Senior Director, IT Operations

Blackboard

22h•$169,000 - $230,000•Remote

About The Position

We are looking for a head of IT to lead and support our teams in the next evolution of Blackboard. This is not a role for maintaining an existing IT estate. Over the coming months, this leader will support a new operating system for the company, optimize tools and processes, and use artificial intelligence to level up every service the IT organization delivers, from onboarding and identity to support, procurement, and reporting. The measure of success will be that the company runs better and teams move faster. Blackboard reestablished as an independent business in March 2026 and has launched into its next era. We’ve started with real strengths and real opportunities, as both a brand-new company and as a brand our customers have trusted for thirty years. We serve institutions and their students, all of whom are navigating how artificial intelligence changes teaching and learning. How we rethink the operations of our own business is a credibility asset as we help others through our offerings. We intend to be a reference for AI transformation through the leaning in of this leader.

Requirements

Experience running a global IT organization at scale and transforming its effectiveness.
Experience deploying artificial intelligence and automation in an operational context, with the ability to describe successes, failures, and learning outcomes.
Financial acumen, including building defensible baselines, modeling business cases, negotiating with vendors, and presenting financial data to CFOs.
Experience leading through structural change, treating people with respect, delivering difficult news, retaining top talent, and building a trusted team.
Comfort with being measured, publishing service levels, and using continuous feedback for improvement.
Global operational experience, including managing across time zones, navigating works councils and regional employment norms, and handling data residency requirements.
Fluency in written and spoken English.

Nice To Haves

Deep experience in EdTech, SaaS, or technology-enabled services.
A track record of leading organizations through complex transformation initiatives.
Proven ability to drive AI and automation programs.

Responsibilities

Manage the global corporate systems, endpoint and device management, identity and access management, networking, collaboration platforms, and the enterprise application portfolio, including the full software-as-a-service portfolio and its spend. Critical platforms include productivity, HRIS, ERP/Finance systems, and Salesforce CRM.
Oversee global endpoint management across operating systems, including hardened build standards, full-disk encryption, configuration baselines, and browser and extension controls. Implement automated patching with published remediation targets by severity, and ensure reporting demonstrates achievement of these targets. Ensure security agent coverage and health across the fleet, with devices enrolled before issuance and recoverable when lost.
Own the identity infrastructure end to end, both human and agentic, including directory, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and the joiner, mover, leaver lifecycle. Provision access by role, ensuring roles are designed for efficient access. Conduct recurring access reviews with audit-satisfying evidence, retire stale and orphaned accounts, and deprovision terminations within minutes. Apply the same rigor to privileged access, service accounts, and non-human identities, including machine and agent identities for AI tooling. This work is done in partnership with Security.
Manage employee support across all regions, including coverage model, escalation, and experience standards. Define and be accountable for the standard of "good" service.
Lead the transformation of the company's operating system to suit a 2026 company, driving productivity and leveraging AI. Focus on efficiency and automation across IT operations.
Build and maintain close working relationships with Security, Finance, HR, Marketing, Support, RevOps, and Sales. Ensure corporate systems decisions align with business needs. Partner closely with Security, which sets policy and standards, while owning the systems that enforce them and provide evidence of enforcement.
Build, develop, and potentially restructure a global organization, leading changes to roles with honesty and care.
Ensure compliance with ISO 27001, SOC 2, FedRAMP, and GovRAMP requirements for corporate systems, working with Security and auditors to produce necessary evidence.
Implement and govern responsible AI practices, owning the approved AI tool inventory and controls such as endpoint and browser policy, extension allowlisting, and data classification rules. Identify and bring unsanctioned AI use into policy. Ensure AI agents have scoped identities and their actions are logged. Manage AI spend across seat and consumption licensing, forecast it, and reclaim unused resources.