Southern Tier Library System

Job Description Southern Tier Library System is accepting applications for the position of Director of Information Technology. The library system seeks an energetic candidate with a robust understanding and vision for 21st century technologies in the field of public libraries, and a passion for providing meaningful services to 48-member libraries within a team-based, cooperative library system environment. GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES This is an administrative, full time, exempt, professional position charged with overall management of the Division of Information Technology. Under the general direction of the Executive Director, the Director of IT oversees successful implementation of all operations within the Division of Information Technology. Additionally, this position provides support to member libraries relative to all aspects and approaches of technology services, requiring a sound technical background including knowledge in computer systems, networking, storage systems, databases, applications, security and protecting sensitive data from external threats. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION Staff Leadership & Service Delivery Direct and supervise IT department staff, including the PC Deployment Technician, Systems Specialist, and Network Specialist. Assign projects, establish priorities, and monitor completion. Provide technical guidance and escalation support to staff. Coordinate IT services delivered to member libraries. Approve timesheets, benefit time, and staff scheduling. Identify staff training and professional development needs. Develop cross-training and succession coverage for critical systems. Technology Planning & Infrastructure Management Establish the organization's technology strategy and infrastructure direction. Oversee servers, virtualization, networking, cloud services, storage, backup systems, and data-center infrastructure. Plan infrastructure upgrades and replacement cycles. Ensure appropriate system capacity, availability, performance, and reliability. Design and maintain disaster-recovery and business-continuity capabilities. Ensure critical systems can be restored following equipment failure, cyber incidents, or disasters. Cybersecurity & Risk Management Establish and oversee organizational cybersecurity practices. Manage cybersecurity initiatives and grant-funded security programs. Coordinate penetration testing and vulnerability assessments. Coordinate cybersecurity requirements with the organization's cyber insurance provider. Ensure identified vulnerabilities are evaluated and remediated. Maintain appropriate security controls for servers, networks, endpoints, cloud systems, and identities. Oversee physical electronic access control systems. Budget, Procurement, Contracts & Vendors Review and approve technology purchases. Establish technology standards for organizational purchases. Evaluate technology products and services. Manage vendor relationships. Manage maintenance agreements, subscriptions, licensing, and renewals. Coordinate vendor support and escalation when required. Plan for technology lifecycle and replacement costs. Compliance, Audit & Funding Serve as an organizational subject matter expert for E-rate. Manage/coordinate E-rate filing and supporting documentation. Provide technology and security documentation for the annual financial audit. Support cyber-insurance documentation and compliance requirements. Maintain appropriate documentation demonstrating IT controls and security practices. Manage technology-related grant programs and reporting requirements. Application & Library Technology Oversight Ensure reliable operation of the Integrated Library System. Coordinate ILS maintenance, upgrades, vendor support, integrations, and infrastructure. Oversee web hosting systems and applications. Ensure appropriate administration of Microsoft 365 and other organizational cloud services. Identify opportunities for automation and systems integration. REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES IT Leadership & Management Manage technical employees with different skill sets. Translate organizational needs into technology projects. Prioritize competing operational and project requirements. Delegate appropriately while maintaining accountability. Mentor technical staff and develop their capabilities. Manage vendors and technical support relationships. Evaluate technology purchases and contracts. Communicate technical issues to executive leadership, staff, libraries, auditors, vendors, and other nontechnical audiences. Enterprise Infrastructure Server virtualization. VMware environments. Enterprise server and storage infrastructure. Windows Server. Linux/Ubuntu. Active Directory. DNS, DHCP, authentication, and other core infrastructure services. LAN/WAN networking. Enterprise Wi-Fi and network management. Data-center operations. Power, environmental monitoring, UPS, and generator systems. Microsoft Cloud Services Microsoft 365 Entra ID Exchange Online Azure Identity and access management Multifactor authentication User and group administration Cloud security and permissions Cybersecurity Endpoint protection/XDR. Vulnerability management. Patch management. Penetration testing. Network security. Server hardening. Identity security. MFA and access controls. Cybersecurity incident response. Backup protection and ransomware recovery. Cyber-insurance requirements. Security risk assessment. Backup, Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Local backups. Off-site/remote backups. Cloud backups. Backup appliances. Recovery-point and recovery-time objectives. Server and VM restoration. Disaster-recovery architecture. Backup monitoring and testing. Recovery documentation. Integrated Library Systems & Library Technology ILS architecture and administration. Library technology workflows. Server-based enterprise applications. Vendor-supported applications. APIs and system integrations. Authentication and data exchange between systems. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Associate's degree in computer-oriented field, and minimum of six years of experience in a supervisory or decision-making role in Information Technology, or Bachelor's Degree in computer-oriented field and minimum of four years of experience. Commitment to professional development as demonstrated by reading, networking, and participation in continuing education opportunities. Strong commitment to providing public library support in a fast-paced work environment. Valid driver's license. EXAMPLES OF WORK Recommends Information Technology budgets, long-term capital investments, and strategic plan for technology integration, and determines project priorities and funding sources in communication with Executive Director. Participates in library system board meetings and member director meetings. Proposes, maintains and implements current IT Plan for library system. Creates and recommends policies and training for staff and member libraries and puts in place systems for implementation. Directs IT staff to implement wide-area network and server infrastructure functionality. Takes pro-active measures to ensure all network connections, servers, ILS databases, electronic messaging, etc., including software and hardware maintenance and file and server back up and replication. Coordinates library system E-rate program by certifying and submitting E-rate forms, including but not limited to 470, 471, 486, 479, 500 and PIA requests for Category 1 and Category 2 funding. Maintains communication with internet service providers. Convey System Information Technology policies to staff and member libraries. Serves as consultant to member library staff and trustees on information technology issues Prepares statistical or narrative reports as needed or required. Participates in recruitment, selection, training, and evaluation of employees. Performs other duties as assigned. ADDITIONAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT Frequent travel throughout the System's region, and quarterly State-wide travel. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable all eligible individuals to perform the essential functions. Salary & Benefits The salary range is $90,000 - $110,000 for this 37.5 hour per week salaried position and is commensurate with experience. New York State Retirement, Empire or BCBS Health Plans. Paid vacation, sick, personal and holidays based on organizational contracts. 2% salary increase upon successful completion of probationary period. Application Process Applications are due November 20, 2026. Please submit (via e-mail) a meaningful cover letter, resume . click apply for full job details