Associate Director of IT Operations and Infrastructure

Associate Director of IT Operations & Infrastructure

The Associate Director of IT Operations & Infrastructure provides leadership and oversight of the College’s core technology operations, including infrastructure, systems, identity services, and operational reliability.

This role ensures that the College’s technology environment is stable, secure, and well‑managed, supporting the day‑to‑day needs of faculty, staff, and students while enabling long‑term sustainability and growth.

Reporting to the Executive Director of IT, the Associate Director serves as a senior leader and trusted advisor, contributing to operational strategy, institutional risk management, and cross‑functional coordination. The position translates technical complexity into clear operational direction and ensures that technology services are delivered consistently and effectively.

A core expectation is to lead and further develop a high‑functioning team, establishing clear ownership across infrastructure and systems operations, reducing reliance on any single individual, and creating processes that support scalability, reliability, and continuous improvement.

• Provide leadership oversight of day‑to‑day IT operations across infrastructure, systems administration, and identity services.
• Ensure the stability, availability, and performance of core technology platforms, including servers, storage, networking, cloud, and directory services.
• Establish and monitor operational standards for system monitoring, patching, maintenance, and lifecycle management.
• Define and track key performance indicators related to system health, service availability, and overall operational effectiveness.

• Supervise and support infrastructure and systems staff.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and service ownership across the team.
• Provide coaching, prioritization, and performance management to ensure consistent delivery of high‑quality services.
• Promote collaboration, knowledge sharing, and cross‑functional support both within the team and with the Claremont Colleges Consortium.

• Oversee administration of enterprise infrastructure platforms, including on‑premises and cloud‑based systems.
• Ensure effective execution of system updates, patching, backup, and disaster recovery activities.
• Provide direction on infrastructure architecture and modernization in coordination with technical staff.
• Ensure systems are maintained in alignment with institutional standards, regulatory compliance, and best practices.

• Provide oversight and coordination for identity lifecycle operation and automation initiatives.
• Ensure reliability, security, and consistency of account provisioning, directory services, and system integrations.
• Support the adoption of automation to improve operational efficiency and consistency.

• Ensure infrastructure and systems operation align with institutional security standards.
• Partner with security and risk functions to support monitoring, incident response, and risk mitigation.
• Ensure operational readiness for system disruptions and recovery scenarios.

• Lead response efforts for major incidents impacting infrastructure and core services.
• Ensure timely escalation, communication, and resolution of operational issues.
• Oversee root cause analysis and implementation of preventative improvement.

• Establish and maintain operational processes, including change management, system lifecycle management, and service documentation.
• Ensure documentation is current, accessible, and aligned with operational practices.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reliability, and service delivery.

• Serve as a key advisor to the Executive Director of IT on infrastructure strategy and operational priorities.
• Translate technical issues and risks into clear, actionable insights for leadership.
• Contribute to planning, budgeting, and long‑term technology…