Senior Director of Information Technology

Norfolk Public School District•Norfolk, VA

About The Position

The Senior Director of Information Technology is the school division’s senior technology leader, responsible for strategy, operations, cybersecurity, resilience, and continuous improvement of the enterprise technology environment. The role aligns technology investments and services with instructional, operational, and strategic priorities; protects critical systems and sensitive information; advances digital equity; and supports reliable, secure technology access for students, staff, families, and the community. The position receives general direction from the Chief Operations Officer and serves on the Superintendent’s Executive Leadership Team. It exercises broad independent judgment in setting department priorities, allocating resources, managing risk, responding to incidents, and implementing strategic initiatives. The Senior Director leads managers and staff across student and business information systems, network services, technical support, and other technology functions, overseeing a multidisciplinary department of approximately 60 or more employees. The role also leads cross-functional initiatives and manages consultants, vendors, and contracted service providers. The Senior Director develops technology strategy and governance; directs cybersecurity, incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity; and oversees infrastructure, enterprise applications, data-related services, service desk and field support, devices, and digital-equity initiatives. The role coordinates technology for facilities and capital projects, manages budgets and procurement, leads and develops staff, and communicates with stakeholders about significant technology initiatives and incidents. Work is primarily performed in office, school, and technical environments, with frequent travel to schools, administrative offices, equipment rooms, data centers, construction sites, and community or regional meetings. Evening or weekend work and availability outside normal business hours may be required for maintenance, meetings, incidents, emergencies, and time-sensitive operational decisions. Occasional lifting or carrying of equipment and materials weighing up to 30 pounds may be required. This is a full-time, exempt senior administrative leadership position. Compensation and benefits are established under the School Board-approved administrative salary schedule and applicable division policies. Salary placement depends on the position’s scope, candidate qualifications and relevant experience, and available funding.

Requirements

Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in information systems, computer science, business or public administration, organizational leadership, or a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.
At least seven years of progressively responsible information technology experience, including at least five years of senior leadership over enterprise infrastructure, cybersecurity, and technical staff in a large, complex organization.
Comprehensive knowledge of enterprise network, telecommunications, cloud, data-center, endpoint, identity, and enterprise-application architecture and operations.
Knowledge of cybersecurity and risk-management practices, including recognized frameworks such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
Knowledge of student information, enterprise resource planning, database, data-integration, reporting, and analytics systems.
Knowledge of applicable student data privacy, internet safety, digital accessibility, records-retention, E-Rate, and public-procurement requirements.
Knowledge of artificial intelligence capabilities, risks, governance, and responsible-use practices in educational settings.
Skill in strategic planning, budgeting, portfolio management, vendor management, service management, and performance measurement.
Ability to lead and develop managers, supervisors, and technical professionals; make sound decisions under pressure; and communicate complex technical issues in clear, accessible language.
Ability to build effective working relationships with executive leaders, School Board members, school and central-office staff, families, government agencies, regional partners, and vendors.
Ability to prepare executive-level reports, recommendations, and presentations that explain conclusions, options, risks, and next steps.
Valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation for local travel, as required by assignment.
Ability to communicate effectively; sit, stand, walk, reach, and use hands and fingers for office and technical activities; operate a computer and related equipment; and move throughout school, office, technical, and community locations.
Availability outside normal business hours for incident response, emergency coordination, planned maintenance, and time-sensitive operational decisions.
Ability to manage competing priorities, frequent interruptions, and high-stakes deadlines while maintaining confidentiality, sound judgment, and professional composure.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a public-sector or K-12 environment.
Professional certification such as CISSP, CISM, Certified Education Technology Leader, PMP, ITIL, or comparable certification.

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, and continuously improve a multi-year IT operations strategic plan, technology standards, architecture roadmap, and investment priorities aligned with the division strategic plan.
Advise the Superintendent, School Board, and executive leadership on technology strategy, organizational risk, digital equity, emerging technologies, and resource needs.
Lead governance of artificial intelligence and automation, including cross-functional review of instructional value, privacy, cybersecurity, accessibility, acceptable use, and operational impact.
Direct the cybersecurity program, including security architecture, identity and access management, vulnerability and patch management, monitoring, incident response, staff awareness, and third-party risk management.
Maintain and exercise cybersecurity incident-response, disaster-recovery, and technology business-continuity plans; lead response and recovery for cyber incidents, outages, and emergencies.
Ensure backup, recovery, redundancy, testing, and documentation for critical systems are designed and maintained according to system risk and operational need.
Coordinate, as appropriate, with law enforcement, state agencies, and education-sector information-sharing organizations.
Ensure reliable operation and modernization of enterprise infrastructure, including wide and local area networks, wireless, data centers, servers and storage, hybrid-cloud services, telecommunications, voice, and collaboration platforms.
Oversee student information, enterprise resource planning, business and instructional applications, integrations, databases, and application lifecycle management.
Partner with departments on data governance, data quality, analytics, state and federal data reporting, online assessments, attendance and grade collection, and technology readiness.
Oversee service desk and field-support services; establish service standards, performance measures, escalation practices, and continuous-improvement processes for schools and offices.
Manage student and staff devices, classroom technology, mobile device management, asset tracking, refresh cycles, and digital-equity initiatives.
Coordinate technology design and deployment for new construction, renovations, and building moves with Facilities, architects, engineers, contractors, and other stakeholders.
Partner with Public Safety and Security and Facilities Management to support secure technology infrastructure, connectivity, identity integration, storage, and cybersecurity protection for their systems while respecting those departments’ operational ownership.
Plan and manage technology requirements for cabling, network, wireless, voice, audiovisual, power, cooling, and related infrastructure.
Develop and administer operating and capital budgets; prioritize investments using lifecycle, risk, service, and strategic-impact considerations.
Direct E-Rate planning, filing, and compliance; prepare and evaluate solicitations; negotiate and manage contracts in accordance with procurement requirements and division policy.
Recruit, develop, evaluate, and retain professional and technical staff; build succession plans and professional learning that strengthen capacity and reduce single points of failure.
Establish partnerships with regional and statewide education technology organizations, government agencies, higher education, and vendors; represent the division on assigned committees and professional bodies.
Develop and coordinate stakeholder and crisis communications related to cyber incidents, outages, and significant technology initiatives.
Perform other related duties as assigned.