About Core Education
Core Education is a dynamic organization dedicated to transforming the business model of higher education through innovative programs and partnerships. We work collaboratively with colleges and universities to enhance learning experiences, promote student success, and drive positive outcomes.
About the role
Core Education is seeking a Practice Leader to own our Infrastructure & Information Security Practice. This person is responsible for the teams that deliver Operations, Modernization, and Enablement to our partner colleges and universities — keeping institutional environments running, helping them move forward, and equipping their people to do more with the technology they have.
The practice is the technical foundation our partner institutions rely on every day. It spans identity and access, servers and storage, networking and telecom, endpoint and A/V, monitoring, and the information security program that ties it all together. The Practice Leader sets the strategy, builds and develops the team, owns the financials, and serves as the senior point of accountability to our partner institutions. This role is being opened following the loss of our colleague Pete Brambani, who built much of what the practice is today; the next leader will build on that foundation and shape what comes next.
What you'll do
Operations — keeping our partners running.
- Identity & directory services (Active Directory, Entra ID, IAM, SSO, MFA), Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace administration, server and storage operations (Windows Server, Hyper-V, Linux, NFS, enterprise backup, DR), networking and telecom (network design, WiFi, VoIP/SIP, Microsoft Teams calling), endpoint operations (Windows and Mac, printers and peripherals, remote support), A/V and collaboration technology, monitoring and observability, and 24×7 incident response.
- ITIL-based service management across change, incident, problem, and request — operationalized in the practice's or partner’s ITSM tooling.
- SLA performance, uptime, and runbook hygiene across the partner portfolio.
Modernization — helping our partners move forward.
- Multi-year roadmaps for identity, cloud, networking, endpoint, and security across the partner portfolio.
- Cloud and hybrid cloud strategy across Microsoft Azure (primary), Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, with thoughtful expansion into AWS, GCP, and containerized or serverless workloads where they fit.
- Endpoint modernization (Intune, SCCM, MDT, MDM; Windows and Mac fleets).
- Network, telecom, and A/V refresh programs aligned to institutional priorities.
- The information security program — frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, SANS), regulatory alignment (FERPA, GDPR, HIPAA, GLBA), incident response and threat hunting, and continuous control improvement.
Enablement — equipping our partners and our own team to do more.
- Documentation, runbooks, knowledge bases, and training that lift partner-institution staff and our own engineers.
- Standards, reference architectures, and reusable patterns that turn one-off solutions into repeatable practice offerings.
- Operational reporting and service insights (SQL, Power BI, and equivalents) so partners and Core leadership can see what's working and where to invest.
- Partnership with peers in Application Services, Data & Analytics, and Client Success on cross-practice offerings and SOWs.
Management Responsibilities
- Team Leadership — Hire, coach, and retain a multi-disciplinary team of systems, network/telecom, endpoint, A/V, and security operations staff and team leads. Build career ladders, individual development plans, and clear paths for growth.
- Organizational Design — Structure the practice across Operations, Modernization, and Enablement so each function has clear ownership, healthy capacity, and built-in redundancy. Plan succession into every critical role.
- Performance Management — Set quarterly objectives and KPIs; conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and skills assessments; address performance issues directly and constructively.
- Capacity & Resource Planning — Forecast staffing across the partner portfolio; balance billable delivery, internal operations, on-call rotations, and modernization projects; partner with PMO on portfolio-level resourcing.
- Budget Ownership — Manage the practice budget for hardware, software, licensing, telecom, training, and contractor spend; build business cases for new investments.
- Delivery & SLA Accountability — Own service levels and SOW outcomes for the practice's portfolio; report status, risks, incidents, and financials to senior leadership on a defined cadence.
- Process & Standards — Define and maintain operational standards: change advisory, runbook hygiene, configuration management, monitoring coverage, security baselines, and documentation.
- Vendor & Partner Management — Manage relationships with hardware, software, telecom, cloud, and managed-service vendors; own contract reviews and renewal cycles in coordination with procurement.
- Cross-Functional Partnership — Collaborate closely with peer practice leaders in Application Services, Data & Analytics, and Client Success to deliver integrated outcomes for our partner institutions.
- Talent Development — Run technical mentoring, certification programs (Microsoft, Azure, networking, ITIL, security), and knowledge-sharing rituals; cultivate a learning culture.
- Culture & Continuity — Steward a feedback-rich, accountable, inclusive team culture, and invest deliberately in team well-being and operational continuity during the transition.
Qualifications
- Progressive infrastructure and/or information security leadership experience, including several years directly managing technical teams and team leads.
- Strong working background across the Microsoft stack — Active Directory / Entra ID, Windows Server, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Azure — with the judgment to lead engineers more specialized than you in any one area.
- Solid grounding in networking and telecom (network design, WiFi, VoIP/SIP, Teams calling) and in modern endpoint management (Intune, SCCM, MDT, MDM) at scale.
- Working command of information security fundamentals — IAM, network security, encryption, incident response — and at least one major framework (NIST, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS).
- Operating experience under ITIL/ITSM and a recognized service-management toolset.
- Strong written and verbal communication — comfortable authoring SOWs, technical designs, executive briefs, and post-incident reviews, and presenting to senior partner-institution stakeholders.
- A collaborative, partner-first orientation that fits Core's mission and the way we work with colleges and universities.
Nice to Have
- Prior experience in higher education or higher-education services. Familiarity with the operating context of small and mid-sized institutions is helpful, but deep SIS/ERP platform expertise (Colleague, Jenzabar, Workday Student) is not required for this role — that capability lives in our Enterprise Systems practice.
- Mac-fleet management (Jamf) and modern endpoint patterns.
- Cloud breadth beyond Azure — AWS, GCP, containerization, or serverless.
- Data and reporting fluency (SQL, Power BI, data warehousing) for service analytics.
- Security operations tooling experience (SolarWinds, Splunk, Wireshark) and compliance work in regulated environments (FERPA, GDPR, HIPAA, GLBA).
- Recognized certifications such as ITIL 4 / Practice Manager, PMP, CISSP, CISM, CISA, Microsoft / Azure, or Cisco.
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent professional experience.
Why This Role
You will lead a practice that sits at the heart of Core Education's promise to its partner institutions — keeping them running, helping them modernize, and equipping their people. You'll have the autonomy to shape the practice, the team, and the offerings, in a Public Benefit Corporation whose mission is to help small and mid-sized colleges and universities thrive.