Head of Enterprise Systems

The Head of Enterprise Systems is a strategic leader responsible for overseeing the development, implementation, and support of enterprise systems and IT infrastructure. With a primary focus on Enterprise Systems management, this role is pivotal in ensuring efficient and scalable solutions that align with organizational goals, especially within non-profit managed services for fiscal sponsorship and consulting industry contexts. The Head of Enterprise Systems will also manage day-to-day operations, including help desk and infrastructure support, ensuring a reliable IT environment for all stakeholders including managed service clients.

Essential Responsibilities

• Lead Enterprise Systems upgrades and new implementations, ensuring solutions are tailored to meet the specific needs of non-profit and consulting operations.
• Collaborate with business leaders to align Enterprise Systems capabilities with organizational goals, maximizing return on investment and streamlining cross-functional workflows.
• Oversee the organization’s IT infrastructure, including servers, networks, and data centers, ensuring stability, security, and scalability to support current and future needs.
• Manage and support the IT help desk, setting performance standards to ensure efficient issue resolution, user satisfaction, and quick response times for all internal stakeholders.
• Manage relationships with external vendors for technology services, negotiating contracts and overseeing vendor performance to meet organizational standards.
• Develop and manage the annual IT budget, monitoring spending to ensure cost efficiency and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Lead, mentor, and support the professional development of the IT team, fostering a collaborative and high-performance work environment.
• Serve as the primary IT liaison to senior management, communicating project updates, system improvements, and technology strategies in a clear and impactful manner.
• Establish KPIs and metrics to monitor the performance of IT services, continuously identifying opportunities for optimization and cost savings.
• Drive process improvements, keeping the organization agile and responsive to new challenges and opportunities in the non-profit and consulting landscapes.
• Occasional travel and after-hours support may be required to ensure continuity in mission-critical operations.

Key Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Systems Leadership

• Lead the management and optimization of Enterprise Systems (e.g., HRIS, ERP, CRM), tailored to support the unique needs of the organization.
• Oversee end-to-end Enterprise Systems implementation projects, ensuring successful delivery within budget and timeline constraints.
• Drive enhancements and integrations across Enterprise Systems to support cross-functional needs and improve organizational effectiveness.

1. Infrastructure and Help Desk Management

• Direct IT infrastructure operations, including network, server, and cloud management, ensuring alignment with industry standards.
• Oversee reliable help desk support for seamless issue resolution and tracking, with a focus on user satisfaction.
• Implement best practices for infrastructure support and disaster recovery.

1. Strategic IT Planning

• Collaborate with executive leadership to align IT strategy for Enterprise Systems with mission-driven objectives, focusing on impact and operational sustainability.
• Assess and incorporate emerging technologies to foster digital transformation and optimize resources within the non-profit and consulting sectors.
• Establish KPIs to measure IT performance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

1. Budgeting and Vendor Management

• Manage the IT budget, ensuring cost-effective solutions that maximize value for mission-driven work and client projects.
• Cultivate relationships with Enterprise Systems and infrastructure vendors; negotiate contracts to align with industry-specific requirements.

1. Team Leadership and Development

• Lead and mentor the IT team, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence in service delivery.
• Develop training programs to maintain staff’s expertise in relevant technology, with a focus on the unique challenges and priorities in non-profit and consulting work.

To Be Successful in This Role, You’ll Need

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or related field; MBA or relevant master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive IT experience, with a strong focus on Enterprise Systems and ideally in non-profit or consulting industries.
• Proven success in ERP/CRM implementation, optimization, and management (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics) in mission-driven or client-focused environments.
• In-depth knowledge of IT infrastructure and help desk management, with experience supporting non-profit or consulting organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, manage a team, and communicate effectively at all levels, with experience managing cross-functional projects.
• Experience in budgeting, vendor negotiation and management, and strategic IT planning in mission-driven organizations.
• Enterprise Systems expertise

Our Core Competencies

• The ability to motivate colleagues and manage resources so that the team can achieve significant objectives
• The ability to identify unmet business opportunities for the team and its clients, and drive team-wide innovation to meet them
• The ability to effectively communicate critical messages to the team that supports understanding, transparency, and necessary change, and actively listen and respond to feedback from the team
• The ability to provide managers with the support and resources they need to meet their leadership responsibilities, and effectively lead the team in adapting to necessary changes in business operations
• The ability to manage the team to work collaboratively, including ensuring that team members share resources and knowledge; and to understand when and how to prioritize the firm’s needs above the team’s
• The ability to effectively manage high-level relationships with clients and stakeholders, and use leading change management tools to ensure stakeholders adopt significant changes
• The ability to solve challenging team problems related to talent, financials, and capacity

Working with Us

This position can be Hybrid in New York, NY (preferred); Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA; Durham, NC; or Remote from the following states/district: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington State, or Wisconsin. Please note that all Arabella Advisors’ offices have reopened, and we work in a hybrid environment.

We reopened our offices in Summer of 2022 and work with a hybrid workplace strategy to ensure continued flexibility for our staff, while deepening our strong culture rooted in collaboration and in-person interactions between colleagues. We expect that after their initial onboarding, all Arabellans will have the choice of two hybrid schedules. Our hybrid schedule options include Flex, with 1-2 days per week in the office, or Office-based, with 3+ days per week in the office (or more if preferred) and the remaining days working at home/remotely. We will make reasonable accommodations under the guidelines of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

We are committed to having a passion-driven, inclusive, transparent, collaborative, healthy, and fun culture. We invite you to visit our careers page to learn more.

About Arabella Advisors

Arabella Advisors helps foundations, philanthropists and investors who are serious about impact achieve the greatest good with their resources. We work on issues ranging from the social and economic advancement of women and girls, and conservation of our climate and planet, to reducing poverty and inequity in the United States and around the world. Our staff members are mission-driven and action-oriented, and have a unique combination of experience in philanthropy, business, nonprofits, government, finance, law, and other fields. We combine creative, strategic thinking with knowledge and networks developed through decades of hands-on experience. The fastest-growing philanthropic advisory firm in the nation, Arabella is also a certified B Corporation.

About Arabella’s IT Team

We are a growing team supporting the firm’s productivity and LOB technology portfolio. Arabella IT are responsible for realizing Arabella’s vision of becoming a technology-enabled organization capable of meeting and exceeding the firm’s aggressive growth goals and furthering our mission of taking our clients’ ideas to impact.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Advancing DEI within our firm and in our work with partners is critical to our mission. To be effective partners to philanthropists, nonprofits, and communities impacted by philanthropic dollars, we need to have a highly diverse staff, a workplace where individuals are encouraged to retain their uniqueness and can feel a sense of belonging, and a nuanced understanding of the racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, and other disparities that undergird the issues we engage in and the interactions we have with one another. For us, equity means that our staff members, our clients, and the people they serve can experience the same level of success, no matter their starting place. We expect all our employees to share this commitment, and always seek ways to improve how well we live these values. Click here to learn more about DEI at Arabella and read our official DEI statement.

Total Rewards (compensation and benefits)

This is a full-time position. We offer a competitive and holistic total rewards package that includes salary, bonus, and benefits. Our compensation ranges are based on national compensation benchmarks for similar organizations.

The starting salary for this position is $195,000 and with an annual bonus potential of 15% for this position.

We consider national benchmark indicators along with job related skills, experience and relevant education and training, to determine compensation that is fair and competitive.

All full-time staff are eligible for our generous benefits package on their first day of employment:

• Health insurance- On average Arabella pays 86% of the medical premium, 80% of the dental premium, and 100% of the vision premium
• Paid time off- 18 days’ vacation, 10 personal days, 11 company holidays (7 federal and 4 more from a list of inclusive cultural and religious holidays and your birthday), 20 hours volunteer leave, 8 weeks parental leave
• 401(k) retirement plan- We offer a 4% employer match on a dollar-per-dollar basis, and there is no waiting or vesting period; all funds contributed by you and Arabella are yours to keep on day 1
• Reimbursements for your personal cell phone plan and fitness
• Pre-tax withholding for transportation and parking
• Bonus incentive opportunities
• Access to professional development opportunities