Assistant Director of Personal Technology

APU is seeking employees who desire to engage in our thriving culture by cultivating community through professional interactions, demonstrating a posture of lifelong learning, and modeling Christ-like character. Working together, employees at APU commit to establishing a university atmosphere that is pleasing to God and edifying to one another.  

You provide leadership (supervisory and product management) to cultivate the mission of IMT Personal Technology: to empower APU individuals and workgroups (faculty, staff, and students) with lightweight innovative devices and apps so customers can propel their own collaboration and productivity. We believe that personal computing devices (mobile devices, computers, and other personal use technology) combined with lightweight cloud productivity apps can increase collaboration and efficiency of the university, in offices and in the classroom. Our goal is to shorten the delay between consumer availability of innovative technology and business adoption.

Personal Technology follows a team-based organizational structure. Supervision and product team structure are distinct. You will directly supervise approximately five staff and a few student managers, discipling them to grow professionally and spiritually.

You will also serve as the product manager for two product teams: Device Solutions and Platform Services. The Device Solutions team provides ease of access to and technical support for personal computing devices and printing (this includes APU managed equipment, as well as repair for consumer devices). The Platform Services team supplies shared backend services for all of Personal Technology to increase automation, application management, and platform efficiencies for Personal Technology products. The goal for our product teams is to become self-sustaining, with a team-derived process for innovation and continuous improvement of both our products and our operations (e.g. lean, agile, devops).

As a member of the Personal Technology management team, you will partner with the Director to promote the overall value of personal technology services and flourishing of the self-managed product teams, helping to improve team-based operations, decrease turnaround times, and streamline processes.

Required Education

• Bachelor's degree in business, MIS, computer science, engineering, or other related degrees required.
• Master’s degree and ITIL certification preferred

Required Experience

• Should have 3-5 years of demonstrated technical management/supervisory experience in the field of Information Technology 
• Should have experience in several of the following disciplines, concepts, or practices:
• IT client infrastructure support and customer service
• Managing technical refresh budget and rapid deployment techniques for new hardware
• Mobile device and consumer electronics industry
• Communication and marketing techniques
• Project and product management methodologies
• Vendor communication and management
• Retail management experience, technology or service center related is preferred
• Higher Education context preferred

Primary Duties/Essential Functions

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervise 5 staff and several student employees in a manner that is consistent with team-based organization and management principles.
• Provide leadership, coaching and supervision to highly technical professionals, including responsibility for employment, performance management, salary reviews, development and training.
• Ensure that all staff assigned are professionally developed, performing, and increasingly adapting to collaborative team culture, and that they are receiving discipleship for Christian service in accordance with the mission of APU.
• Lead the philosophy of employment of students in a manner consistent with transformational education and student life experience and the mission of APU
• Ensure consistent, professional, and timely response to requests from students, faculty, and staff at the Azusa campuses and regional sites.
• Be a conduit for feedback both to and from the teams. Provide a reliable point of contact for other IMT areas to receive strategic or operational issues.

Strategy, Planning and Administration

• Assist the Director with administrative tasks pertaining to the broader department, including but not limited to human resources and budget management.
• Partner with IMT Security Architect and other resources to assist with risk management as it relates to Personal Technology
• Accountable for team response to service disruptions, planning for on-call schedule, and handles escalation for any communication gaps.
• Meet regularly with other IMT managers and colleagues to ensure Personal Technology is providing great internal support and partnering on future initiatives, as well as properly referring some requests to the correct units, since we have overlapping product spaces.
• Develop and maintain agreements with vendors that provide support and maintenance for all technology deployed by the teams, according to the practices of IMT.
• Responsible and accurate monetary transactions for all products and services offered for a fee (e.g. repair center, printing etc.)
• Keeps abreast of IT advancements, consumer technology, IT architecture, service opportunities, and the existing software and hardware configurations at APU.
• Performs tasks assigned by the Director of IMT Personal Technology.

Product Management

• Work closely with IT Product Managers to provide feedback on operational health of services so they may drive future roadmap improvements.
• Champion continuous and iterative improvement by streamlining work processes, agile team structures.
• Promote an environment for internal dialogue for healthy debate leading to iterative improvements to technology and services provided.
• Ensure the team is providing excellent support, proactively supplying the IMT Support Desk with appropriate knowledge, process, and student staffing as needed.

Skills

• Expert in team theory and group dynamics.
• A master of operational thinking, and understanding how to get people excited about efficiency through automation and process flow improvements, such that the teams can adopt new models.
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills; capable of writing proposals or papers, acting as a vendor liaison, making presentations to customers or client audiences or professional peers and working closely with upper management.
• The managerial or technical problems encountered vary greatly and will require the ability to work as part of a team to find a resolution. Solutions may involve orchestration between product teams or conducting negotiations with IMT’s internal and external customers until satisfaction is provided.
• This person must also be able to communicate complex technical details in a clear and concise manner to both technical and non-technical staff. These details may take form of written and/or oral communications.

IMT Profile and Mental Demands

Level of Independence

• In order to function effectively, this person must have a high level of independence, show a high level of initiative, have the ability to make decisions, and be highly motivated. This must be done in a consistent with the team management structure and culture that is employed by IMT.

Supervisory Duties

• This position will supervise five technical staff and several student managers and student employees.

Leadership

• Understanding of the mission, goals, and objectives of a major university and how information technology supports and enhances essential services including teaching, research and academic support operations.
• Strong organizational, project management, and conceptual design skills, including the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams to envision, design, and implement robust IT services.
• Ability to make decisions quickly and efficiently in a professional and tactful manner during high-intensity situations.

Technical

• Ability to research new topics and technologies and provide substantiated direction for team.
• A systems thinker, able to quickly understand complex relationships between components, and how we can begin to manage individual systems through repeatable patterns and automation.
• Fundamental understanding of Internet protocols and approaches to deployment.
• Familiarity with security concepts, risk mitigation activities, and response.
• Deep knowledge of various consumer operating activities.
• Cloud approaches to system design and their effect on all operational disciplines.

Influence of Results

• This person must recognize that internal customers are critical to the success of IMT at APU. This requires the person to be well organized, and have an extremely high work ethic.

Other Remarks

• In agreement with the purpose and goals of Azusa Pacific University in providing a Christian-based higher education for its students.
• This position requires someone who is totally committed to excellence in service, and has a good understanding of APU’s overall business, business structures, and business practices.
• This position requires acceptance of APU’s Christian ethos as encapsulated in the Cornerstones. This person will be required to support and uphold the IMT Charter.
• To enable IMT services to operate normally at all times, this person is required to be available by telephone for management, consultation, and liaison with support, development and technical staff after normal working hours and on weekends. This may require considerable onsite presence to manage emergency situations.

Physical Demands

• Ability to lift, pull, grasp, bend to lower file drawers and reach to top of 4 drawer file cabinet
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs
• Repetitive keyboard work
• Telephone usage-hearing and speaking.  Intermittent sitting and standing.
• Ability to conduct business at other offices on campus
• Some climbing of ladders

Visual Demands

• Computer monitor and reading.

Environment

• Pleasant office setting, comfortable temperature.

Technologies

• Proficient in Google Apps for collaboration, Microsoft Office, and other cloud based productivity tools.
• Work management, support ticketing, development and issue tracking tools such as JIRA and Zendesk.
• Technical collaboration tools such as Wiki, chat, activity streams etc.
• Other technologies covered above

Compensation

• Grade 15: $79,253 - $103,029 annual

Azusa Pacific University is a Christ-centered, multicultural community that values and seeks faculty and staff who are committed to diversity, work effectively with diverse populations, and engage others in ways that honor our rich cultural mosaic and biblical foundation. 

Click below to discover some of the many benefits APU employees enjoy including competitive health care options, an 8% retirement match, and a generous tuition discount.

http://www.apu.edu/humanresources/benefits/ 

You can learn more about APU by watching the stories of faculty, staff, and alumni as they carry out our mission here: http://www.apu.edu/stories/

Azusa Pacific University will conduct a background check on all final candidates.

Review of applications will begin immediately, and the position will remain open until filled unless otherwise stated. Azusa Pacific University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.