Director of Technology- Next Gen ELL

For more than 75 years, we have amplified products and services based rigorous research and our belief in the power of learning. Driven by our mission to advance quality and equity in education, ETS provides learning solutions, pioneering research and trusted assessments that help guide learners around the world on their path to new possibilities.

Our portfolio of trusted measures include TOEFL®, TOEIC®, GRE® and Praxis®. Along with research, development and innovation that explores new frontiers in learning and measurement our educational measurement solutions and research contribute to the development of new methods and tools, inform important dialogue with education policymakers, and shed light on critical issues and potential solutions - all with the aim of creating a world where all learners can improve their lives through education.

With new senior leadership at the helm, ETS aims to continue changing the lives of all learners as we expand our organization's global footprint. Our goal is to remain at the forefront of assessment and measurement efficacy within the education and ed tech space as it continues to grow and evolve.

Position Summary:

The Director of Technology - Next Gen ELL role provides strategic leadership, engineering and development roadmap guidance and subject matter expertise to assigned areas of Technology to drive meaningful business outcomes for the next generation English Language Learning products (Next Gen TOEFL). This role acts as the Global SBU Engineering Leader and as the main point of contact, communicating effectively with the SBU leadership, Product Management and Technology leadership, vendors, and across ETS and partners to act as a strong advocate and steward for the Next Gen TOEFL technology portfolio. This role will drive the transformation of technology architecture and capabilities necessary for the production, delivery, and servicing of the next gen products, including the incorporation of AI solutions, and partner or commercial platforms.

The director role calls for an innovative, and technically hands-on, leader with a clear architectural vision who is willing to take risks, delegate efficiently and negotiate effectively to obtain results. The Director has a broad effect across ETS from an organizational perspective and leverages the role through positive, productive interactions across various levels and partners both cross-functionally and externally in a highly outsourced environment.

The Director strategically develops and oversees a staff of both exempt and non-exempt employees, providing technical direction, timely coaching, planning and project objectives to the team. The Director may also manage contractors and vendors assigned to technology projects. Additionally, this role provides financial management expertise by developing annual and project budgets and ensuring that all work falls within the guidelines of the approved budget.

This role “lives & breathes” all things that are next gen TOEFL, is a key SME with business commercial, operational and solution knowledge, and the single point of contact for all things technology (platforms, architecture, security, production operation) for next gen TOEFL.

Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership and Delivery

• Lead the technical delivery of initiatives/ epics, user stories and defects to drive customer outcomes for the teaching community forward.

• Lead, motivate, and set a vision for the teams in partnership with product and the respective roadmap.

• Proactively manage individual and team performance to ensure achievement of divisional and corporate goals. Set SMART objectives, monitor performance, and appropriately act on performance issues.

• Effectively manage the work and budget.

• Execute the responsibilities of a director, including administrative work to effectively manage the team. Challenge the work being done in the group, as appropriate.

Technical Acumen Demonstrate the functional and technical knowledge and expertise of a specific domain and execute the responsibilities of a role associated with that domain.

• Execute the responsibilities of a director, including administrative work to effectively manage the team. Challenge the work being done in the group, as appropriate.

• Lead, motivate, and set a vision for the teams.

• Effectively manage the work and budget.

• Understand technology solutions and the teams' work.

• Proactively manage individual and team performance to ensure achievement of divisional and corporate goals. Set SMART objectives, monitor performance, and appropriately act on performance issues.

• Understand relevant technologies and IT-related processes and be able to influence the work being done in the IT organization (e.g., team, group, vendor).

• Keep up with current technology trends and best practices and introduce innovations.

• Demonstrate domain expertise in one or more domains in the span of control.

Learning Agility Critically analyze problems based on relevant experiences, anticipate changes, and recognize the need to sometimes alter course.

• Bring new solutions to problems.

• Learn continuously about new technologies and processes and how they might apply to the TOEFL business.

• Actively seek new technologies in the industry and consider how that might apply to TOEFL.

• Create and foster processes that encourage productivity, increase employee commitment, and ensure that project goals are met in an effective manner.

Relationship Mastery Build and sustain trusting, effective, and respectful relationships with colleagues, partners, and customers. Actively seek diverse perspectives and interaction from all circles of people when getting work done, forming teams, and collaborating for the benefit of ETS.

• Effectively lead staff on complex projects and provide advanced problem solving and subject matter expertise.

• Work well across teams and with peers.

• Read the room and act accordingly.

• Influence where you have no authority.

• Effectively manage 'down, out and up' throughout the organization to achieve desired results.

• Effectively communicate technology capabilities in a way that business leaders understand the value.

• Be a trusted partner/advisor through dependable delivery and business contributions.

• Manage and understand IT interactions with non-IT with the goal of improving relationships between organizations and strengthening non-IT's perceptions of the value that IT is providing.

Results Orientation Consistently deliver on commitments while upholding the highest standards. Fulfill assigned tasks on time, with the resources assigned, without sub-optimizing other functions.

• Make things happen. Identify and appropriately remove obstacles to meet commitments.

• Be creative in applying technology to solve problems and enabling simplification through identification of opportunities to standardize systems and investments across programs.

• Be on-time and on-budget for approved scope, effectively communicating risks and issues, particularly around change management.

• Effectively manage scope.

• Drive teams to achieve successful results.

• Accountable for execution of processes, managing financials, implementing process improvements and year-on-year efficiency, managing key performance indicators (KPI) metrics, and tracking and actively seeking to reduce the unit cost of services and total cost of ownership (TCO).

End-to- End ETS Understanding See the “big picture” of the organization— the way in which various processes interact across the organization. Understand the key drivers of the organization's success from mission to customer experience to financial performance and how these relate to each other.

• Understand the end-to-end business processes and how specific applications fit into the whole.

• Understand the impacts of their decisions and actions on the greater organization and take into account the benefits and risks to more than just their team but to the larger organization, ensuring deviations from plans are brought to the early attention of management and corrective action is taken.

• Understand how technologies and IT processes enables, improves and/or influences ETS processes, products, and services.

• Apply more strategic thinking.

• Craft and execute long-term plans to position the next gen TOEFL technology portfolio for the future.

Market Insight and Service Orientation Demonstrate an understanding of the “problem to be solved” for ETS' customers in various markets. Act with the customer or internal stakeholder in mind and consider downstream implications.

• Understand and communicate downstream impacts of your work.

• Deliver a work output of quality and take accountability for that output and for the end result.

• Bring industry ideas and best practices for your role to solve business problems and improve ETS competitiveness.

• Negotiate downstream impacts of decisions made in their teams.

• Adhere to ethical standards and comply with the laws and regulations applicable to your job function.

Experience and Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business Administration, or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience is required.

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in Technology management in a midsize to large scale organization

• 10+ years of hands-on experience in technology and solution architecture, analysis, and development

• E-commerce and AI solutioning experience strongly preferred

• Diagnostic and strategic planning

• Demonstrated experience in Technology planning and development, project management and policy development

• Demonstrated understanding of financial and cost analysis

• Strong technical problem-solving and troubleshooting ability

• Familiarity with performance management processes

• Proven leadership skills and ability to build and maintain a high performing team

Other Requirements (Specialized skill sets, behavioral/technical):

• Excellent planning, organization, and problem identification skills

• Excellent information, data, and financial analysis skills

• Results oriented

• Demonstrated problem-solving ability

• Excellent understanding of technical and business terminology

• Proven ability to work effectively on multiple projects simultaneously

• Ability to establish and work in a collaborative, team-based environment

• Fluency with MS Excel and other MS Office applications

• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills including stand up presentations

• Highly motivated, demonstrating a positive, can-do attitude

• Know where to find information, answers, and help.

• Be comfortable with complexity and ambiguity.

• Be willing and open to take on new challenges

• Embrace changes, learn on the fly and be adept at connecting dots.

• Learn from experience and be able to apply what has been learned to new situations

#LI-NA1

#LI-REMOTE

ETS believes in a Total Rewards philosophy for our employees, and they include:

• Health, Vision, Dental insurance plans to choose from
• Generous continuous learning support, from individual learning grants to up to 6 classes a year for tuition reimbursement as well as on-line learning access
• Generous PTO and vacation time to balance your work and life
• Additional 8 hours of PTO for volunteer work
• Retirement plan (401(a)) and traditional Roth (403b) with company contribution
• Commuter Benefits, Pet Insurance, 1 year subscription to Calm App

ETS is mission driven and action oriented

• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is at the forefront of the ETS employee's daily work. To further foster an inclusive environment ETS is home to a wide variety of Affinity groups that celebrate the diversity of our talented employees.
• How about cultivating growth, innovation, and continuous transformation for the next generation of rising professionals as leaders? ETS offers multiple Business Resource Groups (BRG) for you
• Are you passionate about volunteering and being active in your career and community? ETS offers our Center for Advocacy & Philanthropy (CAAP) where we encourage ETS employees to become active volunteers in their communities and schools through the ETS Cares Giving Campaign. Our employees can support any 501c3 or eligible charity of their choice.

ETS is an Equal Opportunity Employer comprised of people with different experiences, strengths, and backgrounds who share a passion for advancing quality and equity in education. We are dedicated to building teams that reflect the various backgrounds, experiences, and identities of those we serve. The Talent Acquisition team strives to ensure candidates enjoy a fair and equitable hiring process. We believe our differences empower us to be a better team, making better decisions and delivering better results.