At Make-A-Wish® America, we are more than a great place to work — our work is life-changing. Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Nearly 40 years ago the inspiration for Make-A-Wish began with one little boy's wish to be a police officer. Today, together with our volunteers, donors, staff and supporters, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 500,000 life-changing wishes and transformed countless lives. 

THE TEAM 

Make-A-Wish America is the national headquarters for our organization, providing resources and support for our Chapters around the country. The Information Technology team is comprised of a diverse team of technologists responsible for building and operating the technologies that enable Make-A-Wish to grant the wish of every eligible child. The Information Technology team is focused on providing innovative solutions across these key areas: Operations, Security, Applications, Infrastructure, Governance, and Analytics.  

THE ROLE 

Reporting to the Chief Transformation Officer, and as part of the Senior Leadership team, the Chief Information Officer is the top executive accountable for the vision, operation, support, and continuous improvement of all the Digital & Technology initiatives and deliverables across the "Foundation" which includes the National Office and its chapters, the "Chapters". This critical role will define the technology tools selected and the IT service delivery strategy for the Foundation, as well as ensure the highest quality support is provided for business operations both at the National Office and the Chapters. The CIO will provide thought leadership for the IT and Business Transformation teams and guidance to the National Office Senior leadership team. As such, the CIO will undertake the mission of building a strong customer service-oriented culture within IT targeted at both the National Office and the Chapters. The Chief Information Officer will lead the Foundation's IT departments in the design, planning, implementation and support of the technical infrastructure and all related technical functions within the organization and across the departments.

WHERE YOU COME IN 

As the Chief Information Officer at Make-A-Wish America, you will lead a team to advance our mission as summarized below:

Duties and Responsibilities:

•    Leadership – In collaboration with the Senior leadership team, develop the Foundation’s Business, Digital and Systems strategy and ensure that IT services are delivered to maximize the growth strategy in a manner consistent with the Foundation’s culture. Interact with the Senior leadership team to provide pertinent information, technical analyses, financial analyses, business advice and process design/improvement. Participate proactively with the Senior leadership team in developing and executing Strategic plans to optimize the use of Information technology in support of Business objectives and the Digital strategies. Participates in selecting, promoting, implementing, and supporting the proposed information systems selected for use.

•    Communication – Build an environment that provides seamless communication across the Foundation and IT. The Foundation believes collaboration between the National Office and the Chapters is critical to developing innovative tools that provide value to the Foundation and are widely adopted and highly utilized.  

•    Strategy & Vision – Provide vision, strategy, and tactical planning, development evaluation, and coordination of the information and technology systems for the Foundation.

•    Talent Development & Management – Participate in the full lifecycle of IT staff development including recruitment, selection, training, coaching, evaluating. and terminating when appropriate. Foster a culture that promotes employee engagement and enterprise teamwork.

•    Enterprise Digital Transformation – Provide leadership to help transform the organization through the many Digital initiatives going on w.r.t Application Modernization.

•    IT Service Delivery – Accountable for all support activities. Develop and measure performance against defined Service Levels. Build or refine service delivery processes. Partner with the senior leadership team to align IT initiatives with key business goals. Lead and maintain IT steering committee(s) or task force(s), as appropriate.

•    Solutions Delivery – Oversee all application development and deployment. Maintain application architecture and provide guidance to development resources.

•   Telecommunications – manage the deployment and maintenance of advanced, high availability telecommunications including voice (VoIP), presence / chat and videoconferencing solutions.

•    Infrastructure Planning and Operations – Provide leadership and vision for all infrastructure components including servers / virtualization, storage, and networking.

•    IT Operations Management – Responsible for consistent, predictable IT operations. Recommend and lead improvements and measurement of operating performance.

Key Areas of Accountability:
•    Leads enterprise-wide planning which includes the development of a long-term technology strategy and management of all technology planning, development, and operational functions.

•    Execution of the multi-year Enterprise transformation program.

•    Establish objectives, work plans, schedules, and cost data for technology initiatives.

•    Develop, coordinate, guide and maintain IT systems strategic and operational plans in support of the overall mission and business strategy. These plans define a vision for meeting current and future information and technology needs for the Foundation and a roadmap that ensures alignment and integration of IT with the overall vision, mission, and values of the Foundation.

•    Assess, develop, and implement strategic direction for enterprise-wide technology architecture; oversee the development and operation of all aspects of the technical infrastructure, including Internet and intranet Websites, local and wide-area networks, and data communication. Research, plan, implement and maintain Website infrastructure, which must remain in-line with the organization's strategic plan. Work closely with management to determine the web vision, direction, policies, and strategy required to create, enhance, and maintain the national website.

•    Develop and maintain standards and protocols for business applications, data ownership and exchange, communication, software, and interconnection of network information systems, databases, and internal and external systems integration.

•    Define and evolve a roadmap for technology architecture including a near term implementations of the Foundation’s key software platforms.

•    Formulate and execute a plan to consistently improve IT service delivery (i.e., help desk, provisioning, and support policies). Ensures sufficient systems capacity for organizational needs and build a professional services culture focused on serving the customer.

•    Identify and resolve on-going support problems and provide leadership for resolution.

•    Communicate with departments, staff, consultants, and contractors on the status of day-to-day activities and current projects; plans and schedules future projects; participates in projects as appropriate.

•    Analyze the needs of functional departments and establish priorities for feasibility studies, systems design, and implementation of new information processing systems.

•    Manage the daily activities of direct reports and their teams to ensure assigned duties are completed in accordance with time, cost, and business objectives. 

•    Take an active role in system management, including network design, configuration, security, resource monitoring and reporting, troubleshooting, maintenance, and the development of specialized programs to keep the organization on the "cutting-edge" of technology.

•    Develop, prepare, monitor, and control the departmental budget; analyze and review budgetary and financial data; control and authorize expenditures in accordance with established guidelines and standards.

•    Manage the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of the organization's local and wide-area networks.  Manages LAN/WAN performance and security. Establishes and implements policies and procedures for LAN/WAN usage throughout the organization.

•    Provide guidance and support to chapters in evaluating their computing environments and make recommendations as needed to ensure chapters are following the National Office's Information Technology standards of use.

•    Ensure security of all systems and establish a disaster recovery and continuity plan for IT operations.

 
Leadership Responsibilities:   
•    Directly lead employees in the Information Technology department. 

•    Fulfill leadership responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. 

•    Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED 

 · A Master’s degree in Information technology, computer science, management or related field is preferred.

· 15+ years of IT experience, with 5+ years as a Senior Executive or CIO position with a federated organization or company with significant subsidiaries.

· Experience with Digital transformations, Change Management.

· Extensive technical experience with local and wide-area networking and telecommunications, client/server networking, client/server databases, network security and Internet/intranet operations.

· Ability to thrive in a remote-first environment.

· 15-20% travel required.

· May require work outside a traditional Monday – Friday work week, and outside normal business hours.

WHAT WE OFFER 

BENEFITS 

• Comprehensive benefit package, effective upon hire: Medical, Vision*, Dental*, Wellness
• Competitive compensation with annual incentive potential    
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account Options    
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Make-A-Wish 
• Short Term Disability*, Long Term Disability* and Life Insurance 
• Additional Insurance Plans: Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance through Figo 
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with 5% match after one year of service
• Eligibility for student loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program    

TIME OFF 

• Up to 15 PTO days 
• 10 Sick Days 
• 11 Paid Holidays 
• 2 Volunteer Days after one year of service 
• 2 Personal Days accrued annually   
• Maternity Leave      

ALSO... 

• Employee Awards and Recognition Programs    
• Individual and Leadership Development     
• Discounts and special offers for theme parks, events, hotels, concerts, and movie tickets   

*Monthly premiums paid for the employee for vision, dental, and short/long term disability. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Vision 

Make-A-Wish is committed to championing diversity, equity and inclusion, fostering an organization that is accessible and welcoming. In turn, we are uniting communities to help make more wishes possible.

• Our mission is most effectively fulfilled through a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as core values and practice.

• It is only through our mosaic of different cultures, perspectives and experiences that we can grant life-changing wishes to every eligible child.

• As the world’s largest wish-granting organization we stand against racism and intolerance and are committed to representation and acceptance, creating a sense of belonging, and practicing fairness in creating opportunities for our wish families, volunteers and staff. 

• Diversity: Diversity at Make-A-Wish is about recognizing and valuing our differences as well as focusing on our shared meaning and humanity.​ Diversity is the collection of unique attributes both visible and invisible, traits, and characteristics that make up individuals. They include race, gender, abilities, values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, preferences, behaviors, socioeconomic status, physical appearance, age, sexual orientation/identity, and more.

• Equity: Equity at Make-A-Wish is ensuring all Wish Kids, families, and volunteers and our stakeholders, regardless of background, receive the resources and support to ensure highly impactful outcomes.

• Inclusion: Inclusion at Make-A-Wish is creating an environment where Make-A-Wish Kids and families, colleagues, volunteers, and stakeholders feel they are welcomed, respected, and valued, and those feelings are both real & perceived.

• Belonging: Belonging at Make-A-Wish describes the experience of being accepted, included, and respected by those around you.  You have a sense of community and connection with others and feel that your full potential is engaged in the Make-A-Wish mission.

We respect and ensure equal opportunity, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, perceived disability and other legally protected characteristics. Make-A-Wish America utilizes E-Verify in its hiring practices to achieve a lawful workforce.