Excluded Associate Director IT Services Department in Winnipeg

Reporting to the Executive Director of Technology, the Associate Director co-leads BCGEU's IT department with a focus on infrastructure, operations, and support. You will lead and mentor a technical team, oversee the day-to-day reliability and security of back end and user facing systems, and serve as the chief escalation point for major incidents. You will also coordinate infrastructure projects from planning through rollout, help shape the IT roadmap, and act as the Director's designate when required. The ideal candidate combines broad technical knowledge with strong people leadership and a service-first approach, ensuring IT is a dependable and approachable partner to staff across the organization.

• Co-lead the IT department in providing timely and quality technical support to all BCGEU staff, ensuring that key service-level agreements (SLAs) and performance metrics are consistently met or exceeded.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop departmental staff, providing guidance, performance evaluations, and professional growth opportunities.
• Foster a positive, collaborative team culture aligned with BCGEU's values of respect, fairness, and inclusivity.
• Address employee productivity issues through provided performance management practices, taking corrective actions and disciplinary measures if needed.
• Act as the Director of IT's designate in their absence, ensuring continuity of leadership and departmental governance.
• Be the technical point of escalation for high severity incidents, leading and guiding team efforts in containment, mitigation, root cause analysis and remediation strategies.

Operational Excellence

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the IT infrastructure, including proactive operational maintenance, incident response and system performance monitoring.
• Maintain and continuously improve operational and support processes and documentation, promoting knowledge-sharing within the department.
• Work in collaboration with the Director to define, track, analyze, and report on departmental performance metrics.
• Identify insights that support constructive feedback to the team for improvement.
• Identify key trends or issues to the executive, supported by data.
• Engage in practice improvement and development initiatives supported by the Director.
• Foster engagement with the team to ensure new practices are adopted and continuously improved.

Project Coordination

• Work with the Director in overseeing IT projects, working with internal and external stakeholders to define requirements, set timelines, plan, prioritize, and allocate resources effectively.
• Guide project meetings and team standups, keeping conversations on point and directed to actions and outcomes.
• Prepare and present regular status reports highlighting progress, risks, and key milestones, keeping relevant stakeholders informed.
• Operationalize new systems and services by empowering the IT support team through proper communication, training, documentation efforts and escalation channels.
• Contribute to the development of IT strategies and roadmaps, focusing predominantly on infrastructure systems, but also collaborating with the Director on outward facing services to other departments and the membership.
• Assess and recommend new technologies, tools, or best practices to improve departmental efficiency and quality of service to the organization.
• Reinforce alignment of departmental initiatives with the broader IT Department goals set forth by the Director, Cybersecurity Officer and executive leaders.

Risk Management & Security Compliance

• Partner with the Director and the broader team to implement and reinforce cybersecurity and data privacy best practices in accordance with BCGEU's governance framework.
• Stay informed about emerging threats and vulnerabilities, ensuring that the department follows protocols designed to protect the confidentiality and integrity of member and organizational data and communications.
• Work with the Director to ensure compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., PIPA/PIPEDA), guidelines, and internal policies, elevating risks or issues as needed.
• Facilitate regular cyber operations meetings with the department, which aim to identify ways to improve the security posture of the organization.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Attend inter-departmental meetings as required, representing IT operations and aligning the needs of the business with infrastructure requirements and priorities.
• Gather user feedback through various means to gain insight and to improve service quality and customer satisfaction.
• Present operational-related insights, updates, and recommendations to the Director and to executive leadership when asked.

Key Success Factors:

• Effective Team Management: Assist in the building and maintaining of a high-performing IT team through clear and consistent communication, well defined goals and priorities, and frequent coaching and mentorship.
• Operational Reliability & Efficiency: Provide and operate systems that suffer minimal downtime, efficient containment and mitigation of incidents, and support deterministic restore and recovery.
• Proactive Service Delivery & User Satisfaction: Offer systems and technology solutions that reduce friction for end users and allow for optimal productivity across the organization.
• Alignment with IT Strategy: Ensure all support and operations initiatives align with broader organizational and technology objectives and goals.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication: Maintain open, transparent communication with departmental directors and other leaders, providing timely updates on key metrics and projects.

Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related discipline is preferred; relevant experience may be considered in lieu of formal education. IT related certifications or adjacent designations are considered beneficial, particularly those aligned to technology management (e.g. ITIL, CISSP, SANS, TOGAF etc.) 10+ years of progressive experience in an IT operations and service delivery environment, with 3+ years experience managing a technical team. Demonstrated track record of managing and operating IT infrastructure hardware and software systems, helpdesk operations, incident management, and other related IT services. Proven ability to manage, coach and mentor staff with demonstrated capabilities in conflict resolution, performance management, and improvement. Experience in a unionized or non-profit environment is beneficial.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Leadership & Team Building: Proven ability to build, motivate, and develop high performing teams.
• Systems Operations: Deep understanding of IT systems and the administrative and operational workflows and tasks required to sustain and support a high performance, resilient infrastructure.
• Technical Skillsets: Diverse knowledge across many technical domains including, but not limited to: Microsoft 365 suite and associated licensing, Identity and Access, SecOps, Endpoint Management, Windows and Linux server and virtualization, Cloud and Hybrid Cloud services, Networking and Connectivity, Backup, DR and Business Continuity strategies, AI and emerging technologies governance, Automation and scripting literacy.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to translate technical issues and solutions into clear, concise information for diverse audiences.
• Problem-Solving: Adept at diagnosing complex technical issues, identifying root causes, and implementing lasting solutions.
• Project Management: Capable of coordinating multiple projects simultaneously, prioritizing tasks effectively, and meeting deadlines.
• Customer Service Orientation: Commitment to providing exemplary internal customer support, demonstrated through responsiveness and user-centered service delivery.
• Adaptability: Comfortable navigating and leading in an evolving environment, with a proactive approach to change management.

SALARY RANGE: Bi-Weekly: $6,433.99 Annually: $167,858.30. Travel is required; therefore, applicants must hold a valid B.C. Drivers Licence.