Director of IT

George Walton Academy (GWA) seeks candidates for the position of Director of IT, a position that reports to the Head of School.

GWA is an independent, coeducational college-preparatory school serving students from pre- Kindergarten through twelfth grade. GWA is located in Monroe, Georgia, which is 45 miles (1 hour) east of Atlanta and 25 miles (30 min.) west of Athens. Established in 1969, GWA sits on 61 landscaped, wooded acres. GWA graduates approximately 75 students each year and 100% receive at least one college acceptance by graduation. GWA prepares students not just for college but to become contributing citizens in a global society by promoting intellectual, physical, artistic, and ethical excellence. Not affiliated with any particular denomination, GWA believes in Judeo-Christian values while respecting the heritage and beliefs of others.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Managing, as the on-site lead person, the platforms and databases for all school constituencies

• Coordinating with the IT team in ensuring the continual functioning of mission critical operations including the data network, email systems, internet service, wireless network, internal web servers and website services, physical plant systems, security systems, and VOIP phone systems;

• Addressing and ensuring the ongoing security related needs for integrity and confidentiality of data, necessary filtering through firewall security, data backups for on- and off-site daily processes, and the associated research and implementation ongoing with cyber security threats;

• Participating in the review and negotiation of preferred vendor relationships including equipment procurement and maintenance, software licensing, installation, support and upgrade continuity;

• Remaining current on trends, research, applications, products and effective practices related to the technology infrastructure;

• Overseeing hardware distribution, inventory database of school’s hardware/software, support contracts and maintenance cycles;

• Supervising, training, assisting, guiding, scheduling and evaluating all IT staff;

• Supervising the IT Helpdesk to provide on-site and remote support, when necessary, to faculty, staff, and students concerning hardware, software and connectivity;

• Creating, encouraging, nurturing and maintaining strong team morale and staff satisfaction in the work place;

• Coordinating and fulfilling the overall school-wide needs for faculty curriculum to facilitate student technology based learning; and

• Collaborating with the director of business operations to develop and oversee technology planning and commensurate budget. The ideal candidate will possess:

• Excellent interpersonal skills

• Ability to work collaboratively to achieve collective goals

• BS or BA in Computer Science, Systems Management or related field

• Broad knowledge of IT operations and associated concepts and technologies

• Experience with VoIP phone systems

• Flexibility in all areas of work life

• Outstanding organizational skills, with ability to juggle long-range planning while prioritizing and completing multiple tasks simultaneously

• Solution-driven and improvement-oriented mentality

• Experience managing a technology team and corporate/institutional technology infrastructure

• Previous experience with independent schools preferred but not required

Cover letters and resumes to Head of School, Dr. Dan Dolan at ddolan@gwa.com.