Assistant Director, Systems Administration

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) has an exciting opportunity for an Assistant Director, Systems Administration.

CITS is the central information technology organization for UMB. Our mission and focus is to treat UMB students, faculty, staff, colleagues, and co-workers as treasured customers. Excellence in service to the UMB community is our challenge and responsibility. The selected incumbent in this position will perform duties that support the department’s mission.

UMB offers a comprehensive benefits package that prioritizes wellness, work/life balance, and professional development. Exempt regular staff receive a generous leave package that includes over 4 weeks of vacation accrued each year, paid holidays, unlimited accrual of sick time, and comprehensive health insurance and retirement options; professional learning and development programs; tuition remission for employees and their dependents at any University System of Maryland school; and flexible work schedules and teleworking options (if applicable per job).

UMB employees are strongly encouraged to follow all CDC recommendations related to COVID-19 vaccinations and booster doses. Employees whose job duties require them to work in clinical settings or at clinical or field sites continue to be subject to the vaccine requirements of those sites. For additional information on protocols and exemptions, please visit the COVID-19 website .

Primary Duties:

• Provide general direction & leadership to a team of seven (7) employees, that provide maintenance of the Windows and VMWare server environments, Office 365 cloud services, and campus email infrastructure in support of campus enterprise and central administrative office business needs for all aspects of system administration to maintain efficient operation.  Oversee team operations and technical support to implement resources to meet project requirements and resolve issues.  Oversee recruitment, interviewing, and training to review strengths and weakness in maintaining a staff of well-trained, highly involved, and motivated employees.
• Partner with upper-level administrators on a regular basis in setting strategic goals/objectives, and/or in fostering improvements in policies/procedures for the department.  Identify departmental needs and prioritize & track internal projects and tasks.  Prioritize team assignments and provide guidance & clarification to team members to meet both strategic goals & initiatives and day-to-day requests.
• Collaborate with managers and senior staff within CITS and all campus school IT groups supporting a variety of servers, operating systems, and enterprise-class storage involving state of the art technologies to further initiatives of varying scopes & scales and provide aid as required.  Proactively represent the department through participation in campus meetings and special projects, as well as UMB on an external basis with USM headquarters and other system-wide units.  Maintain and nurture effective communication and partnerships throughout the campus by conferring with business unit and campus leadership on issues pertaining to the promotion and understanding of the departmental functions.
• Architect and implement cloud infrastructure in Microsoft Azure, taking advantage of cloud-native technologies.  Work with clients to migrate existing on-premises workloads to Azure and refactor infrastructure designs to take advantage of cloud-native technologies.  Utilize cloud technology to enhance on-premises environment as part of hybrid cloud strategy.  Recognize system deficiencies and implement effective solutions.
• Assist with generation of cloud cost estimates for projects and assist with related budget projection development.  Assist with monitoring and optimizing cloud infrastructure expenses.
• Develop project plans and oversee progress on tasks for which the team is responsible.  Provide regular project status updates in collaboration with project managers and senior management.
• Ensure environment complies with relevant regulatory IT security requirements.  Recurringly evaluate environment to ensure all security tools are deployed and healthy across all systems.  Perform regular security access entitlement reviews.  Work with internal IT security team to analyze and implement technology solutions and perform other IT security tasks as assigned.
• Assist managers and senior staff with working directly with vendors to source and quote products supporting department and client needs.  Assist with the purchasing process as requested from campus procurement teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Systems Administration, Computer Engineering or a related field.

Experience: Six (6) years of experience with thorough knowledge of at least two (2) operating systems such as: Windows, Mac OS, and Unix/Linux (RedHat/Suse/Solaris/AIX/HPUX).

Supervisory Experience: Two (2) years of experience in work coordination, training, and daily oversight.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing Windows Server in an enterprise environment.
• Experience managing VMWare in an enterprise environment.
• Experience designing & implementing Azure infrastructure in an enterprise environment, cloud cost estimate development, budget projection assistance.
• Experience managing a large team in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical persons.
• Understanding of complementing networking technologies (e.g., IP addressing, firewalling, load balancing, DNS, etc.) and experience troubleshooting server network connectivity issues.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Thorough knowledge of position requirements. Thorough knowledge of all applicable requirements, regulations, and laws. Skill in effective use of applicable technology/systems. Ability to effectively communicate both verbal and written thoughts, ideas, and facts. Ability to support a mission and strategic vision. Instructional, training, and teambuilding skills to strengthen and cultivate relationships. Skill in consultation and change management. Ability to demonstrate, understand, apply, and adhere to the UMB Core Values of Respect and Integrity, Well-being and Sustainability, Equity and Justice, and Innovation and Discovery.

Hiring Range: $119,000 – $130,000, commensurate with education and experience.

UMB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law or policy. For assistance related to employment, please contact the Staffing department at HRJobs@umaryland.edu .

If you anticipate needing a reasonable accommodation for a disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), during any part of the employment process, please submit a UMB Job Applicant Accommodation Request . You may also contact HRDiversity@umaryland.edu . Please note that only inquiries concerning an ADA request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.