Director of Information Technology

LOCATION
Golden Valley, Minnesota (hybrid work option available, must be based locally)

PAY, BENEFITS, AND PERKS

Hiring Pay Range:​ $140,000 - $160,000

• Competitive benefit package, including HSA employer contribution, and starting 1^st of the month after hire 
• 401(k) Plan with employer match 
• Ten paid holidays, no waiting period to receive holiday pay
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and rollover options
• Volunteer Time Off (VTO), along with additional company sponsored volunteer opportunities
• Company paid benefits including Life Insurance, Short Term and Long Term Disability 
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Educational Assistance options
• Rent discount 
• Life Time Fitness Membership discount 

The hiring pay range and list of benefits that are posted are an estimate and not designed to cover a complete listing of all aspects of the position. Reach out to Human Resources with any questions ([email protected]).

SUMMARY

The Director, Information Technology is the senior operating leader of Bigos Management’s core technology environment, accountable for the reliability, security, and performance of the systems, networks, devices, and support services used every day at our corporate office and across approximately 60 apartment communities. Reporting to the Vice President of Information Technology, this role converts the company’s technology strategy and roadmap into executed work.

This is a hands-on leadership role. The Director leads and develops the IT team, sets and enforces operational standards, manages the vendors and service providers who extend the team’s capacity, and partners with departments across the company to improve how work gets done. Supports our employee-first culture and exemplifies our core values of relationships, development, quality, and responsibility.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

Leadership & Team Development

• Leads, develops, and holds accountable the IT team including: the IT Project Manager, Sr. Systems Administrator, and Systems Administrators, setting clear priorities, standards, and measures of success.
• Selects, coaches, and provides ongoing feedback to team members; builds development plans, and cross-trains to eliminate single points of failure.
• Works closely with the VP of Information Technology to translate the enterprise technology roadmap into departmental objectives, staffing plans, and executable work.
• Partners with the Yardi Systems Manager to ensure the infrastructure, identity, network, and endpoint services that the property management system and its integrated applications depend on are reliable and secure.

Service Desk & Support Delivery

• Owns the service desk function and the overall employee support experience across the corporate office and all apartment communities.
• Establishes and manages to service level targets for response and resolution. Goals include first response within two business hours and same-day resolution on standard requests. Reviews queue health, ticket aging, and escalations daily.
• Oversees Tier 1 and Tier 2 support and maintains the documentation and runbooks that keep support consistent regardless of who takes the ticket.
• Directs Tier 2 and Tier 3 escalation so complex and recurring issues are resolved at root cause; uses ticket trends to target automation, self-service, and knowledge base development.

Infrastructure, Network & Property Technology

• Owns the design, deployment, and operation of network infrastructure at the corporate office and across approximately 60 apartment communities, including managed switching, wireless, firewalls, and internet circuits.
• Directs the Sr. Systems Administrator in maintaining community technology including Wi-Fi, cameras, access and entry control, amenity and package systems, and leasing office equipment to documented standards and lifecycle plans.
• Maintains server, cloud, and storage environments with monitoring, capacity planning, and verified backups; ensures business continuity and disaster recovery plans are current and tested.
• Partners with the Capital Improvement and Property Management on technology scope, budget, and delivery for new builds, acquisitions, remodels, and amenity upgrades; oversees phone, print, and audio-visual systems across all locations.

Endpoint, Identity & Employee Lifecycle

• Owns endpoint standards, procurement, deployment, management, and refresh cycles for desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, along with an accurate technology asset inventory.
• Oversees identity and access management including directory services, single sign-on, multifactor authentication, conditional access, and least-privilege role design. Administers core productivity and collaboration platforms including Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive.
• Ensures onboarding, offboarding, promotion, and transfer workflows are timely, complete, and auditable in partnership with Human Resources; conducts periodic access reviews with the Yardi Systems Manager and other system owners.

Security Operations & Risk

• Executes the cybersecurity roadmap established with the VP of Information Technology and owns day-to-day security operations for the environment.
• Owns vulnerability and patch management for servers, endpoints, and network devices, with a goal of 90% or greater of managed endpoints fully patched and defined remediation timelines for critical and high-severity findings.
• Oversees endpoint detection and response, email security, and security monitoring in partnership with our managed security providers; maintains and rehearses incident response procedures and leads containment and recovery during security events.
• Delivers ongoing security awareness training and phishing simulation, enforces IT policies and controls, and ensures practices comply with applicable laws, regulations, insurance requirements, and company policy, including protection of employee and resident data.

Project & Portfolio Execution

• Directs the IT Project Manager and owns the health of the IT project portfolio including intake, prioritization, resourcing, sequencing, and delivery on time, on scope, and on budget.
• Reviews business cases and estimates before commitment; escalates trade-offs and resource conflicts to the VP of Information Technology with a clear recommendation.
• Leads or sponsors infrastructure, security, endpoint, and property technology initiatives from planning through stabilization and handoff to operations, ensuring change management, testing, documentation, and post-implementation review are consistently applied.

Business Partnership & Enablement

• Partners with corporate departments and site teams to understand their workflows and identify where technology can remove friction, reduce manual work, and improve the employee and resident experience.
• Works with Property Management to determine the optimal use of technology as it relates to the resident experience and on-site operations, and partners with Learning & Development on technology training and adoption.
• Translates technical topics into plain language, builds practical business cases with clear cost, benefit, and risk, and brings forward recommendations that fit the scale and operating model of the company.

Budget & Vendor Management

• Contributes to the annual IT business plan and budget; owns day-to-day management of the operating budget, including forecasting, variance explanation, and cost control.
• Manages hardware, software, licensing, and service procurement; validates invoices, right-sizes license counts, and eliminates redundant spend.
• Maintains strong relationships with technology vendors, carriers, and service providers; conducts service reviews, monitors contract terms and renewals, and supports vendor selection and RFP execution under the direction of the VP of Information Technology.

QUALIFICATIONS

KNOWLEDGE

• Multi-site network, server, cloud, and storage infrastructure, and the practices that keep it reliable, standardized, and documented
• Microsoft 365 administration and modern identity, access, and device management
• Information security fundamentals, including patch and vulnerability management, endpoint protection, incident response, and backup and disaster recovery
• IT service management practices, including service level management, escalation, and knowledge management
• Vendor and managed service provider management, along with IT budgeting, procurement, and asset management practices
• Current and emerging technology trends, including practical business applications of automation and artificial intelligence

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems management, or a related field; equivalent professional experience and certifications will be considered
• 10+ years of progressive information technology experience, including 3+ years leading a technical team with direct reports
• Hands-on background across infrastructure, endpoint, and security administration sufficient to direct technical staff credibly and make sound technical decisions
• Experience owning service delivery to defined service levels and managing vendors or service providers with real accountability
• Multi-site operating experience; multifamily, commercial real estate, property management, or hospitality industry experience preferred

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong intellectual capability, learns new systems and business domains quickly and reasons through unfamiliar problems
• Genuine initiative; identifies what needs to be done and moves it forward without waiting to be asked
• Listens first and seeks to understand how people work before recommending change
• Leads, mentors, and develops technical staff, and sets standards that both employees and vendors are held to
• Communicates clearly in writing and in person, particularly when explaining technical topics to a non-technical audience
• Sound judgment and prioritization; remains calm, organized, and effective during outages, security events, and competing demands
• Operational discipline; manages from data and documented process, and maintains confidentiality of company, employee, and resident information
• Schedule flexibility for maintenance windows and incident response, and reliable transportation with a valid state driver’s license and proof of insurance, as travel between sites is required

Physical Demands:

Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and to use standard office equipment, including a computer; stamina to maintain attention to detail despite interruptions; vision to read printed material and a computer screen; and hearing and speech to communicate in-person and over the telephone. Must have strength to occasionally lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds. Travel to 60+ property locations around the Twin Cities is required, including navigating properties and buildings, climbing stairs, and walking hallways and common areas.