Infrastructure & Operations Director, #w0462

Infrastructure & Operations Director

At the Virginia Department of Social Services, we put people at the center of everything we do. We believe that every Virginian can live a life of dignity and that all voices, ideas and experiences contribute greatly to our pursuit of excellence. Inspired by continuous improvement, we commit ourselves to listening, learning and cultivating environments of trust, respect and positive engagement. Together, we are mission-driven, eager to achieve, and passionate about bringing the best of who we are to those we serve. We design and deliver high-quality human services that help Virginians achieve safety, independence and overall well-being. We are a $2 billion agency – one of the largest in the Commonwealth of Virginia – partnering with 120 local departments of social services and 31 community action agencies, along with faith-based and non-profit organizations, to promote the well-being of children, adults, and families statewide. We proudly serve alongside 1,650 (state) and 12,200 (local) human services professionals throughout the Social Services System, who ensure that thousands of Virginia's most vulnerable citizens have easy access to the services and benefits available to them. The Infrastructure Operations Department reports to the Chief Information Officer and participates as a member of the TSD Leadership Team to fulfill Department, portfolio and agency objectives as established by the Commissioner and the Executive Team. The Infrastructure & Operations Director is responsible and accountable for the core responsibilities related to the program management, workforce management, and financial management of the Infrastructure Operations Department and provides operational and strategic direction to multiple functional areas including service requests, triage/response to network related incidents/problems, and complex changes to multiple servers, applications, databases, and DSS enterprise networks. The Infrastructure & Operations Director will oversee Department-wide operations, with authority and responsibility for the strategic direction of the division's mission and the outcomes of Department performance. The Infrastructure Operations Director oversees the: Infrastructure teams, the Application support team and the database administration team. The Infrastructure Operations Department, within the TSD Division, manages programs in alignment with the strategic goals of the agency, including supervision and development of direct reports, and works with the CIO and IT Business Manager to ensure the integrity of the Department's budget and strategic planning processes, and will provide direct support to the agency.

Minimum Qualifications

• Leadership experience in leading change, driving results, and leading people. • Extensive hands-on experience managing IT infrastructure in a large enterprise, Cloud or service provider environment. • Experience designing, implementing, and supporting large-scale networks, network routing, switches, and internet-related networking and security technologies. • Experience provisioning single and multi-tenant cloud environments

KSA's and/or Competencies required to successfully perform the work:

• Comprehensive knowledge of IT infrastructure library (ITIL) practices and state of the art IT service procedures • Expert level network documentation skills including master skills MS Visio • Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with colleagues, decision-makers and stakeholders. • Strong influencing and negotiating skills. • Strong decision-making skills, with the ability to rapidly shift focus

Knowledge

• Deep understanding of IT infrastructure (networks, servers, cloud, storage, security) • Expertise in IT operations management, including DevOps and SiteOps • Knowledge of IT strategy, digital transformation, and emerging technologies. • Familiarity with IT governance, compliance, and risk management frameworks.

Skills

• Strategic planning and execution to align IT with business objectives • Project management and process optimization. • Budgeting and financial management for IT resources. • Analytical and problem-solving skills for complex IT challenges. • Communication and interpersonal skills to bridge IT and business and lead cross-functional teams. • Vendor management and contract negotiation. • Crisis management and business continuity planning.

Abilities/Competencies

• Leadership and people management, including team development and mentoring. • Ability to drive innovation and continuous improvement in IT services. • Decision-making under pressure and in rapidly changing environments. • Building collaborative relationships with executive leadership and stakeholders. • Ensuring operational resilience, security, and compliance across all IT systems

Leading Change - the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this leadership competency is the ability to establish direction for the Department and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

Leading People - the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this leadership competency is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

Results Driven - the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this leadership competency is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying functional and technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

Business Acumen - the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Building Coalitions - the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, or nonprofit and private sector organizations to achieve common goals.

Additional Considerations

• Certifications in Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT), or NIST Cyber Security Framework • Certified in IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) • PMP (Project Management Professional) • CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) • CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) • CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) • CompTIA certifications (A+, Network+, Security+)