IT Infrastructure & IT Vendor Operations Manager

About the job:
Company Overview:

Corporate Imaging Concepts (CIC) is a dynamic technology-driven distributor in the Promotional Products Industry. With a focus on Fortune 1000 firms, we specialize in turnkey solutions that allow clients to outsource their promotional products initiatives while maintaining control and visibility through seamless integration with back-office systems.

At CIC, we operate at the intersection of technology and creativity. Our main offices are in Northbrook, IL, and Alpharetta, GA. As a team of 105 dedicated professionals, we work collaboratively to provide highly customized and connected technical solutions. Our expertise lies in in integrating front-end web stores with suppliers, clients, and our own SAP back-office systems.

We are seeking an experienced, hands‑on IT Infrastructure & Vendor Operations Manager to serve as the operational hub of our technology function. This is a player‑coach role: the successful candidate will personally deliver day-to-day IT support for our 105 users, manage our technology vendor ecosystem and contracts, run our practical security and PCI DSS compliance program, and administer our network and Microsoft cloud environment.

This role has one direct report and works through an ecosystem of vendors and partners rather than a large internal team. Candidates seeking a strategy‑focused or director‑level position will find this role is not a fit; candidates who enjoy broad ownership and daily hands‑on work at a company where their impact is visible will thrive.

• Personally deliver day‑to‑day IT support for approximately 105 users across two sites, and many remote employees, including tickets, escalations, endpoints, and access management.
• Run proactive monitoring with defined escalation and response procedures to minimize downtime.
• Perform root cause analysis on recurring issues and implement permanent fixes.
• Build and maintain runbooks, triage procedures, and support documentation.
• Serve as CIC's primary technical contact for our vendor ecosystem, including our Azure-based managed hosting partner, ISPs, security tooling providers, MSPs, and consultants.
• Coordinate vendor work, enforce SLAs, run escalations, and hold vendors accountable for delivery.
• Manage vendor contract renewals, terms, scope, and pricing evaluations. (
  
  Note:
  
  this role owns contracts and SLAs; budget ownership sits elsewhere in the organization.)
• Evaluate technology solutions, service offerings, and implementation options.

• Personally operate our security program: endpoint protection, MFA and conditional access, patching, access reviews, and incident response.
• Own PCI DSS readiness for our e‑commerce environments and maintain data protection controls.
• Respond to client security questionnaires and external audit requests from customers and vendors.
• Stay current with security threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigation strategies.

• Administer the organization's network infrastructure, including LAN, WAN, VPN, and wireless networks across both offices.
• Administer our Microsoft environment, including Entra , Microsoft 365, Intune endpoint management, and Windows Server.
• Coordinate our Azure-hosted environments with our managed hosting partner.
• Plan and implement upgrades and expansions, often executed through vendors with this role as technical lead.
• Maintain and test backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity procedures.
• Plan infrastructure capacity ahead of seasonal order peaks in our e‑commerce business.

• Develop and mentor one direct report.
• Build onboarding materials and deliver end‑user training, including security awareness programs.
• Serve as the technical escalation point and trusted IT resource for the entire organization.

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of hands‑on IT experience spanning support, systems administration, networking, and security, including meaningful hands‑on work within the last two years.
• Experience managing…