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IT Director Job Description

Publish: April 2, 2021

Author: StrongerTeams Editorial

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IT Director Job Description

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An IT Director oversees the entire IT infrastructure in an organization and is responsible for its IT strategy, business requirement analysis, implementation, and ongoing functionality. This is a senior role, and it is both strategic and logistical in nature. The role combines forward-thinking and day-to-day maintenance.

The IT Director will typically run a team of subordinates responsible for individual areas of IT (such as architecture, apps, hardware, and helpdesk) and will be expected to coordinate the team’s activities into a cohesive organization-wide IT framework.

Strategically, the IT Director assesses both current and future business needs and plans the IT infrastructure development accordingly. In this function, the IT Director must collaborate closely with all other department heads to fully understand the IT strategic fit going forward.

In day-to-day operations, the IT Director oversees the IT team to ensure that current systems are functioning, that hardware is fit-for-purpose, and that the helpdesk is reacting quickly and efficiently.

What Does an IT Director Typically Do?

An IT Director heads up every aspect of the organization’s IT and is responsible for global planning, day-to-day functionality, and target achievement. The IT Director is responsible for ensuring that the organization’s IT infrastructure is capable of servicing business needs, both current and planned or anticipated. This will include strategic planning as well as oversight of a multi-functional team to deliver a continuous, glitch-free service.

The specific tasks will include:

Strategic IT planning to anticipate business needs and ensure infrastructure readiness
Coordination with all departmental heads to ensure all current needs are met
Tactical management of teams in diverse areas of IT
Analysis of issues, development of solutions, and rapid deployment of fixes
Budget control and management
Team management and development

Strategic IT Planning

The IT Director collaborates with all departments across the organization to understand the current practices and requirements, as well as future plans. The IT Director can then anticipate infrastructure requirements to ensure the organization functions optimally going forward.

Coordination With all Departmental Heads on Current Needs

The IT Director must have a deep understanding of current department methods and practices to ensure that IT infrastructure improves productivity and reduces cost-of-quality. Dealing with diverse departments will also require skill and diplomacy to ensure individual demands do not outweigh the needs of the whole organization.

Tactical Management of IT Teams

Day-to-day performance management of each team within the IT field is an important task. This involves ensuring the proper functioning of apps, hardware, architecture, and the helpdesk—each with its own set of performance standards.

Analysis and Fixing of Issues

The IT Director often leads a fast-response team designed to fix unexpected issues in a timely manner in order to minimize downtime for the organization.

Budget Setting, Control, and Management

The IT Director will set IT budgets and ensure that all activities stay within these constraints and that IT spend is tightly controlled and balanced against incremental profit generated by the organization. The IT Director will own the budgeting process annually.

Team Management and Development

The IT Director will be responsible for the growth and development of the entire IT team, including upskilling, cross-skilling, performance review, career-pathing, and recruitment. IT teams are often made up of diverse personalities, so an IT Director should also understand the principles of Situational Leadership, coaching, and mentoring.

IT Director Salary

The national average salary for an IT Director will typically be between $142,000 and $215,000 per annum in the U.S. The median is around $177,750

What Is the IT Director Pay Difference by Location?

Average salaries for an IT Director differ by location as follows:

City	Average Salary
San Francisco, CA	$222,190
Seattle, WA	$194,350
Denver, CO	$179,760
Austin, TX	$174,820
Washington, DC	$197,870
Milwaukee, WI	$175,920
Boston, MA	$200,270
New York, NY	$213,830
City	Average Salary

What Is the IT Director Pay Difference by Experience Level?

Depending on experience, an IT Director’s pay will vary as follows:

Experience Level	Average Salary
< 1 year	$173,066
1–4 years	$173,617
5–9 years	$175,821
10–19 years	$180,651
20+ years	$181,232