Technology Manager

The School is seeking a highly skilled and relational Technology Manager to lead our IT operations through a transformative period. This role serves as the strategic bridge between the School's academic mission and its technological infrastructure, ensuring that the intersection of curriculum and technology is seamless, innovative, and sustainable., The Technology Manager will provide high-level technical expertise in media production technology (video, podcasting, and digital labs) while supervising a small employee cohort. They are responsible for driving process improvements, such as optimizing studio training and gear management, while maintaining the hands-on knowledge required to train staff and students. The successful candidate will be a systems-thinker who is equally comfortable researching high-end AV infrastructure and training a student tech support team. They are responsible for ensuring that technology is not just functional, but aligned with the School's curriculum through planning, documentation, and relational liaisoning with campus partners. While many industry roles focus on narrow technical silos, this position offers the unique opportunity to serve as the chief architect of a premier journalism school's technical future., 1. Lead AV Expert: Serve as the primary technical resource for AV equipment and studio spaces. Oversee purchasing and procurement of technology. Provide expert-level hardware and software support for video labs, podcasting, and digital production suites (e.g., Adobe Creative Cloud, Digital Audio Workstations, non-linear editing systems, live production tools). Manage software for equipment check out (Connect2) and ensure equipment storage is accessible and well maintained.

2. Media Hub Studio & Lab Optimization: Consult with faculty and students to expand their technical skills through targeted training while designing flexible studio infrastructure that prioritizes independent use. Regularly evaluate and refine digital labs and production spaces to ensure they remain professional, industry-standard environments that adapt to changing curricular needs. Ensure consistent support for studio-based classes by deploying trained student staff and providing direct technical intervention when necessary. Serve as a first-responder for time-sensitive classroom technology needs while training students to do the same.
3. Training: Organize training opportunities for faculty to learn about newly purchased and existing equipment to support their success in the classroom.
4. Tiered Support Escalation: Serve as a point of expertise for complex technical issues that exceed the capacity of other IT employees, including partnering with other university offices (LATIS, OIT, ATSS) and external partners when necessary.
5. Proactive Maintenance: Establish and execute a maintenance, replacement, and disposal schedule for all production equipment. Research and purchase equipment, keeping faculty stakeholders involved and informed of purchase decisions.
6. Strategic Planning, Documentation & Liaison (20%)
7. Curriculum Alignment: Lead the IT, Facilities & Faculty workgroup which establishes a yearly priority plan and execution schedule.
8. Campus Liaison: Act as the primary liaison between Hubbard and campus partners (Liberal Arts Technologies and Innovation Services: LATIS and Office of Information Technology: OIT). Advocate for the School's unique production needs.
9. Documentation & Compliance: Create and enforce documentation standards, including Standard Operating Procedures for studios and technical tasks, inventory tracking, and system access workflows, develop clear RACI (responsibility) charts to ensure security and operational continuity.
10. Budget Oversight: Based on industry knowledge, utilization data and faculty input, forecast technology needs and advise on technology purchases within budgetary guidelines to ensure the highest quality outcomes for students, faculty, and staff. Manage the technology budget, ensuring expenditures are timely and prioritized based on strategic impact.
11. Team Management & Training Development (20%)
12. Student Deployment: Recruit, hire, train, and supervise student lab employees to serve as the first point of contact for studio and technology support moving the department toward a more efficient, tiered support model.
13. Instructional Design: Develop and maintain technical training materials, manuals, and "how-to" written and video guides for students, staff, and faculty to encourage self-service and reduce repetitive support requests. Partner with Hubbard academic technologist for publishing assistance and to ensure accessibility and usability of support materials.
14. Staff Supervision: Supervise other IT staff, fostering a culture of proactive communication and collaboration.
15. Process Improvement & Efficiency (10%)
16. Gear Workflow Redesign: Utilize Connect2 software to design and implement an efficient gear checkout model that maximizes resource utility and reduces administrative friction for faculty and staff.
17. Continuous Innovation: Stay current on industry trends in media technology and infrastructure to ensure Hubbard's facilities remain at the forefront of journalism and mass communication education.
18. Audit & Security: Implement process improvements that align with university security oversight and proactive planning to reduce operational risk.

• Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree and 4 years of relevant experience, or a Master's and at least 2 years of experience.
• Media Technology Expertise: Demonstrated depth of technical expertise in professional media production environments, including equipment (professional video cameras, microphones, and recording equipment) and studios (video labs, audio suites, broadcast and photography studios).
• Software Proficiency: Expert-level knowledge of industry-standard software for audio/video editing and graphics. (e.g., Adobe Creative Cloud, Digital Audio Workstations, non-linear editing systems, live production tools)
• Supervision: Experience supervising and developing technical talent (students, interns, or FTEs) within an academic or media-production context., * Strategic Liaisoning: Proven ability to translate complex technical requirements into actionable plans for non-technical stakeholders, specifically faculty and senior leadership.
• Process Improvement: Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), onboarding documentation, and responsibility matrices (RACI charts) to improve operational efficiency.
• Project Management: Experience leading high-level technology projects, such as studio automation or facility-wide hardware/software deployments.
• Curriculum Alignment: Experience working in a higher education or professional training environment where technology decisions are directly informed by instructional goals.
• Operational Management: Demonstrated experience managing equipment checkout systems (e.g., Connect2) and maintaining technical inventories
• Fiscal Oversight: Experience managing technology budgets, including forecasting expenditures, leading procurement of resources, and vendor management.
• Inclusive Leadership: A commitment to fostering an inclusive, collegial, and collaborative environment for a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff.

• Salary Range: $85,000-$98,000 (commensurate with experience), At the University of Minnesota, you'll find a flexible work environment and supportive colleagues who are interested in lifelong learning. We prioritize work-life balance, allowing you to invest in the future of your career and in your life outside of work.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area, The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area

The Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication educates nearly 1,000 students across a diverse array of undergraduate, professional, and research-based graduate programs. Facilities are located in Murphy Hall on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus and include multi media classrooms and labs along with a state of the art broadcast studio and podcast studio, a modern conference center and communication research labs., Home to the arts, social sciences and humanities disciplines and programs, the College of Liberal Arts is the largest college in the University of Minnesota and comprises 31 academic departments, and over 20 interdisciplinary research centers and administrative/support units. CLA has over 1,300 faculty and staff spanning research, teaching, advising, outreach, and administrative functions. CLA units reside in over twenty buildings on the East Bank and West Bank of the Twin Cities campus. CLA enrolls nearly 13,000 undergraduate students, over 40% of the undergraduate enrollment on the Twin Cities campus,1,400 graduate students, and has an annual all-funds budget of $290 million. CLA is a destination for curious, compassionate individuals who are committed to making our increasingly interdependent and diverse global community work for everyone. That foundational commitment begins in our CLA Constitution. CLA is committed to increasing enrollment of underrepresented and under-resourced students, diversifying our faculty across all disciplines, recruiting, and retaining a diverse staff, and promoting the expression and exploration of diverse perspectives and viewpoints-so that we all gain the background knowledge and analytical skills we need to understand and respect differences., The Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication is the second-largest undergraduate major-serving unit in the University of Minnesota's College of Liberal Arts and is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Journalism and Mass Communication. The School serves nearly 1,000 undergraduate, professional, and graduate students in its degree-granting programs. The Hubbard School offers majors in Strategic Communication - Advertising and Public Relations, Professional Journalism, and Media and Information; and minors in Media and Information and Digital Media Studies. The Hubbard School offers an academic M.A. and Ph.D. in Mass Communication and a Professional M.A. in Strategic Communication., The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission. The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds., The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation's most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations. At the University of Minnesota, we are proud to be recognized by the Star Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021, as well as by Forbes as Best Employers for Women and one of America's Best Employers (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023), Best Employer for Diversity (2019, 2020), Best Employer for New Grads (2018, 2019), and Best Employer by State (2019, 2022). Search for