Director of Information Services

The Director of Information Services is a stand-alone classification. Under policy direction, this position plans, organizes and directs activities of the Information Services department in providing sophisticated, comprehensive District-wide Information Technology programs and services to support the achievement of the District’s mission and strategies; providing expert professional assistance and guidance to District management on technology strategy, long-term technology initiatives and investments and using technology to solve operational needs and problems. Qualified candidates must have experience in advanced programming, query and report development, database design, data research, compilation, mathematical analysis and system administration. Incumbent is responsible for managing personnel and resources in the Information Services department.

Examples of Duties:

The following essential job functions are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed job functions and/or may be required to perform additional or different job functions from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices. Management reserves the rights to add, modify, change, or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job.

• Provides strategic direction, implementation, execution, maintenance and training of the overall information system infrastructure for the District.
• Monitors advancement in technology and makes recommendations for implementation.
• Evaluates new cybersecurity threats and information technology trends and develops effective security controls; oversees development of security awareness programs; develops and oversees effective disaster recovery policies and standards to align with District business continuity goals; coordinates development of implementation plans and procedures to ensure business critical services are recovered in the event of disasters or other incidents, and provides direction, support and in-house consulting in these areas.
• Monitors industry hardware and software trends; evaluates the uses of emerging technology in meeting long-term District business and operating strategies; directs the study of new technology to determine its utility, consistency with department technology strategies, relevance for meeting District business and operational requirements and expected return on investment, recommends and establishes long-range technology direction and strategies; establishes hardware and software standards for general use; coordinates District-wide acquisition of software and hardware including development of long-range funding plan for maintenance and replacement of hardware.
• Supervises employees to include prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance evaluations; ensuring staff are trained; and making hiring, termination, and disciplinary recommendations.
• Provides technical support and advice to users and management.
• Manages on-going information services projects.
• Develops and manages the department budget.
• Writes Board agenda submittals and makes presentations to the Board of Directors as needed.
• Establishes standards for system development, interpretation, and maintenance of documentation, and computer operation procedures.
• Performs long-term technology planning for District departments.
• Handles job stress.
• Interacts effectively with others in the workplace.
• Follows all workplace and job safety rules and policies.
• Perform other duties of a similar nature or level as required.

This position manages a team of professionals who support the following systems:

Enterprise-wide systems:

• Oracle JD Edwards Enterprise One Financial System
• IBM Maximo Application Suite
• ESRI Geographic Information System (GIS)
• Laboratory Information System (LIMS) custom system
• Water Resource Management System (WRMS) custom system

Databases:

• Oracle DBMS
• Microsoft SQL Server DBMS

Network Environment

• Microsoft Windows Server 
• Microsoft Active Directory
• Meraki Switches
• Palo Alto Firewalls

Productivity and Communication

• Microsoft 365
• Telephony – Cisco and Microsoft Teams

Typical Qualifications:

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.

 

Knowledge of:

• Cybersecurity principles and best practices.
• Supervisory principles and best practices.
• Programming languages relevant to District business systems.
• Industry standards for software development.
• Applicable computer hardware and software.
• Applicable network hardware and software. 
• Applicable network operating systems and servers.
• Applicable cloud-based systems.
• IT infrastructure including network design, configuration, operations and management concepts and best practices. 
• Database design and management.
• Communications principles and best practices and operations for voice and data communications. Telecommunication equipment including Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone systems.
• System operations, procedures, capabilities, limitations, and service requirements for information systems.
• Internet technologies.
• Disaster planning and business recovery concepts and techniques.
• Project management principles and best practices.
• Budgeting principles and best practices.

Ability and Skills in:

• Work collaboratively with other managers and provide expert advice and counsel to develop solutions to complex issues.
• Organize, set priorities and exercise expert independent judgment within areas of responsibility. 
• Develop and implement appropriate procedures and controls.
• Prepare clear, concise and comprehensive correspondence, reports, studies and other written materials.
• Communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing to diverse audiences of technical and non-technical personnel and negotiate understanding and agreement.
• Understand, interpret, explain and apply applicable laws, codes and ordinances.
• Present proposals and recommendations clearly, logically and persuasively.
• Monitoring and evaluating staff. 
• Prioritizing and assigning work.
• System analysis, testing and security methods.
• Using a computer and related software applications. 
• Managing projects.
• Setting goals.
• Troubleshooting and diagnosing hardware and software problems. 
• Coordinating projects and resources between departments.
• Comprehending and interpreting technical and complex documentation and reports. 
• Conducting research.
• Present at public meetings.
• Coordinating and negotiating with consultants and vendors.
• Communication, interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, supervisor, the general public, etc. sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE GUIDELINES: Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

 

Education/Training: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, or a related field. Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) or Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) Certification is desired.

Experience: Minimum twelve years of progressively responsible, related information technology experience, including five years of supervisory experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

License: Valid California Class “C” Driver’s License.

Supplemental Information:

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

 

Environment: Standard office setting.

Physical: Positions in this class typically require fingering, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions. Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met. Incumbents require sufficient physical ability to work in an office setting; stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; operate office equipment including use of a computer keyboard; push, pull, lift, and/or carry light amounts of weight; verbally communicate to exchange information.

Vision: See in the normal visual range with or without correction; vision sufficient to read computer screens and printed documents; and to operate assigned equipment.

Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction.

DISASTER SERVICE WORKERS

All Orange County Water District employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employees are required to complete all related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.