NDS Program Office IT Program Administrator - Governance

Job Title

Nelnet is a diversified and innovative company committed to enriching lives through the power of service as a student loan servicer, professional services company, consumer loan originator and servicer, payments processor, renewable energy solutions, and K-12 and higher education expert. For over 40 years, Nelnet has been serving its customers, associates, and communities.

The perks of working at Nelnet go beyond our benefits package. When you join the Nelnet team, you're part of a community invested in the success of each individual. That support comes through in our work, as we are united by our mission of creating opportunities for people where they live, learn, and work.

This position lives in the Nelnet Diversified Services (NDS) Program Office, within IT Process Governance & Atlassian Products. At hire, this role owns NDS's AI governance capability — ensuring our processes include the AI-specific gates, artifact requirements, and approval checkpoints required by policy, and that development teams understand and meet their AI governance obligations. This is a compliance-primary role: you hold teams accountable to requirements, you don't do their compliance work for them.

This role is designed to grow. Within the first 30 days, you will begin absorbing the broader IT Program Administrator scope — Atlassian platform health and troubleshooting, change management, CMMI process documentation and governance, and SDLC process governance. Candidates who already have experience in these areas are welcome, but it's not required at hire — what matters is genuine willingness to learn and grow into the full scope over time.

Nelnet believes in a hybrid work environment that accommodates both in-office and remote work. This model promotes a positive work-life balance and culture, enabling in-person collaboration when possible while also providing benefits associated with remote work. The standard hybrid work schedule includes 24 hours of in-office work each week, for associates that reside within 30 miles of an office. This is subject to change, based on manager discretion.

Annual compensation range for this role is $95,000 - $120,000 depending on experience.

• Ensure NDS SDLC stages include the AI-specific gates, artifact requirements, and approval checkpoints required by the Nelnet AI Governance Policy and Acceptable Use Policy.
• Maintain the NDS AI-extended SDLC (AISDLC), updating it as policy, regulation, or technology changes.
• Ensure all NDS AI development and deployment initiatives complete the AI Registry & Impact Assessment process; evaluate submissions for accuracy and completeness.
• Verify AI-specific requirements are met at defined SDLC checkpoints.
• Verify NDS associates are using approved AI tools at correct data classification levels.
• Build and maintain the NDS AI compliance evidence package, keeping it current and audit-ready.
• Maintain a current inventory of all AI systems in development, deployed, and retired within NDS, including owners, risk tier, and system type.
• Ensure development teams understand their AI governance obligations, and hold them accountable when requirements aren't met.
• Represent NDS in enterprise AI governance conversations and working groups.

• Monitor and maintain the health of NDS Jira and Confluence environments; diagnose and resolve platform-level issues and configuration problems.
• Partner closely with development teams and leadership to support active products and ensure adherence to standards.
• Document, measure, and improve system and software life cycles to meet business objectives across NDS IT programs.
• Interpret contractual and regulatory documentation (CMMI, NIST, FSA Contract, RFPs) to identify gaps in life cycles, policies, and procedures, and work with stakeholders to close those gaps.
• Document processes and procedures in an organized, user-friendly format.
• Provide clear and concise verbal and written communication tailored to the appropriate audience — technical and non-technical.
• Research, assess, and train others on non-development tools used across the segment.
• Per…