Senior Director of Infrastructure
Junior Achievement
About Us
Junior Achievement aims to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization that gives students relevant, hands-on learning experiences that teach them to manage their money, plan for their economic future, own businesses, develop readiness for careers, college, or technical training, and make smart academic and financial choices.
JA Worldwide, representing all Junior Achievement organizations globally, was nominated for the 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 for the Nobel Peace Prize. JA was nominated due to the organization’s global reach, success in delivering economic empowerment to youth at scale, and its ability to find unity in diversity. For centuries, unemployment and poverty have led to political instability, violence, and war. By economically empowering youth on all continents, JA serves as a conduit for peace.
Role Overview: Senior Director of Infrastructure
The Senior Director of Infrastructure reports to the Vice President of Infrastructure and Service Management and is responsible for executing and shaping the organization’s IT infrastructure strategy. This role ensures the effective implementation and auditing of organization-wide systems related to backup, hosting, administration, and cloud management. The Senior Director plays a critical role in maximizing system uptime, stability, and operational efficiency across the organization’s networks and platforms.
Essential Functions
- Provide strategic and operational leadership for the organization's technical infrastructure, overseeing day-to-day management, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of IT systems and services.
- Manage the deployment and upkeep of enterprise-wide tools to support the scalability, availability, and accessibility of core applications and services.
- Participate in IT strategic and operational planning to advance business objectives, foster innovation, and prioritize key initiatives. Coordinate the evaluation and implementation of current and future IT systems to ensure effective, flexible infrastructure.
- Develop and enforce policies to mitigate system downtime and minimize operational risk.
- Oversee enterprise-wide strategies for system security, data backup, service management, hosting, system administration, and hardware lifecycle management, ensuring compliance and regular audits.
- Lead the incident response process for service-impacting issues, including documentation of incident details, root cause analysis, and implementation of corrective actions to prevent recurrence. Monitor service levels (SLAs) and escalate issues when necessary.
- Manage infrastructure team members responsible for the installation, configuration, and maintenance of all JA enterprise systems, educational applications, networks, and hosted services.
- Set performance goals, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes to ensure alignment with departmental and organizational objectives.
- Ensure the reliability of hosted services through proactive monitoring, performance management, and issue resolution.
- Monitor monthly infrastructure spending and ensure alignment with budget goals; implement cost-saving measures where appropriate without compromising security or service quality.
- Stay current on emerging IT trends, technologies, and architectures—particularly in cloud services and automation. Provide strategic recommendations to IT leadership to align infrastructure with evolving organizational needs.
- Support vendor relationship management to ensure the timely and successful delivery of technical initiatives.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in Information Technology, including staff management, strategic planning, and customer engagement.
- Minimum of three (3) years of hands-on experience managing enterprise IT infrastructure within Microsoft Azure, including networking, virtual machines, storage, identity and access management, and monitoring.
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) or a higher-level Azure certification.
- Proven experience managing hybrid IT environments, with responsibility for system security, data backup, hosting, and administration across both cloud and on-premises infrastructure.
- Familiarity with monitoring and performance management tools such as Azure Monitor, Microsoft System Center, or similar platforms.
- Demonstrated success leading high-performing technical teams, including setting goals, tracking performance, and providing coaching and mentorship.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, with a customer-centric and collaborative approach.
- Experience managing vendor relationships and service-level agreements (SLAs) in support of infrastructure projects and hosted services.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and Visio.
- Willingness and ability to travel (up to 10%) to attend Junior Achievement events and organizational gatherings.
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline (equivalent education or experience may be considered).
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) or Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), if applicable to project oversight.
- Experience with automation platforms and scripting tools such as PowerShell, Azure Automation, or System Center Orchestrator.
- Demonstrated involvement in enterprise-wide digital transformation or IT modernization initiatives.
- Understanding of IT financial management, including cloud cost optimization and vendor contract negotiation.
Benefits
JA USA’s health care benefits provide coverage when needed—focusing on programs that support and encourage healthy living and your overall well-being. We offer medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, holidays, paid time off, and 401(k).
Our Commitment
At JA USA, we believe that our success is directly tied to our ability to foster an environment where all individuals have access to opportunities and can thrive. We are deeply committed to creating a workplace where inclusion and belonging are not just principles but lived experiences. This commitment drives us to attract, develop, retain, and promote a workforce that mirrors the communities we serve, bringing together a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and talents.
We embrace the unique contributions that every JA USA employee brings to our mission and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to join our team. By welcoming various voices, we continue to expand our understanding of the world, and we actively seek to elevate representation of different individual experiences and the perspectives they shape.
We are dedicated to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and heard—where people can be their authentic selves and know that they belong. This is how we build a workplace where every individual can succeed, and where we work together to create lasting impact for the young people and communities we serve.
Additional Information
JA USA does not provide sponsorship for employment visas for this position. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship, now or in the future.