Example Job Description
Director of Technology
A director of technology who advances secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
Interview Planning Resource
Possible Interview Q&A: Director of Technology
How to use this resource: Select questions that measure competencies established through the district’s current job analysis. Ask candidates the same predetermined questions under comparable conditions and evaluate responses against the same job-related criteria.
The indicators below describe evidence a strong response may contain; they are not required scripts or the only acceptable answers.
- In the Director of Technology role, how would you build a multiyear technology strategy tied to district priorities?
Strong response indicators: Defines the purpose, scope, governing requirement, timeline, responsible owners, dependencies, controls, communication, contingencies, and evidence of completion. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, how would you prioritize cybersecurity, instructional, infrastructure, and support investments?
Strong response indicators: Verifies authoritative information, protects the affected person and data, follows approved procedures, involves responsible owners, documents facts, and confirms resolution. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, a major cyber incident disrupts district operations. How would you lead the response?
Strong response indicators: Uses systematic diagnosis, representative evidence, root-cause analysis, controlled correction, reconciliation, documentation, and monitoring for recurrence. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, what governance should precede acquisition of a new cloud application?
Strong response indicators: Applies least privilege, minimum necessary access, secure channels, appropriate approval, auditability, retention, and prompt escalation of uncertainty or risk. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, how would you measure whether technology services are effective and equitable?
Strong response indicators: Communicates the evidence, affected population, operational consequence, uncertainty, available choices, recommended action, accountable owners, and follow-up without unnecessary jargon. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, how would you manage technical debt and aging infrastructure?
Strong response indicators: Builds sustainable ownership through clear definitions, role-specific training, useful quality reports, feedback loops, documentation, support, and verification that improvement persists. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, a vendor does not meet security, accessibility, or service commitments. What would you do?
Strong response indicators: Defines the purpose, scope, governing requirement, timeline, responsible owners, dependencies, controls, communication, contingencies, and evidence of completion. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, how would you organize technology staff and service ownership?
Strong response indicators: Verifies authoritative information, protects the affected person and data, follows approved procedures, involves responsible owners, documents facts, and confirms resolution. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, what controls should govern privileged access and system changes?
Strong response indicators: Uses systematic diagnosis, representative evidence, root-cause analysis, controlled correction, reconciliation, documentation, and monitoring for recurrence. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, how would you communicate material technology risk to a governing board?
Strong response indicators: Applies least privilege, minimum necessary access, secure channels, appropriate approval, auditability, retention, and prompt escalation of uncertainty or risk. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, how would you test disaster recovery and operational continuity?
Strong response indicators: Communicates the evidence, affected population, operational consequence, uncertainty, available choices, recommended action, accountable owners, and follow-up without unnecessary jargon. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- In the Director of Technology role, what would you prioritize during your first 90 days?
Strong response indicators: Builds sustainable ownership through clear definitions, role-specific training, useful quality reports, feedback loops, documentation, support, and verification that improvement persists. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
Position Description
Under the direction of the appropriate district administrator, the Director of Technology lead and supervise work supporting secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
The position applies educational technology leadership, infrastructure, cybersecurity, applications, data, support, governance, procurement, and service continuity across network, identity, endpoint, cloud, cybersecurity, student information, enterprise application, integration, data warehouse, telecommunications, help-desk, monitoring, backup, financial, and project systems. It establishes or follows clear ownership, validation, security, documentation, review, and escalation practices appropriate to the role’s assigned authority.
The Director of Technology collaborates with students, families, educators, schools, executive leadership, technology teams, data stewards, curriculum, special education, fiscal services, purchasing, privacy, legal counsel, vendors, and public agencies. The role is accountable for strategic governance, portfolio management, staff leadership, budgeting, procurement, and executive communication while protecting confidential information and keeping local decisions traceable.
Reports To
Insert your school district’s specific reporting relationship here.
Required Education and Credentials
Required
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a field closely related to the position. Additional qualifying leadership experience may be substituted only where permitted by district policy.
- Successful completion of all district-required employment clearances.
- Completion of role-required privacy, information-security, records, system, and program training within established timelines.
Preferred
- Master’s degree in a field closely related to the position or public-school leadership.
- Current professional learning or certification related to educational technology leadership, infrastructure, cybersecurity, applications, data, support, governance, procurement, and service continuity.
- Relevant training in project management, data governance, privacy, accessibility, database, analytics, or information security.
Required / Desired Experience
Required Experience
- Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in K-12 education, student information, data, technology, compliance, research, records, or a closely related function.
- Experience with secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance.
- Experience interpreting requirements, procedures, definitions, reports, system information, or technical documentation relevant to assigned work.
- Experience coordinating or completing deadline-driven work with careful documentation and quality control.
- Experience handling confidential information and communicating with users or stakeholders.
Desired Experience
- Experience with network, identity, endpoint, cloud, cybersecurity, student information, enterprise application, integration, data warehouse, telecommunications, help-desk, monitoring, backup, financial, and project systems.
- Experience partnering with students, families, educators, schools, executive leadership, technology teams, data stewards, curriculum, special education, fiscal services, purchasing, privacy, legal counsel, vendors, and public agencies.
- Experience in strategic governance, portfolio management, staff leadership, budgeting, procurement, and executive communication.
- Experience using SQL, advanced spreadsheets, scripting, workflow tools, APIs, secure file transfer, or visualization tools when relevant to assigned duties.
- Experience developing accessible training, technical documentation, process maps, data dictionaries, or continuity materials.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Planning, Operations, and Service Delivery
- Develop and execute a technology strategy, service portfolio, governance structure, roadmap, budget, staffing plan, standards, and lifecycle aligned with educational and operational priorities.
- Lead infrastructure, cybersecurity, identity, devices, applications, data, integrations, support, classroom technology, telecommunications, and continuity services through accountable owners.
- Establish architecture, procurement, accessibility, privacy, interoperability, security, change, project, vendor, and service-management practices.
- Supervise and develop staff, clarify roles and escalation, manage on-call coverage, and communicate service health, risk, investment needs, and outcomes.
- Coordinate incident response, disaster recovery, business continuity, public communication, after-action review, and risk remediation with authorized leaders.
Data Quality, Controls, and Documentation
- Maintain authoritative inventories, ownership, configurations, licenses, contracts, dependencies, data flows, access, risks, technical debt, and lifecycle status.
- Use least privilege, multifactor authentication, segmentation, encryption, logging, vulnerability management, backup, recovery testing, and incident procedures proportionate to risk.
- Require documented requirements, privacy and security review, accessibility, integration analysis, total-cost evaluation, acceptance criteria, change control, and exit planning for technology investments.
- Measure availability, performance, support demand, security posture, adoption, accessibility, cost, user experience, and educational value without overstating causation.
- Provide transparent risk decisions, exceptions, approvals, audit evidence, corrective actions, and continuity documentation to responsible governance bodies.
Director of Technology-Specific Leadership and Support
- Own or support the assigned portfolio for secure, accessible, interoperable, sustainable, and instructionally aligned district technology services and governance, with responsibilities clearly matched to the position’s authority and classification.
- Develop role-specific calendars, service expectations, status reporting, support channels, and escalation paths.
- Coordinate decisions with responsible data owners, program leaders, technical custodians, reviewers, and approving officials.
- Provide accessible training, guidance, communications, and technical assistance tailored to user responsibilities.
- Analyze recurring errors, incidents, requests, and process delays and recommend sustainable improvements.
Security, Improvement, and Continuity
- Protect personally identifiable and confidential information in systems, files, reports, email, tickets, meetings, training, and support activity.
- Test consequential changes using representative cases, documented expectations, peer or owner review, and post-change validation.
- Use automation only with appropriate access, versioning, logging, exception handling, review, and recovery procedures.
- Maintain current standard operating procedures, cross-training, critical contacts, dependencies, backup coverage, and recovery steps.
- Perform other related duties consistent with the position’s purpose and classification.
Required Skills and Abilities
Knowledge of
- Educational technology leadership, infrastructure, cybersecurity, applications, data, support, governance, procurement, and service continuity.
- Network, identity, endpoint, cloud, cybersecurity, student information, enterprise application, integration, data warehouse, telecommunications, help-desk, monitoring, backup, financial, and project systems.
- Data governance, source ownership, data quality, internal controls, change management, documentation, and continuous improvement.
- Student privacy, confidentiality, role-based access, secure transmission, records management, incident escalation, and responsible use.
- Project coordination, customer service, adult learning, accessible communication, and support practices appropriate to assigned work.
Ability to
- Interpret detailed requirements and translate them into accurate procedures, system actions, reports, guidance, or decisions.
- Trace discrepancies through source records, processes, configurations, mappings, transformations, and outputs.
- Manage competing priorities and fixed deadlines with transparent status, documentation, review, and escalation.
- Communicate clearly with technical, program, school, leadership, family, vendor, or agency audiences as appropriate.
- Exercise discretion, preserve confidentiality, recognize limits of authority, and escalate material risk promptly.
- Learn evolving requirements and technologies and improve processes without weakening controls or continuity.
Work Environment
- Work is performed primarily in district offices, schools, service locations, meetings, training environments, and other computer-based professional settings.
- The position requires sustained computer use and detailed review of records, systems, files, reports, requests, and technical or procedural documentation.
- Work involves frequent interaction with students, families, educators, schools, executive leadership, technology teams, data stewards, curriculum, special education, fiscal services, purchasing, privacy, legal counsel, vendors, and public agencies.
- Workload may increase substantially during annual cycles, reporting windows, implementations, releases, audits, incidents, school transitions, or other critical deadlines.
- The employee may encounter frequent interruptions, confidential matters, ambiguous records, failed processes, competing priorities, and urgent requests.
- The position requires secure handling of personally identifiable student, family, or staff information.
Other Requirements
- Successfully complete required criminal-record, fingerprint, and employment clearances.
- Complete a tuberculosis risk assessment and any examination required by applicable law or district policy.
- Complete annual mandated-reporter training and fulfill all legally applicable reporting responsibilities.
- Complete district-required cybersecurity, student-privacy, safety, nondiscrimination, records, and workplace training.
- Maintain professional confidentiality and comply with district policies governing records, information security, acceptable technology use, and data access.
- Travel between district offices, schools, service locations, meetings, and professional-development activities as assigned.
- Possess a valid California driver’s license and maintain insurability when driving is an essential function of the position.
- Occasionally work early-morning, evening, weekend, or extended hours during critical operational, reporting, testing, implementation, or incident periods.
- Regularly sit, stand, walk, speak, hear, read, and operate computers and standard office equipment.
- Use hands and fingers for keyboarding and handling documents; maintain visual attention while reviewing detailed records and computer displays.
- Occasionally lift, carry, or move records, devices, equipment, or supplies weighing up to 25 pounds.
- Perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.