Director of Technology Enablement

Understood•New York, NY

2h•$180,000 - $250,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Understood is a nonprofit that helps people navigate neurodivergence by translating trusted knowledge about ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia into guidance, tools, and community support. The Director of Technology Enablement will elevate how technology enables employees, strengthens the organization, and advances its mission. Reporting to the VP, Engineering & IT, the role works closely with the Chief People & Culture Officer and partners with the Director of Talent Development & Operations. This leader owns how technology serves Understood’s people, from reliable IT operations and employee support to adoption of tools and redesign of workflows. They will lead a reliable, secure, and effective IT function while driving technology adoption, proficiency, innovation, and lasting behavior change. The role calls for a hands-on technologist who explores and implements emerging capabilities, including AI, and translates them into meaningful organizational improvements. The leader will help build a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, curiosity, and adaptability, with employees expected to take ownership of their technology growth. This is a hybrid role requiring at least three days per week in Understood’s NYC office, with a focus on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The organization uses Mac computers and provides team members with a Mac laptop.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in technology, IT, or digital transformation roles.
3+ years leading a team in a fast-moving or complex environment.
Experience owning team-level priorities and delivering results with organization-wide impact.
Experience leading transformation that changed how people work, beyond system migrations or tool swaps.
Experience managing multiple direct reports and making hiring, team structure, and resourcing decisions.
Experience coaching and developing people and maintaining team motivation through change.
Ability to partner effectively with leaders across functions, senior leaders, direct reports, and external partners, and make tradeoffs among competing priorities.
Hands-on technical ownership of systems, including setting up, configuring, and operating systems for identity, devices, integrations, and automation.
Deep expertise in IT operations and technology enablement, from operational stability to embedding tools and workflows into everyday work.
Ability to translate company strategy into clear plans and priorities while balancing long-term thinking with day-to-day execution.
Ability to plan and run multiple projects, set milestones, manage risk, and keep delivery on track.
Ability to use data and analysis to shape strategy, test ideas, and support decisions.
Clear, confident communication with leadership and executive leadership teams, peers, direct reports, and external partners; ability to adapt communication to the audience.
Ability to drive technology adoption and organizational change with integrity, emotional awareness, and resilience.
Hands-on fluency with AI and modern productivity tools, including building AI workflows, end-to-end system automations, and agentic AI with appropriate human oversight.
Track record of driving real AI adoption, identifying where AI adds value at team and function levels, and setting expectations for responsible use.
Ability to operate with significant autonomy and to explore, build, and implement technology solutions.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading device management and identity platform work, such as MDM rollouts and SSO migrations.
Experience establishing shared taxonomies and organization-wide work-tracking systems such as Jira.
Personal connection to Understood’s mission or understanding of neurodiversity, learning differences, education, or related areas.

Responsibilities

Proactively identify how teams can improve their work with existing technologies, including AI features in Adobe Creative Cloud, Gemini in Google Workspace, and automation in Slack and Jira.
Champion Claude and AI across functions by redesigning workflows and helping teams develop their own skills, plugins, and workflows for their work.
Own adoption and internal integration of new technology rollouts, measuring success by changes in how work gets done rather than tool usage alone.
Configure and connect systems to automate workflows across the organization.
Lead and develop a small IT team responsible for day-to-day operations, rebalance the team as needed, and operate with a lean team in ambiguous conditions.
Own the hardware lifecycle, including laptops, access points, network taps, and audio/visual equipment.
Own employee support tiering, including mobile device management tools, vendor management, and compliance infrastructure.
Overhaul the IT queue by defining what is self-service versus white-glove support and setting troubleshooting before escalation as a baseline.
Lead the consolidation of work tracking and visibility in Jira, including convening a cross-functional working group, setting taxonomy and workflow decisions, and establishing shared vocabulary across teams.
Connect Jira to project documentation and decisions so organizational work can be queried by AI.
Partner with internal functions on technology rollouts, leading workshops and supporting adoption.
Model and foster technology curiosity, experimentation, troubleshooting, and self-directed growth.
Track emerging technology with the VP of Engineering & IT and translate developments into organizational capability plans and proposals with clear plans, costs, and expected impact.
Set capability direction and team priorities; manage multiple direct reports, hiring and resourcing decisions, and the team budget; and communicate with leadership and executive leadership teams.
Coach and develop direct reports, make decisions about team structure and resourcing, and maintain team engagement through change.
Build cross-functional relationships, make tradeoffs when priorities compete, and lead change in a hybrid organization.
Translate organizational strategy into plans and priorities; manage multiple projects, milestones, and risks; and adjust plans as conditions change.
Use data and analysis to develop insights, test ideas, and inform strategy and priorities.
Communicate clearly with leadership, peers, direct reports, and external partners, adapting messages to the audience.
Drive organizational and cultural change that makes technology adoption stick, keeping people and mission central and setting responsible expectations for AI use.