Director, Technology

Job Description

Responsibilities
OVERVIEW
The NBC Tower Chicago Broadcast Operations and Technology Department (BO&T) provides Technical Support, Engineering, Media Operations, Productions, Studios and Facilities services for internal clients for the local portfolio of NBCU Owned Television Stations WMAQ and WSNS as well as NBC Sports Chicago and studio clients, including the Judge Mathis Show. The Technology team has responsibility for partnering with our local and division teams to build, deploy and support the technical systems used throughout the facility.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Director, Technology is a full-time position leading the Engineering, Technical Operations, Media Operations and IT teams focused on the implementation of Technology solutions and providing client focused technical support. This position is a critical part of delivering world class support, innovative new Technology, enabling operational change and driving smart business solutions. Reporting locally to the VP, Technology & Operations, and working in concert with the Division's Technology Team, the Director, Technology will be the client facing role, responsible for the direct supervision of the technical team, overseeing complex technical project delivery, and support and sustainability for all local technical systems. Candidate must have experience in managing and developing technical staff with a deep understanding of current and emerging technologies across media and entertainment including infrastructure, distribution, live production, post-production, newsgathering & newsroom system
• Development, implementation and accountability to standards, controls and processes that ensure a high degree of availability and reliability across all technical systems and operations
• Facilitate team success with strategic guidance and helping identify and mitigate roadblocks.
• Manage day-to-day technical support operations, ensuring BO&T Support standards are met focusing on load balancing, prioritization, SLAs and client satisfaction.
• Support Enterprise teams with IT system troubleshooting and problem resolution.
• Handle and address customer communication, escalation and incident response management.
• Provide escalation support for deployed infrastructure as needed by liaising with vendors and other internal/external engineering SMEs for problem resolution.
• Manage the implementation, commissioning, documentation and operational handoff of new technology.
• Work with client Operations teams to promote a strong VOC to define requirements and deliver solutions that creatively solve business challenges or implement new processes across News, Production, Creative Services and other departments as needed.
• Provide operational support as needed.
• Evaluate and manage technical solutions across all broadcast systems including both SDI and ST-2110 video infrastructures, physical, virtualized, cloud-based computer & storage network, encode/decode platforms, live production systems, news gathering tools, NLE, media asset management systems, distribution and transmission systems.
• Ensure the successful handoff and maintenance of all relevant documentation, system knowledge and support processes to the support & operational teams.
• Test new technology through participation in POC initiatives and make recommendations for inclusion in strategic plan.
• Make recommendations on needed resources, feasibility, budget and timing requirements.
• Participate in the development and management of capital budgets and YoY operational budgets.
• Promote and ensure the use of key documentation processes and the transfer of knowledge across teams.
• Provide coaching, leadership and development of expertise across the technical teams.
• Ongoing monitoring and reporting of team metrics.
• Other duties as deemed necessary.

Qualifications/Requirements
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
• 5+ years of experience in large scale project and people management
• Experience in Broadcast Systems, Production, Networking, Servers, Monitoring and troubleshooting.
• Degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field or related business experience
• Generally, requires 10 – 15 years related experience
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to interface with all levels of management
• Driven to maintain high level of customer service, five 9s reliability
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
ADDITIONAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:
• Able to work longer weekly hours as well as weekends when necessary with short notice
• Must be willing to work in Chicago, IL
• Must have unrestricted work authorization to work in the United States.
for this position
• Must be covered by solutions, NBCU's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program

Desired Characteristics
• Bilingual (Spanish and English) a plus
• Experience supporting a major market or network News operation
>Strong leader with the ability to motivate employees, develop talent, tackle organizational challenges and maintain a culture of accountability and high performance.
• Collaborative self-starter that demonstrates initiative and the desire for continuous improvement.
• Highly customer focused with the ability to directly engage with stakeholders across all levels, set agendas, define goals and drive the conversation to achieve success.
• Ability to break down a complex problem and apply structure to make it manageable and achievable.
• Passion for learning new technologies and applying them to business challenges.
• Experience in business analysis / requirements definition and risk management
• Excellent communication and presentation skills. Ability to visualize and communicate both high level concepts and ideas, as well as tactical details for executives, business stakeholders and technology teams across all levels.
• Experience executing large complex initiatives in a large matrixed environment with the ability to establish trust with stakeholders.
• Experience in assessing project health, removing organizational roadblocks and making room for failure in order to ensure project success.
• Flexibility and ability to pivot from one initiative to the next, while managing multiple concurrent projects from very small to very large.
• Accustomed to ongoing reporting & documentation.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-d2xjx6-3-138-118-250-42 in your application.