Title/Position:
Senior Director of Technology Strategy & Operations
Organization:
Horizons for Homeless Children
Location:
Roxbury, MA; hybrid
Reports to:
Chief Executive Officer
FLSA Class, status:
Full-time, exempt
Position Grade:
Senior/Executive Director
Starting Salary Range:
$140,000 – 165,000
Date Written:
August 2026
A cover letter is required for consideration.
Position Summary
Put your technology and leadership skills to work in an organization that improves the lives of children and families experiencing homelessness. Our Senior Director of Technology Strategy ensures that our systems, tools, and infrastructure fully support our work.
In this newly created role, which reports directly to the CEO, the Senior Director will partner with service line leaders to design, implement, and support practical, tailored technology solutions that improve staff productivity, strengthen program operations, and ensure effective use of data, including thoughtful use of emerging AI tools to enhance automation, decision-making, and service delivery. A central responsibility is oversight of the organization’s systems, including organization-wide knowledge management and productivity tools, program-specific workflows, and staff training. The Senior Director will also manage our IT Coordinator, who handles day-to-day IT infrastructure, user support, and security.
The Senior Director will blend strategic leadership and innovation with hands-on, collaborative partnership across Horizons for Homeless Children. Beyond the technology function itself, the Senior Director will participate in broader organization-wide planning on a range of strategic and operational issues.
The Role & Its Impact
The Senior Director of Technology Strategy is responsible for ensuring that our systems are reliable, practical, cost-effective, compliant, and aligned with the needs of both staff and families and that we use technology to enhance our effectiveness and efficiency. The Senior Director brings a strategic lens to how we invest in and use technology, balancing innovation with usability, and long-term improvements with immediate operational needs. This role requires strong partnership skills, resourcefulness, excellent executive-level judgment, and the ability to translate between technical possibilities and the real-world demands of service delivery.
Key Areas of Focus
- Partner with program and service leaders to understand operational needs, translate them into effective technology solutions, and ensure that systems support rather than complicate service delivery.
- Manage Horizons’ relationship with our Managed Service Provider (MSP), continuously working to simplify our deployed infrastructure and eliminate unnecessary or costly servers and services.
- Champion information management best practices across the organization; for example, file and folder taxonomies across departments with an eye toward how that data will intersect with LLM-powered tools and services.
- Identify opportunities to streamline workflows and reduce manual processes, including through thoughtful adoption of AI and other tools to support efficiency, documentation, and knowledge-sharing.
- Strengthen the organization’s use of data and technology tools, improving how information is captured, shared, and used to inform decision-making, enhance productivity, and support consistent cross-agency reporting.
- Oversee the work of our IT Coordinator to ensure reliable, cost-effective IT operations, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and user support.
- Develop and enforce policies and procedures that keep our technology secure, compliant, and reliable.
- Lead and grow a high-performing technology function, setting clear priorities, fostering communication and collaboration, and building capacity for both responsive support and proactive systems improvement.
- Manage relationships with external vendors, consultants, and partners, overseeing system implementations and integrations, and ensuring alignment with organizational needs, performance expectations, and budget.
Experience, Skills, and Approach
We are seeking an experienced technology leader who combines strategic thinking with practical execution, and who brings curiosity, collaboration, and thoughtful problem-solving to the work.
Required Experience & Education
- 10+ years of progressively responsible technology experience, including at least 4–5 years directly managing complex IT infrastructure, vendor relationships, and a technology budget.
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field; equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
- Demonstrated success supervising and developing technology staff (this role directly manages our IT Coordinator).
- A track record of working closely with non-technical stakeholders to design and deliver practical, usable solutions.
- Experience managing enterprise-wide systems, with an eye toward both department-level tailoring and organization-wide data collection.
- Direct, hands-on experience managing an outsourced IT/MSP relationship, including infrastructure simplification and cost control.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Proficient and resourceful in using AI and other emerging tools to meet organizational needs, with a realistic sense of what adoption takes.
- Deep understanding of current IT infrastructure, security, and operations practices; able to serve as a hands-on “super user” across the organization’s core systems.
- Familiarity with tools such as Qualtrics, NetSuite, Blackbaud, DECA, Teaching Strategies GOLD, HRIS platforms, Quickbase, Zendesk, and the Microsoft Office suite is a plus.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust and partnership across program and administrative teams.
- A collaborative, service-oriented approach, listening and understanding before solving.
- Practical problem-solving skills, with an emphasis on usability, efficiency, and impact.
- Comfort balancing competing priorities and moving between big-picture strategy and hands-on implementation.
- Ability to interact at an executive level with vendors, board members, and other external stakeholders.
- A genuine commitment to Horizons’ mission.
Starting salary range, compensation, and benefits
$140,000-$165,000 is the starting salary range for this Senior Director role. Your starting salary will fall within that range depending on your competencies, experience, and skill set.
Your total compensation package includes the following benefits:
Health coverage options designed to be as comprehensive and affordable for you as possible, with Horizons covering between 70-75% of premiums (a value that ranges from an additional $10,000 –30,000 per year based on your enrollment choices).
While you have a choice between an HMO and PPO plan for medical coverage, most employees pay $117.77 for individual, $235.54 for 2-person, or $370.44 for family coverage per biweekly paycheck and never pay more than $300 for individual or $600 for 2-person/family toward deductibles.
Visit The Benefits of Working at Horizons for more details on the rest of our benefits package
Workspace & Schedule
This is a 40-hour, full-time position working a minimum of 4 days per week on-site from Horizons’ building and up to 1 day remotely. Regular hours are Monday–Friday during business hours, with occasional evening/weekend events with notice. The work you will perform is largely sedentary, taking place at a desk or cubicle, in an office setting, working alongside others. There is a large staff room with indoor and outdoor space for breaks as well as a designated quiet room. Our beautiful office space is located: Edgerley Family Horizons Center at 1785 Columbus Ave, Roxbury, MA.
This position requires the employee to comply with all applicable federal, state, local and company policy concerning immunizations, employment physical/screening, and Background record check.
Commitment to our Workforce
Horizons is committed to fostering the well-being of our workforce who are tackling one of the nation’s toughest issues: family homelessness. We respect the unique perspectives and potential of each member of our team and believe that diversity of thought and perspective will not only sustain employee well-being but drive better outcomes for our families. Horizons’ leadership sets the tone and priority for this work. Visit our commitments page to learn more about what that looks like at Horizons.
As such, we are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.
For more information about Horizons, please visit horizonschildren.org.
Skills Required
- 10+ years of progressively responsible technology experience
- 4-5 years directly managing complex IT infrastructure, vendor relationships, and a technology budget
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
- Experience supervising and developing technology staff
- Experience partnering with non-technical stakeholders to design and deliver practical, usable solutions
- Experience managing enterprise-wide systems, including department-level tailoring and organization-wide data collection
- Hands-on experience managing an outsourced IT or managed service provider relationship, including infrastructure simplification and cost control
- Proficiency using AI and other emerging tools to meet organizational needs
- Deep understanding of IT infrastructure, security, and operations practices
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills with non-technical and administrative stakeholders
- Ability to operate at an executive level with vendors, board members, and external stakeholders
- Familiarity with Qualtrics, NetSuite, Blackbaud, DECA, Teaching Strategies GOLD, HRIS platforms, Quickbase, Zendesk, and Microsoft Office
- Commitment to the organization's mission
What We Do
Thanks to our specially trained staff, whose efforts are supported and amplified by hundreds of committed volunteers and donors, Horizons provides hope and opportunity to the families we serve. Our four pillars of work include: Early Education Center: We operate one of the state’s top-ranked early education programs, which starts children along the path toward success at school. Playspace Program: We give children in shelters play experiences that let them be kids for a few hours each week. Family Partnerships Program: We give their parents a much-needed respite from the difficulties of homelessness, a shoulder to lean on, and practical guidance toward getting their lives back on track. Policy & Advocacy: We highlight the unique needs of homeless children and families to ensure they are consistent priorities among policymakers on local, state, and federal levels.
Why Work With Us
Every staff member at Horizons, no matter their function, makes a difference in the lives of young children and families experiencing homelessness. While our team includes members from different personal and professional backgrounds, at our core is early education and social work. We value collaboration, inclusion, and innovation.
