Systems Manager

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Systems Manager

Charleston Southern University

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Position Summary:

The Systems Manager provides leadership and oversight for the University's enterprise systems infrastructure and systems administration team. This position is responsible for the availability, security, performance, and continuous improvement of on-premises and cloud-based systems, including servers, Microsoft 365, identity and access management, virtualization, storage, and backup and recovery services.

Reporting to IT leadership, the Systems Manager supervises systems administration personnel, establishes operational priorities, manages infrastructure projects, and ensures technology services align with institutional needs and IT standards. The position works collaboratively with other IT teams, vendors, and university stakeholders to maintain a secure, reliable, and efficient technology environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

- Supervise, mentor, and evaluate systems administration staff; establish priorities, assign responsibilities, and support professional development.

- Oversee the administration, maintenance, security, and performance of enterprise systems, including servers, operating systems, virtualization, storage, and cloud infrastructure.

- Manage Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online, institutional email, licensing, security, and collaboration tools.

- Oversee identity and access management, including directory services, user accounts, authentication, multifactor authentication, and access controls.

- Direct enterprise backup, data protection, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning and testing.

- Establish and maintain systems security, monitoring, patch management, vulnerability remediation, and change-management practices.

- Lead the investigation and resolution of significant systems incidents, service interruptions, and security events.

- Plan and oversee infrastructure implementations, system migrations, upgrades, replacements, and technology improvement projects.

- Evaluate infrastructure performance, capacity, and technology needs; recommend solutions that improve security, reliability, scalability, and efficiency.

- Collaborate with IT and cybersecurity teams to address security risks, support compliance initiatives, and maintain institutional technology standards.

- Manage vendor relationships, coordinate technical resources, and communicate project status, operational priorities, and technology recommendations to IT leadership.

- Maintain appropriate technical documentation, system inventories, operational procedures, and infrastructure records.

- Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, or a related field; equivalent education and relevant professional experience may be considered.

- Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in systems administration, enterprise infrastructure, cloud services, or related IT operations.

- Two or more years of experience supervising, leading, or managing technical personnel or infrastructure operations.

- Demonstrated experience administering enterprise server environments, including Windows Server and virtualization technologies.

- Experience managing Microsoft 365, Exchange Online, directory services, and identity and access management.

- Experience with multifactor authentication, single sign-on, access controls, and privileged account management.

- Experience overseeing backup, recovery, disaster recovery, and data protection systems.

- Knowledge of enterprise systems security, vulnerability management, patching, monitoring, and cloud infrastructure.

- Strong leadership, analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

- Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience working in a higher education environment.

- Advanced experience with Microsoft technologies, including Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and Entra ID.

- Experience with Microsoft 365 security, compliance, and cloud administration.

- Familiarity with cybersecurity frameworks, SIEM, security monitoring, and incident response.

- Experience with encryption, digital certificates, privileged access management, and enterprise security services.

- Knowledge of FERPA, data privacy, records retention, and information security requirements.

- Relevant professional certifications in Microsoft technologies, cloud platforms, virtualization, cybersecurity, or systems administration.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

- Comprehensive knowledge of enterprise systems infrastructure, cloud services, identity management, cybersecurity, and data protection.

- Ability to lead, supervise, mentor, and develop technical personnel while promoting accountability and collaboration.

- Ability to manage competing priorities, allocate resources, and oversee complex technical projects.

- Ability to evaluate technical needs and implement secure, reliable, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

- Strong communication, decision-making, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

- Ability to develop and maintain technical standards, documentation, and operational procedures.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Directly supervises Systems Administrator personnel, including assigning work, establishing priorities, providing coaching and mentoring, conducting performance evaluations, and supporting professional development in accordance with institutional policies.

Provides technical and operational leadership for systems infrastructure initiatives and coordinates projects involving IT personnel, vendors, consultants, and service providers.

Work Environment:

Work is primarily performed in an office, data center, or technology environment, with regular interaction with faculty, staff, students, vendors, and IT personnel. The position works with physical and cloud-based infrastructure and may require access to server rooms and other technology facilities. Occasional evening, weekend, after-hours, and on-call support may be required for maintenance, system upgrades, migrations, security incidents, and critical technology operations.