Director of Statewide IT

Director of Statewide IT

Position Overview:

The Director of Statewide IT (DSIT) reports directly to the ACLU of Southern California’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), is a member of the ACLU of Southern California (SoCal) IT team, and is responsible for the design, management, administration, and implementation of information and telecommunications systems at SoCal, ACLU California Action (Cal Action), and ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties (SDIC) (the CA ACLUs).

Under the guidance and direction of the CIO, with dotted line to the SoCal, Cal Action and SDIC Executive Directors, and in collaboration with CA ACLU teams, the DSIT provides professional, technical, and administrative leadership in establishing the direction and effectiveness of information technologies, meeting the short‑term and long‑term demands of all affiliate departments and locations.

• Provide leadership, vision, and management for affiliates in all matters related to information systems and telecommunications.
• Analyze information and technology needs from a strategic and operational perspective.
• Partner with SoCal’s IT Team and CA ACLU stakeholders to analyze business requirements, leverage existing and necessary software and services, and develop forms, processes, workflows, and automations to meet staff needs across the CA ACLUs.
• Determine priorities of information systems projects and tasks, and track their progress.
• Develop and manage annual technology‑related operational and capital budgets in collaboration with the CIO, SoCal’s Director of IT, and CA ACLU stakeholders.
• Coordinate the evaluation of specialized software applications and services—arrange demos, facilitate evaluations, and negotiate pricing, terms, and contracts, including security review and requirements.
• Engage with outside vendors/consultants in generating RFPs, bids, contracts, agreements, and other major vendor interactions related to information systems and services not provided by the MSP; work with internal and pro bono counsel to review contracts to ensure they meet ACLU standards.
• Create, manage, and maintain affiliate and statewide SharePoint-based intranets using Powell Software’s Intranet CMS software.
• Work with SoCal IT Team to plan, develop, deploy, and manage Microsoft Teams for the CA ACLUs, including private and shared collaborative spaces; assist in migrating file‑server‑based data into the Teams infrastructure.
• Develop and administer statewide and affiliate‑specific software and security training opportunities, intranet‑based reference articles, and video instruction to maximize investment in software, services, and cybersecurity.
• MSP Oversight/Management:
  In collaboration with the CIO and SoCal’s Director of IT, ensure the integrity, security, continual operation, and optimisation of IT services, including proper configuration and management of servers, switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs, UPSs, telecommunications hardware and software, security systems, anti‑virus/malware, internet connectivity, cloud‑based services, and network storage devices through direct engagement with MSP.
• Ensure proper software licensing, registrations, and renewals.
• Ensure development (when required), review, certification, and maintenance of backup and business continuity/disaster recovery procedures.
• Monitor help‑desk tickets to ensure timely responses and adequate solutions.
• Work with MSP, Human Resources, and Operations to ensure timely on‑boarding and off‑boarding of staff and interns.
• Manage domain name registrations and renewals, and DNS management as required.
• Maintain electronic inventory system.
• Participate in all‑staff, departmental, and IT committee meetings as requested to review strategic goals and initiatives.
• Develop…