Chief Technical Officer; CTO

Position Summary

Virginia Western Community College, a two‑year public institution located in Roanoke, VA, is seeking an Information Technology Specialist III – Chief Technical Officer (CTO). The CTO will serve as the college’s primary technical lead for IT infrastructure, reporting to the Chief Information Officer (CIO). This role blends strategic systems engineering, personnel management, and oversight of the college’s enterprise data, voice, and video networks.

• Serve as a member of the IT leadership team, collaborating with the CIO and other IT leaders to shape the strategic direction of IT at the college.
• Direct design, configuration, and maintenance of complex infrastructure, including virtualization, SAN storage, Microsoft Azure, and LAN/WAN networks.
• Manage projects and oversee teams responsible for Tier 2 and Tier 3 technical support for college systems.
• Direct the Systems Support Group, overseeing work schedules, professional development, and performance evaluations for engineers, administrators, and technicians.
• Serve as the Information Security Liaison, managing audit responses, vulnerability scanning, and implementation of advanced security controls, including firewalls, network access control, and endpoint protection.
• Manage IT procurement in accordance with state best practices, prepare equipment and cost projections for budgets, and oversee large‑scale projects from research through installation.

May be required to perform other duties as assigned and to assist the agency or state government in the event of an emergency declaration by the Governor.

• Expert‑level proficiency in VMware server and desktop virtualization.
• Expert‑level proficiency in Net App SAN administration, including NFS, LUNs, and CIFS protocols.
• Expert‑level proficiency in Active Directory and Microsoft cloud environment management, including Azure AD, Entra , Exchange, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
• Experience administering Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and One Drive.
• Expert‑level proficiency in managing internal and external certificate services.
• Experience in firewall management, threat detection and prevention, network defense, incident response, and disaster recovery planning.
• Experience in IT systems support and network infrastructure management, with demonstrated knowledge of common IP communication protocols and methods.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; exceptional ability to translate complex technical initiatives into strategic options for non‑technical academic stakeholders and executive leadership, while also producing clear best‑practice documentation.
• Demonstrated experience leading, mentoring, and evaluating technical staff, including IT engineers and analysts, fostering accountability, collaboration, and knowledge transfer.
• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer training/certification and/or equivalent on‑the‑job experience.
• Extensive education and/or equivalent experience in information technology systems support within an enterprise environment.

• Demonstrated knowledge of routing and switching, fiber and copper physical infrastructure.
• Enterprise experience administering VoIP systems.
• Experience with video distribution and surveillance systems.
• Experience applying artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency and business processes.
• Experience with procurement, management, research, planning, configuration, and installation of hardware and software required to support enterprise desktop, server, mobile device, and virtual environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of formal training and on‑the‑job experience.
• Formal supervisory or management training.
• Formal project management training.

Requires travel:
Yes.

No vehicle operation or employee supervision responsibilities.

Sensitive Position:
Yes.

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, political affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or other non‑merit factors.

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Acts (ADA and ADAAA), to provide reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of access to the application, interviewing, and selection processes when requested.

VCCS uses E‑Verify to check employee eligibility to work in the United States. You will be required to complete an I‑9 form and provide documentation of your identity for employment purposes.