POSITION IDENTIFICATION
TITLE Director, Telecommunications and Communication Infrastructure
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 1561
GRADE 38
CLASSIFICATION Exempt
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Chief Information Officer
GENERAL FUNCTION
The Director of Telecommunications and Communications Infrastructure plans, organizes, and manages the administrative and technical aspects of the University’s fiber and copper infrastructure, telecommunications systems, card access systems, and related facilities at all Missouri State University campuses and locations. Duties include installation, maintenance, monitoring and planning for associated infrastructure to support both academic and administrative responsibilities. The Director of Telecommunications and Infrastructure supervises the Coordinator of Telecommunications, Coordinator of Communication Infrastructure, and departmental staff in their support of the University’s telecommunications and communication infrastructure environment, develops goals and objectives conducive to ongoing and enhanced capabilities, and assists in the formulation of strategic planning for both short- and long-term activities.
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Education: A Bachelor’s degree is required; a Bachelor’s degree in a computer-related field is preferred. An equivalent combination of years of experience and education may be considered for substitution of educational requirements.
Experience: A minimum of five years of experience in telecommunications and communication infrastructure analysis in addition to design of a major multi-vendor or telecommunications or communication infrastructure environment is required. Demonstrated successful experience with managing complex telecommunications or communications infrastructure projects is required. A minimum of five years of comprehensive management experience involving project management, planning, preparing project cost estimates, budget oversight and development, and supervision is required. Experience with data servers and desktop computer applications, including email, internet, word processing, database, and spreadsheets is required. Work experience in a higher education environment is preferred.
Skills: Strong supervisory, project management, administrative, budget management, and technical skills are required. An understanding of voice, and telecommunications design, protocols, and products is required, telephone switches, voice mail systems, call record data collection, other related telecommunications equipment, applicable National Electric codes, installation, and construction standards is required. A demonstrated ability to manage multiple technical projects with a high degree of detail while working with potentially short deadlines is required. An in-depth understanding of current and emerging voice, data, and telecommunications technologies is required. Effective interpersonal, customer service, organizational, and team-building skills are required. The ability to maintain confidentiality in regard to information processed, stored, transmitted, or accessed by the systems is required. Excellent verbal and written communication skills and proficiency in writing technical specification documents are required. The ability to work with a variety of constituencies possessing a wide range of technical knowledge is required. The ability to solve management, technical, installation, scheduling, and other related problems is required. The ability to develop knowledge of, respect for, and skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds is required.
Other: The 24-hour scope of university operations requires this position to be available evenings, nights, and weekends to respond to calls regarding questions or problems with the University’s networks. Occasional travel to remote sites to provide support or engage in professional development opportunities is required.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Assures the effective development and operation of a complete communications infrastructure by planning and coordinating with all University campuses and departments to identify and meet the University’s telecommunications, card access, and other associated needs.2. Develops and oversees the use of the Telecommunications and Communication Infrastructure Departments budget.
3. Ensures that the appropriate network and telecommunications infrastructures are properly designed and incorporated into building projects for renovation, new construction, or expansions of services in existing facilities.
4. Coordinates and schedules efficient and timely responses to requests for networking and telecommunication services by serving as the primary liaison to the University wiring and other related contractors as needed.
5. Participates in the University’s common operation objectives by assisting other departments and individuals with issues, questions, and support of all delivered services.
6. Manages the University’s telecommunications systems, other related equipment and services, and associated automated billing system and recommends the selection and/or modification of hardware and software, such as design changes and upgrades, associated equipment enhancements, and maintenance agreements.
7. Ensures the efficient operation of the Telecommunications and Communications Infrastructure department by assuring compliance with federal, state, and city telecommunications laws, rules, regulations, guidelines, policies, and procedures.
8. Develops technical Request for Proposal specifications, recommends the selection of vendors, participates in contract negotiations for various networking and telecommunications systems and services, seeks and implements methods for continuous quality improvement in service delivery.
9. Oversees the provision of training, support, and guidance to departments and end-users.
10. Ensures appropriate security measures and components are in place to protect telecommunications, and other related systems from intrusion attacks.
11. Develops proposals, presentations, plans, and timelines for complex projects and manages priorities, equipment, and staff resources to ensure completion of projects within budgets and timelines.
12. Ensures the availability of all services offered by managing disaster avoidance and recovery efforts caused by events like power outages, hardware failures, construction damage to outside plant cabling, etc.
13. Provides proper scheduling of downtime when upgrading University systems and components and ensures effective communication to the campus community concerning any outages.
14. Ensures operational integrity and continuity of the services delivered by providing leadership in the development of objectives for the unit in order to support academic and administrative systems through reliability, responsiveness, documentation, and use of current software and hardware.
15. Increases departmental effectiveness by assisting with the evaluation of software and hardware products for acquisition and development of the University’s telecommunications environment.
16. Develops and maintains a competent and effective staff by recruiting and hiring qualified applicants, providing training and orientation on departmental and unit policies and procedures, assigning areas of responsibility, supervising work activities, and evaluating staff performance.
17. Contributes to departmental and University long-range and strategic planning of networking and telecommunications technology efforts by serving on the Information Services Leadership Team and other University committees as directed.
18. Facilitates a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.
19. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses.
20. Contributes to the overall success of the Telecommunications and Communication Infrastructure department by participating in the establishment of goals and standards conducive to the successful development of ongoing and enhanced capabilities, assisting in the formulation of strategic planning for both short and long-term activities, and performing all other duties as assigned by the Chief Information Officer.
SUPERVISION
The Director of Telecommunications and Communication Infrastructure is supervised by the Chief Information Officer and supervises Telecommunications and Communication Infrastructure departmental staff members. Job functions are routinely handled independently with a limited amount of supervision.
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
REVISED NOVEMBER 2022
