VP of Infrastructure Security

As the VP of Infrastructure and Security, you have a pivotal role that requires you to be a visionary leader with a robust understanding of IT infrastructure and cybersecurity. You are responsible for guiding the strategic direction of these critical areas, ensuring that project deliverables align with business objectives, and fostering an environment of innovation and continuous improvement.

Requirements

Who is American College of Education

Founded in 2005, American College of Education continues to be a leader in professional development through our online programs. The mission of ACE is to deliver high-quality, affordable and accessible online programs grounded in evidence-based content and relevant application. Our graduates are prepared to serve, lead and achieve personal and professional goals in diverse, evolving communities. As a socially conscious institution, we’re dedicated to making a positive impact and inspiring our students to do the same.

ACE is a premier organization that is continually recognized for its commitment to social responsibility. In 2016, ACE became a Certified B Corporation. As a socially conscious institution, we believe we have a responsibility to our students, alumni, employees, local communities, and society. We strive to make an impact in the world that goes well beyond our bottom line.

Who You Are

You are passionate about helping students achieve their educational goals. You thrive in a competitive and collaborative team environment. You are comfortable working remotely and have experience collaborating with others in a virtual environment. You possess a strong attention to detail.

As the VP of Infrastructure and Security, you have a pivotal role that requires you to be a visionary leader with a robust understanding of IT infrastructure and cybersecurity. You are responsible for guiding the strategic direction of these critical areas, ensuring that project deliverables align with business objectives, and fostering an environment of innovation and continuous improvement.

Compensation

ACE is committed to paying a competitive wage while staying true to our mission of maintaining high quality, affordable programs for our students. The starting salary range for this position is $170,000 plus all full-time employees are eligible for an annual bonus. Offers vary depending on education, prior experience, and expertise being applied to the role.

What We Look for in the Ideal Candidate

• Executive level communication skills. Must have exceptional communication, organization, and time management skills.
• Track record of leading engaged team as well as mentoring and retaining key team members.
• Demonstrates self-reliance by meeting/exceeding workflow needs.
• Demonstrates positive attitude and motivation, concern for students, teamwork, and excellent time management skills.
• Follows established processes as outlined by organization and leadership.
• Completes assigned duties based on daily business needs and individual skill set.
• Consistently produces a high volume of quality work.
• Capable, and adapts as needed, to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Proven ability to work independently with limited supervision and with other department personnel.
• Must support and embrace the College’s B Corp mission to improve the people and communities we serve through our civic engagement initiatives.
• Must be "self-motivated" as well as creative and efficient in proposing solutions to complex, time-critical problems.
• Must be collaborative in driving decisions and a team-player.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail.
• Builds and maintains student satisfaction and employee engagement.
• Recognizes and anticipates the needs of students and staff.

Day to Day Responsibilities

• In this role you will wear different hats, but your skills will be especially essential in the following areas:
• Works closely with Executive team to ensure ACE’s Infrastructure and Security strategy compliments and supports ACE’s business goals.
• Fosters positive and constructive collaboration with key stakeholders and teams within IT and across the organization (including software development, PMO, operations and product owners)
• Provides strategic leadership and vision for developing, implementing, and overseeing delivery key delivery performance indicators (KPIs) that align with ACE’s overall goals.
• Ensures that there is a quality end-user experience for all stakeholders, including students and employees.
• Leads and mentors the Infrastructure and Security teams to ensure positive engagement and continued development, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Develops, defends, and executes the budget for all needs in supervision.
• Collaborates effectively with multiple stakeholders, including clients and direct operations groups, program, and project managers.
• Makes resource allocation and staffing decisions.
• Collaborates with other departments to identify and generate potential business intelligence initiatives.
• Develops, maintains, and executes ACE’s approach to Cyber Security.
• Develops and implements ACE’s backup and restoration strategy of host operating systems and cloud-based applications.
• Oversees the planning, development, and implementation of company-wide infrastructure projects.
• Ensures the smooth operation and maintenance of all IT infrastructure systems, including networks, servers, and storage.
• Conducts regular risk assessments and develops strategies to mitigate potential threats.
• Through cross-functional collaboration, identifies and addresses infrastructure and security needs and is responsible for overall environment change management.
• Stays up-to-date with the latest industry trends and best practices in infrastructure and security management while serving as a valued partner to all lines of the business.
• Maintains effective, sustainable vendor relationships.
• Leverages survey and other feedback to implement positive change to engage staff and to facilitate continuous improvement.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• The role requires a high-energy approach, excellent communication skills, deep process development/management capabilities, and effective leadership.
• Bachelor's Degree, Information Systems, Business or equivalent, Masters preferred
• 10 + years of relevant IT experience, including progressive roles in Infrastructure & Security and extensive people leadership experience.
• 10-15 years of people and vendor management.
• 10-15 years experience in managing support, network infrastructure, data center systems, or related information technology fields (Application Development, System/Network Administration, Technical Product Management, or similar).
• Experience with Windows based devices; preferably Windows10 or higher.
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, or CCNA are highly desirable.
• Proven experience innovating and executing large-scale Infrastructure & Security IT projects.
• Proven experience with the management of teams, including team development and mentoring while delivering on a KPI-driven plan.
• Successful background in Infrastructure & Security.
• Demonstrated successful experience in project management processes.

Our Commitment to Employees

Just as we strive to empower our students for success, we also aim to enrich the lives of our employees. For 6 consecutive years, ACE was recognized as one of Indiana’s Best Places to Work, winning the #1 spot for medium-sized companies in 2020. In addition, ACE has earned national recognition, being named a USA Top Workplace in 2022, 2023 and 2024. As a virtual first organization, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a family-like inclusive work environment. For our full-time employees, we offer the following benefits:

• Medical, dental, & vision Insurance
• HSA and FSA options
• Paid parental leave
• Paid volunteer time
• Tuition reimbursement & reduction programs
• Generous PTO
• 401k and employer match
• Full-service wellness and EAP program
• Employee recognition and awards programs
• Employer paid life & AD& D insurance
• Short-term disability
• Employer paid long-term disability
• And more…

Physical Demands

The physical demand described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate with and receive communications from students and ACE employees in real time using online and other electronic media.

Diversity

At American College of Education, we believe that the best learning environment for students and staff is one in which we encounter viewpoints and experiences that are different, yet complementary to ours. This environment is fostered by the presence of persons with diverse backgrounds. We recognize that acknowledging diversity is a necessary precondition, but sustained effort is necessary to ensure equity and greater inclusion. Through strategic planning and initiatives, we seek to develop programs that promote equity and inclusion for everyone so that all members of ACE’s community can reach their full potential. To create and maintain a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive learning community, we strive to make all feel equally valued, and we uphold our Commitment to Freedom of Expression. We may celebrate diversity, but we “live” inclusion.

Additional Notes

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. ACE employees are expected to disclose material uses of AI when using it to complete work outside of their day-to-day responsibilities as outlined in their job description or identified by their leader. Material uses, for the purposes of this policy, are defined as more than 50% of the work product. Please refer to ACE’s AI Disclosure policy for more details.

Internet bandwidth speeds from an employee's remote work location must be a minimum of 50Mbps download speeds and 5Mbps upload speeds. Please note if the bandwidth is shared across multiple devices (tablets, computer, streaming, phone, etc.) you will need higher overall speeds. You can test the speed of your connection by visiting speedtest.net Purchase, setup, installation, support, and ongoing maintenance of reliable internet service is the responsibility of the individual.

American College of Education seeks to attract and retain a diverse staff consistent with its diverse student body and surrounding communities. At this time we cannot consider candidates residing in Alaska, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, South Dakota, or Alabama.

ACE is an Equal Opportunity Employer.