Senior Manager, Systems Operations

Senior Manager, Systems Operations

499112

Denver, CO, Colorado

Staff Full-Time

Closing on: Nov 5 2026

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Information Technology (IT) is the unified IT organization that supports the vision, values, mission, and goals of the University by providing IT infrastructure, systems, administrative applications, academic resources and related services to faculty, students and staff. Embracing DUs Impact 2025, the division aligns IT resources with University and unit strategic goals and operational plans, providing service in the spirit of One DU.

The IT Systems team is responsible for implementation, operation and support of all hardware, servers and datacenter infrastructure in support of university applications and services. The team must understand the Big Picture view of the university's compute environment and research, recommend, implement and support modifications and/or enhancements necessary to keep the environment current, highly available and secure.

Position Summary

The Senior Manager, Systems Operations partners with the Director, IT Systems to advise the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and University leadership on technology investments that balance immediate operational requirements with long-term institutional strategy. The role helps shape technology guidance—including roadmaps, principles, standards, and best practices—to support the delivery and continuous evolution of the IT strategic roadmap. In addition, the Senior Manager maintains a hands-on technical presence, contributing directly to system reliability, performance, and operational excellence.

Essential Functions

Strategy & Planning

• Develops long-term strategies for the implementation of technology platforms, such as virtualization, cloud infrastructure, and data center operations in alignment with university goals
• Assists with disaster recovery planning
• Assists with strategy and planning for the use of Cloud infrastructure (IaaS) solutions
• Contributes to the creation of policies, standards, guidelines and procedures to ensure consistency and compliance
• Manages the research and evaluation of emerging technology, industry and market trends
• Ensures the conceptual completeness of technical solutions

Acquisition & Deployment

• Oversees the lifecycle management of data center infrastructure, physical and virtual servers; the procurement, testing, training, implementation, decommissioning, and disposal
• Manages vendor relationships to maximize value to DU and ensures responsible stewardship of available resources
• Contributes to the budgeting process to promote responsible resource management and operational excellence
• Collaborates with project management and IT leaders to ensure Systems Operations is in alignment with project goals and requirements

Operational Management

• Designs, plans, and implements new IT solutions and major enhancements to existing solutions
• Manages the day-to-day operations of the University’s data centers, ensuring environmental (power and cooling) components are monitored and for business continuity
• Design and implement data backup / recovery and disaster recovery solutions to meet established university RTO and RPO requirements
• Maintain high availability for virtualization, compute, and storage systems
• Establishes and maintains effective partnerships with other IT units to ensure excellence in service delivery and a high level of customer satisfaction
• Provides hands-on support in day-to-day operations
• Ensures systems meet Information Security standards and policies

Supervisory Duties

• Introduce principles that foster trust, commitment, and accountability among team members
• Set clear goals, duties and standards for the team and utilize the performance management system to enable continuous feedback and to align individual employee goals with those of the university
• Ensure employees understand and adhere to all university policies

Other Responsibilities

• Responsible for driving the “One DU” culture through values and customer service standards
• Accountable for outstanding customer service to all external and internal customers
• Develops and maintains effective relationships through effective and timely communication
• Takes initiative and action to respond, resolve and follow up regarding customer service issues with all customers in a timely manner

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to set and manage priorities judiciously
• Ability to collaborate with a diverse stakeholder population: Students, Faculty, Staff and external partners and clients
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to present ideas in business-friendly and user-friendly language
• Exceptionally self-motivated and directed
• Keen attention to detail
• Exceptional service orientation
• Ability to motivate in a team-oriented, collaborative environment
• Able to read, write, speak, understand and satisfactorily communicate with others in English in person, over the phone and via email

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in the field of computer science, information systems, computer engineering, system analysis or a related field, or equivalent work experience
• 7 years of IT industry work experience including Windows and Linux Server operating systems, virtualization technologies, patch management and administration of Active Directory and Group Policy
• 7 years of experience in supervising IT personnel
• 7 years of managing vendor relationships
• Conceptual knowledge of disaster recovery and business continuity planning
• Experience with leading or working on cross-functional projects
• Requires exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in the field of computer science, information systems, computer engineering, system analysis or business administration
• Industry related certifications such as Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE), Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA), VMWare Certified Professional (VCP), Amazon Certified Cloud Practitioner, Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE)
• 3 years or more years management experience in an Information Technology environment

Working Environment

• The work environment is a university with cyclical periods of increased workloads with the possibility of moderate to high stress levels
• The unit is one of several working collaboratively and cooperatively in a team-based organization
• This position falls within the university’s On-Campus policy with the ability for flexible work arrangements
• The position may require working irregular hours including both weekends and evenings
• The work environment consists of surroundings with moderate noise levels and frequent contact with electrical devices

Physical Activities

The physical demands described here 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 functions which include:

• Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period of time
• Stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; teach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch and crawl under desk/tables to troubleshoot cables and network connections; talk or hear; walk-up flights of stairs
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds

Work Schedule Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Application Deadline For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) November 5, 2026.

Special Instructions Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number: The salary grade for the position is 15.

Salary Range: The salary range for this position is $115,000 - $130,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will