Financial Aid Director - Higher Ed. jobs in South Dakota

Job Summary:

The Mainframe and Operations Director is responsible for overseeing the efficient operation and maintenance of mainframe systems, job scheduling, and associated infrastructure within the organization. This role involves managing a team of professionals to ensure the reliability, security, and performance of mainframe systems, as well as developing and implementing long-term strategies to optimize operations and support business objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Mainframe Management: Supervise the operation, maintenance, and administration of mainframe systems, ensuring optimal performance, availability, and reliability.
• Team Leadership: Lead and manage a team of mainframe system programmers, operators, and analysts, providing guidance, mentoring, and performance management.
• Infrastructure Oversight: Oversee the design, implementation, and maintenance of mainframe infrastructure, including hardware, software, and network components.
• Security and Compliance: Implement and enforce security policies, procedures, and controls to protect mainframe systems and data, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
• Strategic Planning:  Lead initiatives to define the future of the operation and management of mainframe operations over the next decade.
• Capacity Planning: Monitor mainframe usage and capacity trends, and develop strategies to optimize resource utilization and scalability.
• Incident Management: Coordinate the response to mainframe-related incidents and outages, ensuring timely resolution and minimal disruption to business operations.
• Change Management: Manage changes to mainframe systems and infrastructure, including planning, testing, implementation, and documentation, to minimize risks and ensure stability.
• Vendor Management: Evaluate and manage relationships with third-party vendors and service providers, including negotiating contracts and overseeing service delivery.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities for process improvements, automation, and cost savings in mainframe operations, and lead initiatives to implement changes.
• Collaboration: Collaborate with other IT teams, business stakeholders, and external partners to align mainframe operations with organizational goals and requirements.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field or equivalent relevant experience.
• Experience in mainframe administration, operations, or related roles, with progressive leadership responsibilities.
• Familiarity with mainframe hardware, operating systems (e.g., z/OS), and software (e.g., IBM DB2, CICS).
• Strong understanding of mainframe operations, storage, and security principles and practices.
• Experience with mainframe performance tuning, capacity planning, and disaster recovery planning.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and departments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation.

• Criminal background check required.
• Due to the financial nature and level of accountability of this position, a credit and criminal background check is required - The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires Sammons Financial Group Companies to notify you that, as a routine part of processing this application for employment, Sammons Financial Group may request a consumer report on you to verify all information contained in this application. Such report may include information about work-related behaviors, performance, character, general reputation, and personal characteristics, in addition to information about your previous employment, education, credit history and criminal records