Operations Center Manager.

Job Summary

The Operations Center Manager is accountable for overseeing the strategic planning, implementation, maintenance, and support of the systems and infrastructure monitoring and observability team within the OIT Operations Center.

Involves providing clear direction and leadership to ensure the efficient functioning of OIT managed systems and infrastructure.

The Manager will establish and enforce best practices, playbooks, and procedures to effectively identify, monitor, and address alerts and notifications for prompt resolution.

Additionally, they will furnish OIT leadership with comprehensive dashboards and high-level performance metrics of the system.

The Operations Center Manager is instrumental in upholding the stability, efficiency, and security of UTA systems and infrastructure.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Operations Center Management and Leadership : Coordinate the use of technology-based tools to review and ensure efficient functioning of OIT managed systems and infrastructure.

Provide clear direction and leadership to operations center staff, including the production of comprehensive dashboards displaying high-level performance metrics.

Develop and maintain documented response and escalation strategies for system and infrastructure issues.Manage and develop a diverse technical staff, fostering cohesion and teamwork to deliver growth and promote observability and monitoring.

Strategic Planning and Alignment : Collaborate with stakeholders to develop system monitoring, alerting, and observability models.

Align system and infrastructure monitoring processes across the organization, documenting standards for organizational use.

Lead the tool selection process, evaluating existing and emerging technologies for service offerings.Understand business and information technology management processes, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and standards.

Metrics and Performance Monitoring : Provide guidance on developing metrics, KPIs, and reports to measure service health and status.

Produce relevant reports to monitor, report, and evaluate system and infrastructure performance statistics.Assess and analyze complex system and infrastructure data, identifying opportunities for continual improvement.

Communication and Relationship Building : Foster understanding of the system and infrastructure monitoring domain, facilitating decision-making with business users.

Cultivate positive working relationships with business units, identifying opportunities to improve engagement.Document system and business outcomes with stakeholders to facilitate effective monitoring alignment.

Performs other duties assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience with at least six (6) years of experience in enterprise IT, cybersecurity, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in a team management role.
• Demonstrated understanding of the seven layers of the OSI model.
• Working knowledge and experience of security devices, including IPSec VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), TCP / IP, Routing, Switching, VRF, VLANS, and Bandwidth Utilization.
• Familiarity with next-generation security system technologies and related network security devices.
• Experience with network performance monitoring tools such as Zabbix or equivalent.

Preferred Qualifications Don’t meet every single qualification exactly ? At our organization, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role and think your past experience may not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway.

You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

• Basic industry certification such as CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Net+, CySA+, or GIAC.
• Eight (8) or more years of experience in Networking, IT, or a related field.
• Experience managing teams across multiple geographies.
• Hands-on experience or experience managing teams that utilize SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) or monitoring systems.
• Working knowledge and experience of cloud platforms such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), Azure, and Google Cloud.
• Operational knowledge in one or more of the following technologies / vendors : ServiceNow, Juniper Mist, Juniper Security Director, Microsoft Defender Suite, and Zabbix.

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Foundations certification.

• Vendor security certifications including Microsoft, Juniper, Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, among others.
• Advanced industry security certifications such as CISSP.
• Experience in incident response and management, including handling critical incidents and coordination response efforts across teams.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to effectively communicate technical details to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Professional leadership skills and the ability to work effectively with business managers, IT technical and operations staff.
• Excellent problem solving and decision-making abilities, particularly under pressure.
• Ability to quickly assess complex situations and make sound decisions.
• Ability to think critically and analytically to identify, analyze, and resolve complex problems and security-related issues within the organization’s IT environment.
• Proficiency in employing a systematic approach to break down problems and develop effective solutions.
• Demonstrated understanding of high-level policies, regulations, and industry best practices related to information security and the ability to apply them to daily responsibilities.
• Proven ability to work proactively and independently, taking ownership of assigned tasks and projects related to security operations.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make informed decisions based on available information and established security protocols.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, enabling clear and concise communication with various stakeholders including IT teams, management, and business personnel.
• Proficiency in translating technical security concepts into understandable terms for non-technical audiences.
• Proven track record of implementing and maintaining ITIL-based processes and procedures for incidents, requests, problems and change management.
• Familiarity with DevOps principles and practices, including continuous integration / continuous deployment.
• Proven ability to drive innovation and continuous improvement initiatives within the operations center, leveraging emerging technologies and best practices to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Other Requirements

All Information Technology staff regardless of their unique position are expected to perform their assigned duties in a manner consistent with professional standards, with full awareness of responsibilities toward managing personal and institutional data, with priority regard to delivering customer service, with an understanding of the 24 / 7 nature of IT and the responsibilities that creates for them as individuals, and in a constructive and effective collaboration with colleagues.

Working Conditions

Specific job requirements or physical location of positions allocated to this classification render the position security sensitive and subject to section 51.

215 Texas education code provisions.

Special Conditions for Eligibility CBC Requirement It is the policy of The University of Texas at Arlington to conduct a criminal background check on any applicant who is under final consideration for employment with the University.