Director of IT Operations

A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact. 
As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What We Offer:
•    Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
•    Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
•    Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
•    Benefits - We care about your well-being.
 

The Office of Innovation & Technology (OIT) is the central IT agency for the City of Philadelphia headed by the Chief Information Officer (CIO). OIT oversees all major information and communications technology initiatives for the City of Philadelphia - increasing the effectiveness of the information technology infrastructure, where the services provided are advanced, optimized, and responsive to the needs of the City of Philadelphia’s businesses, residents, and visitors. OIT responsibilities include: identifying the most effective approach for implementing new information technology directions throughout city government; improving the value of the city’s technology assets and the return on the city’s technology investments; ensuring data security continuity; planning for continuing operations in the event of disruption of information technology or communications services; and supporting accountable, efficient and effective government across every city department, board, commission and agency.

Under supervision of Chief Technology Officer, the Director of IT Operations is responsible for the day-to-day operational staff providing 1st level monitoring and specialized support on a 7 by 24-hour basis. Guides and instructs personnel in proactively responding to alerts, identifying fault conditions and resolving level 1 problems, escalating incidents as necessary and decreasing overall MTTR. The Director IT Operations keeps upper management informed about all outages and impairments, which have an impact on City of Philadelphia systems and networks. The Director of IT Operations analyzes current monitoring systems and develops appropriate strategies for strengthening areas in need of improvement. Develops processes and procedures for the NOC staff to ensure committed SLA's are met. Reviews, develops or modifies processes and policies in support of new and existing product and/or technology. They will continuously improve the Change Management process to support the ongoing introduction of innovation, stability and sustained engineering of City systems and networks. The Director of IT Operations will ensure communication to all internal and field support organizations. The Director of IT Operations will plan, implement, and maintains staff development curriculum as it relates to Information Technology Command Center (ITCC) roles and responsibilities. 
 

An ideal candidate is expected to operate independently, have a results-oriented mindset, and foster an environment of continuous improvement. The Director of Operations must possess strong interpersonal skills and regularly work with IT leaders and engineers in other departments. 

Principal Responsibilities: 

• Oversee daily activities in the ITCC and related staff; provide direction and supervision to a 24/7 Operations team. 
• Provide direct escalation support to the ITCC for daily, weekly, and special event requirements. 
• Coordinate personnel to ensure appropriate staffing and scheduling, accessibility for continuous operation of mission critical production network and systems 24/7. 
• Review daily metrics, track lifecycle of RCA (Root Cause Analysis) reports through closure to ensure proper resolution.  
• Lead training, planning, assigning, direction of work, addressing complaints, and resolving problems while sharing expertise with others. 
• Evaluate, develop, and deploy new processes and policies to increase employee production and efficiencies. 
• Manage and mentor ITCC team for growth and opportunities. 
• Manage difficult operational situations; respond promptly to customer needs; respond to requests for service and assistance; meets commitments and SLAs. 
• Triage alerts & issues and facilitate technical support across diverse teams to diagnose and problem solve all aspects of the City Network, local circuits, systems, servers and storage services to ensure highest quality of service and resolution in a timely manner. 
• The ideal candidate will have experience providing support in a fast paced, high energy, 24/7 environment. 
• Stay current with industry trends and new services. 

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Technical competency in the following areas will be foundational for success: 
• Understanding of IP Networks, including VLANs 
• Firewalls, switches, routers and other network equipment (Juniper, Fortinet) 
• VPN, Load Balancer, Web Application Firewall 
• Databases – Oracle, SQL Server, Postgres 
• Windows and Linux Server administration 
• Web Server concepts and administration 
• Virtualization, Backup Procedures, Disaster Recovery and High Availability using industry standards 
• Active Directory, DHCP, DNS, Group Policy 
• Monitoring and alerting tools  
• Clustering, Load Balancing 
• Anti-Malware and Cybersecurity concepts  
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to help project teams meet their goals while addressing enterprise concepts such as standards and security. 
• Possesses excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills with proven ability to champion causes with positive impact and change agency 

Additional Suggested Skillsets 

• Security and HIPAA compliance in networked solution(s) 
• Experience with monitoring and alerting software tools and systems, such as Solar Winds, What’s Up Gold, PagerDuty, Better Stack 
• Understanding of AWS/Azure Virtual and Cloud environments. 

Education and Experience 

Bachelor's or Master's degree with qualifications in computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunication engineering, information technology or related fields; and five to 7 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. 

Additional:    

• Able to provide strong references successfully demonstrating such abilities and experience as defined above 
• Employment is contingent upon passing a CJIS background check 

Salary Range: $110,000 - $125,000

Important: To apply, candidates must provide a cover letter and resume.

Work Setting: in-person (onsite)

Discover the Perks of Being a City of Philadelphia Employee:
•    We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
•    Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
•    Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
•    Generous retirement savings options are available
•    Pay off your student loans faster - As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Join the ranks of hundreds of employees who have already benefited from this program and achieved student loan forgiveness.
•    Enjoy a Free Commute on SEPTA - Starting September 1, 2023, eligible City employees will no longer have to worry about paying for SEPTA public transportation. Whether you're a full-time, part-time, or provisional employee, you can seize the opportunity to sign up for the SEPTA Key Advantage Program and receive free Key cards for free rides on SEPTA buses, trains, trolleys, and regional rails.
•    Unlock Tuition Discounts and Scholarships - The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!
Join the City of Philadelphia team today and seize these incredible benefits designed to enhance your financial well-being and personal growth!

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to [email protected].