Associate Director, Technology Integration and Innovation

Crescent School has been a leader in boys’ education since 1913. Located on a beautiful, 37-acre campus in mid-Toronto, Crescent School has students in Grades 3 through 12.

Our mission, Men of Character from Boys of Promise, enables each student to reach the full potential of his unique abilities. Character development drives everything we do. We are committed to mentoring and relational learning – which bring out the best in boys – and instilling core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion. We nurture well-being while cultivating excellence in academics, arts, athletics, business, outreach, and robotics.

Our expertise is supported by exceptional resources, including high-tech learning spaces, modern libraries, a professionally equipped theatre, and superb athletic facilities.

Crescent School invites applications for the following position:

Associate Director, Technology Integration and Innovation

The Associate Director is a technology subject matter expert and is responsible for working with the Director, Technology Services and Infrastructure to establish IT policies and systems that will support the implementation of strategies set by the school management. Together, they will also develop ongoing goals and objectives, such as utilizing end-user and technical resources from both internal and external sources to carry out the School’s Enterprise Architecture and create standards. The Associate Director also offers strategic leadership on projects, guiding the IT team’s efforts toward successful completion while also moving the school’s objectives forward. Responsibilities may include overseeing monitoring technology to meet educational objectives, reduce security threats, improve user experience, and manage operations and systems.

The Associate Director will provide leadership, vision, and guidance for a range of technology-based educational supports and services at the school and foster relationships with faculty, students, researchers, and staff to promote technology-enhanced teaching and learning. The Associate Director will stay current on emerging technology trends, prepare the school for future technology advancements in education, respond to faculty’s technology-related professional development needs, and develop pedagogically-sound processes and tools to enhance learning experiences in conjunction with the school’s Academic leaders.

Furthermore, the Associate Director will provide operational management and supervision to a team of educational technology professionals, including a Database Manager, and Co-Op Students, as well as assist the IT Infrastructure team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Utilizes a diagnostic process and knowledge of innovative technologies to enhance the work and experience of stakeholders, including students, faculty, and staff.
Identifies areas where new technologies can be introduced to improve their experience.
Guides the implementation of innovative technology solutions through collaboration with existing and new staff.
Provides guidance on selecting appropriate technologies and tactics for efficient deployment within budget constraints.
Researches new technology solutions makes recommendations, leads development and deployment efforts, and drives innovation in the field to continuously improve the technology-enhanced teaching and learning experience.
Develops and monitors SMART goals for hardware, software, and storage.
Ensures strategic capacity planning and implementing executive policies.
Determines business requirements for IT systems and oversees the implementation of new software and hardware.
Addresses and resolves security vulnerabilities with strategic solutions to increase data security. Coordinates IT activities to minimize downtime and ensure data availability and network services.
Possesses an analytical mindset to create and use trustworthy metrics to produce solutions to a broad range of technology-related issues.
Tracks project progress, coordinates internal and external parties for flawless project execution, manages client and stakeholder relationships, reports and escalate issues to upper management as necessary, and creates and maintains thorough project documentation.
Utilizes effective project planning, organization, and execution skills.
Manages succession/attrition, attendance, professional training, etc.; hires and develops employees; oversees performance; and, when necessary, take disciplinary action.
Cultivates a high-performance workplace for the implementation team and leads flexible teams with a collaborative leadership style and excellent interpersonal skills to support the team member’s commitment to excellence and high performance.
Partners with the Director of Technology Services and Infrastructure to create and present business cases to relevant stakeholders. The Associate Director makes strategic contributions and influences senior leadership’s direction through informal and formal communication serves as a subject matter expert to the Director, COO, and other leaders, and uses a variety of digital presentation tools.

Knowledge

Strong project management, people management, and business analysis skills.
Proficiency in web technologies, cloud infrastructure, mobile technologies, best practices, social collaboration platforms, business intelligence, and visual analytics.
Knowledge of IT governance, risk management, creating and implementing policies, and regulatory/legal issues.
Knowledge of procurement procedures, budgets, contracts, and negotiation tactics that has been put into practice.
Extensive familiarity with Apple/Microsoft products at an expert level. Technical expertise with a wide range of end-user applications, advanced knowledge of network-based operating systems administration, including Microsoft Server and Active Directory Services, and familiarity with content management systems (e.g., WordPress).
Familiarity with web server administration, virtualization, application virtualization, document management systems, development methodologies, cloud services, and data warehouses.
Proficiency in SQL Server, MySQL, ASP, .NET, Java/C#/JavaScript, HTML, CSS, XML, PHP, Moodle/Schoology/Blackbaud/PowerSchool, REST APIs.
Technical knowledge of desktop and server operating systems (Microsoft Windows/Windows Server, MacOS, Linux), database analysis, design, and development (e.g., SQL, Access), and network management tools (e.g., TCP/IP, OSPF, SIP, LDAP, DHCP, SSH).
Sound knowledge of information privacy and security, compliance, data classifications, authentication and authorization management, and cyber security.
Advanced understanding of the software development lifecycle and its application to align with the school’s projects and needs.

Skills

Outstanding organizational, decision-making, and interpersonal skills.
Strong leadership skills and effective presentation skills.
Strong customer service orientation and ability to work with a diverse range of people including school administrators, faculty and researchers, technical representatives of other computing units, and vendors.
Ability to manage multiple projects and tasks, adjust to frequently shifting priorities, exercise initiative and creativity, manage finances, interact with people effectively while maintaining confidentiality and delivering a consistently high level of service, and pay exceptional attention to detail. It’s also important to exercise tact and discretion when consulting others and forming cooperative relationships.
The capacity to work independently, evaluate challenging situations, identify problems, and use sound judgment to develop original solutions.
The capacity to take charge of projects and show originality and creativity.
Ability to interpret and implement School’s computing guidelines, teaching & learning plans, and priorities.
Ability to handle several tasks simultaneously through effective time management.
Excellent technical, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
Demonstrated ability to foster diversity and inclusion in terms of recognizing, creating, and implementing plans to promote diversity within an organization.
Have the ability and knowledge to be able to contribute to fault rectification during busy times and during a major incident.

Required Qualifications

Education, Training & Credentials

A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Information Systems, or an equivalent combination of education and experience will also be considered. A computer science master’s degree is preferred.

Experience

5 years of directly related work experience demonstrating progressively more advanced roles, including managerial and supervisory responsibilities.
7 years of experience in the design, development, and architecture of enterprise applications.
7 years of relevant management-level experience leading and supporting IT infrastructure and innovation, including network design, security, and administration; database architecture and implementation; systems programming and administration; deployment; systems lifecycle management; and infrastructure planning and operations.
5 years of experience with cloud application and implementation projects, and experience working with cloud technology vendors and partners.
2 years of experience in learning technology implementation and support, with a strong background in educational/faculty development and the ability to train and support educators.
A fully technical background, possibly previous infrastructure/security expertise.
Proven experience working with faculty, administration, and technology professionals to transform traditional course content into an online format, and experience building successful online learning, including instructor-led and self-study.

Summary of Work Environment

The majority of the responsibilities will be conducted in a normal in-person office environment.

For more information about Crescent School and employment opportunities please visit our website at www.crescentschool.org.

Please apply by submitting a cover letter and resume to [email protected] and indicate “Application – Associate Director, Technology Integration and Innovation” in the subject line. We thank all candidates in advance; only those being offered an interview will be contacted.

Crescent School believes in the importance of diversity, inclusivity, and belonging. We value the unique life experience that each person brings and believe that human differences make us stronger. We strive to be a community where every person feels welcome and valued. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Special accommodations for candidates with disabilities are available upon request.

Crescent School Profile