Position Summary:

Founded in 2003, The School at Columbia University is an innovative and inclusive K-8 school with an inquiry-based and progressive pedagogy, comprising children of families affiliated with Columbia University and children of families residing in the surrounding neighborhood. Guided by its mission and four core values—community, collaboration, diversity, and innovation—The School models best practices in K-8 education and engages in University, local, and national partnerships to deliver a unique integrated, thematic curriculum and learning experience to a diverse student body.

Reporting to the Head of School, the Director of Technology and Innovation, is a member of the senior administrative team whose charge is to empower the administration, faculty, and student community to respond flexibly and creatively to 21st-century change and place. The School at Columbia at the forefront in the use of emerging technology. The Director will deploy technology, flexible problem-solving, joyful tinkering, and a deep sense of the needs of contemporary children and adults to seamlessly integrate technology, design-based planning, and principles into the school. The incumbent will define and implement technology policies, strategies, and best practices for the school’s Technology and instruction support. The Director will also manage the school's student Information Processing Systems and determine what emerging technologies to bring to The School so it can function efficiently as a 21st-century institute. The Director will evaluate The School's use of technology to support its mission, goals, and program. Incorporate technology considerations into strategic planning and create a sustainable financial model for our technology commitments. The Director will work with the senior administrative team to ensure the development, implementation, and evaluation of technology at the school. Regularly investigate and evaluate how emerging technologies impact, or may impact, the sustainability of our academic and financial models.

The Director of Technology and Innovation will also explore the uses of technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of administrative operations. Establish renewal plans, replacement cycles, and disposal plans for technology equipment. Operate under a clear set of practices/guidelines for maintaining privacy, confidentiality, and security in its use of digital technology. Continue to develop and modify our responsible-use policy that is framed in a positive, flexible format to accommodate changes in technology. The incumbent will provide leadership, coaching, and direction to the educational technologist, librarian, and technical operations team.

Responsibilities:

Educational Technology:

• Develops the capacity of the teachers and administration through observation, professional development, partner teaching, and collaboration, and collaborates with the Division Heads on professional development for faculty in the realm of technology.
• Directs, supervises, and evaluates the educational technologists and the librarian.
• Determines staffing needs including required skill sets, certifications, and advanced degrees.
• Educates the student, teacher, administration, and parent community about the benefits and challenges presented by technology in the classroom and in daily life.
• Inspires and stimulates a learning environment that allows the school community, students, and faculty to respond to change in a healthy, proactive, forward-looking way.
• Collaborates on curriculum development with the Division Heads.
• Partners with members of the community to articulate mission values and connections between ethics and technology and integrates technology in varied curricula.
• Build and maintain relationships with cloud service providers, technology vendors, and other strategic partners. Negotiate service level agreements (SLAs) and manage vendor performance to ensure alignment with business objectives.
• Respects the reality that some teachers need more support to integrate technology than others.
• Acts as an information point regarding the latest technological developments and trends in education.

General Technology: 

• Evaluates and identifies both long and short-term requirements for hardware, software, cloud computing, apps, AV systems, and the vision for The School's information processing systems.
• Manage the IT security risk assessment process, including the identification, evaluation, and mitigation of risks to the organization’s information assets.
• Collaborate with other departments to integrate security with business processes to minimize risk.
• Responsible for maintaining technology operations to include systems administration, network management, telecommunications management, system and data security, system and data backup, and emergency recovery plans.
• Ensures continuous delivery and security of technology services and monitors IT systems performance.
• Oversees, supervises, and provides guidance and direction to the technical support team to ensure that all faculty and students have access to the appropriate tools for 21st-century learning and that systems are functioning efficiently.
• Defines, develops, maintains, and implements policies and processes that enable effective information security and ensure technology safety measures are in place for students and staff.
• Establishes a system of data collection and analysis that provides for continuous improvement of program effectiveness and/or changing needs. 
• Liaises with Columbia University Information and Technology (CUIT) to leverage University assets including partnerships and technology sharing.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.A./B.S. degree in related fields is required.
• Minimum 7-9 years experience in a school or equivalent setting. 
• Knowledge of a 21st-century curriculum and emerging technologies and their applications.
• Knowledge of current technology environments including telecommunications, networks, database administration, programming, media, and desktops.
• Knowledge of G-Suite for Education platform and ability to use/learn to use Google Management Console to support 1:1 Chromebook to student initiative.
• Strong project management skills and demonstrated ability to plan, organize, and manage programs and projects.
• Experience in the application of technology to instructional practice (may be substituted in part for the five (5) years of technology management and/or leadership experience).
• Understanding of software development life cycle (SDLC).
• Create and maintain documentation for migration plans, software application processes, and workflows.
• Plan and execute migration of servers, applications, and databases from on-premises environments to cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) or between data centers. 
• Ability to design, implement, and manage cloud-based systems to optimize performance and cost.
• Ability to lead successful teacher development.
• Demonstrated leadership ability.
• Strong performance management skills.
• Experience in project management methodologies and activities including estimating costs, project scheduling, and resource allocation.
• Has advanced knowledge of Apple products, OSX. 
• Demonstrates a commitment to cultural competence Equity and Justice in their learning and leadership.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to communicate with end users, colleagues, and management.
• Familiarity with New York City public and private schools.
• Must have strong communication and interpersonal skills, project coordination experience, and the ability to work well with all levels of internal management and staff, as well as families and outside professionals.
• Ability to handle multiple priorities simultaneously, and excellent organizational, technological, and follow-up skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality for all communications.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A Masters degree in a relevant field is preferred.
• Fluency in Spanish.

If you are passionate about streamlining operations, implementing automation, and improving user experiences, we would love to hear from you. Join The School at Columbia and be part of a dynamic team driving innovation and brilliance.

About The School at Columbia University

The School at Columbia University is an independent K-8 school founded in 2003 with the goal of providing an excellent education to a diverse student body. Our intentional school culture embraces shared beliefs across disciplines and grades, which underlie important values expressed through everyday behaviors and visible symbols throughout our community: Collaboration: Encouraging creative problem-solving in dynamic groups where outcomes are not always predictable, but ultimately greater than any individual perspective could envision. Community: Promoting inclusivity, facilitating open communication, and providing clear expectations to all members of the community to ensure a healthy, productive environment, inside and outside the school. Diversity: Reveling in an environment of myriad learning experiences that address important aspects of diversity, including identity development, anti-bias skills, and the idea that difference is better. Innovation: Taking thoughtful risks grounded in current research, putting new technologies to work in classrooms, and always seeking new approaches to learning to provide a meaningful 21st-century education to all students.

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