partners to understand intersecting needs and deliver solutions for students and the CSULB community.
Develop and maintain relationships with external IT vendors and service providers, including low-voltage, security, and building-systems integrators.
Serve as the IT department’s lead partner to Facilities; meet regularly with the Senior Director of Facility Operations & Sustainability and Facilities managers to plan work, resolve issues, and align priorities.
Ensure IT owns technology requests end to end and coordinates with Facilities and campus partners when requests require physical, electrical, or building work.
Jointly design and maintain with Facilities a shared intake, ticketing, and escalation process with a single owner, visible status, and defined resolution path for cross-departmental requests.
Provide technical leadership for electronic access control, video surveillance and retention, audiovisual systems, and network-connected building controls in partnership with Facilities, CSULB ITS, Housing & Residential Life, UPD, and other campus security partners.
Represent SAE technology requirements in capital projects, renovations, and new construction; participate in design review, low-voltage and security submittals, commissioning, and turnover, and ensure standards, licensing, support agreements, and documentation are in place before systems go live.
Establish and document technology standards for SAE facilities, including network closets, cabling, device placement, power, and environmental requirements, and coordinate their inclusion in Facilities and campus project standards.
Maintain an inventory and support plan for building technology systems, including service contracts, software support renewals, and cost-sharing arrangements with campus partners.
Work with Facilities to plan and support technology needs during building closures, relocations, and temporary operations.
Perform other duties as assigned that are reasonably within the scope of the job.
Interview, hire, train, schedule, plan, assign, and direct staff work; appraise performance; reward and discipline employees; and address complaints and resolve problems.