Director, IT Operations & Security

## Director, IT Operations & Security Apply locations:
Atlanta:
New York:
Boston:
Washington DCtime type:
Full time posted on:
Posted 6 Days Agojob requisition :
R3149#
** Position Summary
** Year Up United is a $160M national workforce development nonprofit operating in 20+ locations, closing the Opportunity Divide for tens of thousands of young adults every year. The Director of IT Operations & Security is the organization's technology infrastructure and security thought leader — accountable for the vision, strategy, and execution of a resilient, secure, AI-enabled technology environment that scales with a national footprint.

This is not a keep-the-lights-on role. The organization runs a hybrid model of internal staff and large-scale managed service provider (MSP) partnerships — including service desk, security operations, and device-as-a-service — and this leader owns the strategy, performance, and economics of those partnerships. A core mandate of the role is using AI and automation to streamline IT service delivery, reduce cost, and improve organizational margin, while continuously raising the bar on security posture and employee/student technology experience.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical credibility with genuine external-facing vendor leadership: someone who has negotiated and managed multiyear, large-scale MSP contracts, modernized legacy environments, and can speak with authority to the CIO and Executive Team about where infrastructure and security are headed next.

This is a hybrid role requiring regular in-person engagement. Applicants must live within a reasonable commutable distance to a Year Up United  keeping with Year Up United's values, this leader also can engage directly with students as a mentor and advocate.#
** What You'll Do
**** Strategic Leadership & Innovation
*** Own the strategic vision and multi-year roadmap for infrastructure, service delivery, and security across a national, 20+ location organization
* Serve as the organization's internal thought leader on emerging infrastructure, security, and AI/automation trends — translating them into practical roadmap decisions
* Identify and lead AI- and automation-driven initiatives that streamline IT operations, reduce vendor and support costs, and improve organizational margin
* Support the CIO in preparing executive and Board-level briefings on security posture, technology strategy, and major infrastructure investments
* Partner with the Senior Director of IT Architecture & Applications to align infrastructure and cloud strategy with application and platform roadmaps
** Vendor & Managed Services Leadership
*** Own strategy, performance, and economics for all outsourced infrastructure and security services — including service desk, security operations center (SOC), device-as-a-service (DaaS), network management, and data center services
* Partner with the CIO on contract negotiation, renewal, and governance for multiyear, large MSP engagements, holding vendors accountable to SLAs/OLAs and driving continuous improvement
* Serve as the accountable technical and business owner of Service Now, including platform strategy, roadmap, and the vendor relationship supporting it
* Build and manage a portfolio approach to vendor relationships that balances cost, quality, and scalability as the organization grows
** Security & Risk
*** Direct internal and external (MSP-delivered) security operations to continuously mature Year Up United's security posture, using the CIS Controls as a baseline framework
* Own the organization's incident response program and serve as escalation point for high-severity security events
* Partner with senior leadership and Legal, as part of the Enterprise Risk Committee, to develop and maintain security policy
* Provide written quarterly security program updates to the CIO in support of executive briefings to the Board of Directors
* Ensure technology and business processes meet applicable privacy and compliance requirements (e.g., FERPA)
** Team Leadership & Development
*** Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 5 direct reports across infrastructure, service delivery, and security, plus indirect leadership of…