Job Description

Department: Enterprise Technology Services (ETS)

Reports to: Associate Vice President of Enterprise Technology Services

Salary: $102,000 - $120,000 per year

Location: Remote within the United States, with occasional travel to Brattleboro, VT and/or Washington, DC as needed (typically less than 10%). No other travel is required.

Working Hours: Primarily aligned to U.S. Eastern Time to support ETS leadership, operations teams, and business stakeholders.

The Systems Operations Manager provides leadership and operational oversight for World Learning's technology operations teams, directly supervising a small, skilled, geographically dispersed team that includes the Service Desk and Systems Administration functions. The role focuses on strategic planning, project management, process improvement, stakeholder communication, and providing guidance and coordination across day-to-day operations and projects.

The role works closely with the Associate Vice President and the Associate Director of Enterprise Technology Services, who oversees the applications team, to ensure integrated, reliable service delivery across ETS. As an integral part of ETS leadership, the Systems Operations Manager works collaboratively across teams and fosters a respectful, inclusive environment.

This role balances three key areas: day-to-day team leadership and coordination, leading major technology projects (including a significant student information system migration), and providing occasional hands-on technical support for high-priority incidents and complex escalations to ensure continuity of service.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Management

• Provide direct supervision, mentoring, and support to the Service Desk and Systems Administration teams.
• Foster a collaborative, knowledge-sharing team culture across operations teams.
• Oversee hiring, onboarding, professional development, and performance reviews.
• Develop staffing plans and manage resource allocation across operational and project responsibilities.
• Provide leadership development and career guidance for team members.

Strategic Operations & Planning

• Collaborate with ETS leadership in shaping and executing strategic technology initiatives.
• Lead capacity planning to ensure infrastructure meets current and projected needs.
• Develop and maintain operational metrics, KPIs, and service level agreements (SLAs).
• Participate in budget and resource forecasting to support departmental goals.
• Contribute research and recommendations for new products, services, or protocols.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate operational risks to sustain uninterrupted services.

Project Management & Process Improvement

• Lead cross-functional infrastructure and technology projects from planning through execution. Project management represents a significant portion of this role.
• Coordinate operations-focused projects by organizing timelines, engaging stakeholders and vendors, and managing change-rather than serving as a dedicated enterprise project manager.
• Lead a major student information system (SIS) migration project. Following implementation, serve as the key operational point of contact and coordinate administration and support responsibilities in partnership with functional and technical stakeholders.
• Develop project plans, timelines, and scope documents; allocate resources; and coordinate with vendors, contractors, and internal partners across multiple concurrent projects.
• Continuously assess and improve operational processes and service delivery methods.
• Implement change management practices and procedures.

Stakeholder Communication & Collaboration

• Serve as primary liaison between ETS operations and business stakeholders.
• Translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences and facilitate cross-departmental collaboration.
• Provide regular project and operational status updates to leadership and end users.
• Coordinate between operations and applications teams for integrated service delivery, working closely with the Associate Director of ETS and the applications team.
• Manage escalated issues and communicate resolution status to stakeholders.

Operational Oversight

• Ensure service delivery standards and SLAs are consistently met.
• Coordinate workflow and priorities between service desk and systems administration teams.
• Oversee IT asset management processes and lifecycle planning.
• Develop and enforce operational policies and procedures for service delivery.
• Monitor team performance and service quality metrics.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and cross-training initiatives.
• Monitor systems administration activities including patch management, access controls, and security configurations to maintain the organization's security posture.
• Develop, implement, and maintain IT security policies and procedures in alignment with organizational requirements and industry best practices.
• Ensure policy compliance across operations teams and coordinate security incident response activities.
• Oversee operational stewardship of critical enterprise systems, including ongoing coordination and support for the student information system (SIS) after implementation.

Compliance & Strategic Support

• Ensure operational processes comply with regulatory requirements and organizational standards.
• Support development and implementation of IT governance frameworks.
• Maintain awareness of industry trends and best practices in IT operations management and security.
• Contribute to disaster recovery and business continuity planning.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Computer Science, Business Administration, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in IT operations or technical project management.
• Minimum 3 years in formal IT leadership or supervisory capacity, including direct supervision of technical staff and responsibility for performance management.
• Strong project management experience leading technical initiatives, including coordination of complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
• Experience with IT service management principles and frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability in capacity planning, resource forecasting, and budget management.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and contracts.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote environment with geographically dispersed teams, aligned to U.S. Eastern Time working hours.

Preferred Qualifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent.
• Experience with ITIL/IT Service Management frameworks.
• Background in higher education or non-profit organizations.
• Experience with change management methodologies.
• Knowledge of IT governance and compliance frameworks.
• Experience with IT security best practices and incident response coordination.
• Familiarity with Microsoft 365 and Azure environments (strategic/operational knowledge, not hands-on administration).

Working Conditions

• This is a remote position with geographically dispersed team members. Occasional travel to Brattleboro, VT and/or Washington, DC may be needed (typically less than 10%). No other travel is required.
• Some evening or weekend work may be necessary for project coordination or emergency management support.
• Occasional participation in incident response coordination.

Benefits

World Learning provides a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes: medical, dental, vision, FSA/HRA, Life/AD&D, Short Term/Long Term Disability, EAP, Parking and Transit, 403 (b) retirement plan for full-time and eligibile part-time employees.

The World Learning Inc. Family

For more than 90 years, World Learning Inc. is a thriving global organization made up of The Experiment in International Living, the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students; School for International Training, offering accredited undergraduate study abroad programs through SIT Study Abroad and internationally focused master's degrees through SIT Graduate Institute; and World Learning, a global development and exchange nonprofit organization.

World Learning | worldlearning.org

World Learning has worked to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world. World Learning's education, development, and exchange programs help people find their voices, connect with their communities, strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society, and build relationships across cultures. With World Learning's support, these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty, conflict, and inequality.

The Experiment in International Living | experiment.org

The Experiment in International Living is the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students. For more than 90 years, The Experiment has empowered young people to step off the beaten path, experience the world as a classroom, immerse themselves fully in another culture, and build the knowledge and skills needed to confront critical global issues.

SIT | sit.edu

School for International Training (SIT) was founded in the early 1960s as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. For nearly 60 years, SIT has prepared students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the world's most critical global issues. SIT Study Abroad offers accredited summer and semester undergraduate programs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs on multiple continents. SIT Graduate Institute offers global and hybrid certificates, master's, and doctoral degrees.