Salary : $101,544.00 - $126,924.00 Annually
Location : 207 4th Ave. N, Kelso, WA
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: 2026-022
Department: Information Technology
Opening Date: 09/15/2026
FLSA: Exempt
Bargaining Unit: NON

General Position Summary
Under general direction, this position is responsible for: planning, organizing, and managing day-to-day IT operations; overseeing IT projects as assigned, including but not limited to vendor communication; overseeing project life cycles; ensuring IT systems security and integrity; assisting in the recommendation, development, implementation, and support of IT solutions throughout the County; purchasing enterprise and department hardware, software, and ancillary IT items; maintaining documentation for system architecture and project progress/timelines; participating in fiscal, administrative, and personnel decision making; and performing related work as required and/or assigned. This position is onsite, 5 days per week.
For applications to be considered, please complete the following:

• Online application fully completed
• Updated resume attached
• Letter of interest/cover letter attached
• 3 professional references
• All supplemental questions answered

This position is open through Wednesday, September 30th, 2026.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Oversee day-to-day IT operations for including monitoring project timelines, end-user needs, help desk review, procurement, inventory management, and reporting. Assist IT staff to appropriate daily projects and duties, and review project outcomes as measured against IT operational, and strategic goals and initiatives.
2. Manage project life cycles from documentation of business requirements through solution acceptance by the group(s) who will be responsible for ongoing operations. Align technical solutions and features to requirements and tracing/monitoring the fulfillment of those requirements.
3. Apply excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group, executives, managers, and subject matter experts. Create design, development, delivery and management of communication plan, project roadmap, training plan, test plan, change management plan, etc.,
4. Oversee the procurement, installation, inventory management, life-cycle maintenance, and license management of IT hardware and software (including but not limited to: PCs, peripherals, servers, networking equipment, communications, operating systems, and software).
5. Lead requirements and verification through creative means such as customer interviews, requirements workshops, storyboards, business process analysis, etc. Develop software fit/gap analyses, functional specifications, preliminary and detailed business requirements, use cases, and business process/workflow diagrams.
6. Oversee, administer, and monitor IT security compliance (including, but not limited to, cybersecurity awareness, CJIS, HIPAA, and PCI) in accordance with adopted standards, policies, and procedures.
7. Coordinate Information Technology operations at multiple county campuses/sites to promote maximum efficiency in addition to overseeing systems installation, debugging, and operational troubleshooting.
8. Assist with development of IT policies and procedures, annual IT Strategic and Operations Planning revisions (including the identification of viable metrics and performance measures for annual budget reporting), and training and employee development programs. In addition, coordinate development and implementation of policies and procedures relating to new technology, information systems, changes in business process and/or regulations, and change management controls.
9. Participate in budget discussions and strategic development. Develop, negotiate, and administer RFPs and contracts to acquire IT product solutions and services. Ensure vendor compliance with contractual requirements and product specifications.
10. Respond to emergencies, system problems or maintenance situations as appropriate.
11. Conduct staff meetings as assigned, and attend other meetings as assigned/necessary.
12. Act as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) & Director of IT in the absence of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) & Director of IT.
13. Perform other duties or projects as assigned by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) & Director of IT.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field, or a combination of education, experience, and training that would provide the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the functions of the job.
2. Five (5) years of experience as a Systems Administrator, Network Analyst or Network Engineer, or other higher classification.
3. Advanced proficiency in the management and administration of Microsoft Windows Server, Veeam Backup, M365, Public Records Request, and in administering hardware and virtual server environments.
4. Build partnerships and work collaboratively with staff at all levels to meet shared objectives.
5. Recognize the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.
6. Can quickly develop an in-depth understanding of business rules and processes for the purpose of optimizing/streamlining workflows.
7. Possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
8. Successfully pass a full background investigation, including a fingerprint background check.
9. Basic knowledge of AI Governance and Research & Development.

Required Skills and Abilities

1. Interpersonal and customer service skills. Establish and maintain effective working relation with county employees and with those contracted in the course of work. Effectively deal and assist clients with limited knowledge of PC use and applications. Excellent communication skills to get information and ideas across a wide range and levels of client users.
2. Networking in a LAN/WAN environment, including strong skills in network security/cybersecurity, and working in virtual environments.
3. In-depth knowledge of VOIP telephony protocols.
4. Ability to handle confidential material.
5. Ability to maintain accurate records, reports, and documentation; and to create and present oral and written presentations. Manage team projects
6. Ability to work effectively in a teamwork environment, as well as able to work well independently.
7. Continue to upgrade and update relevant technical skills, and a willingness to share information and expertise among the team and clients.
8. Strong time management skills, and ability to perform work under time/date deadlines.
9. Analytical skills to assess and identify problems, and develop corrective action, and develop logical/effective solutions.
10. Ability to handle job stress and interact effectively with others in the workplace.

Cowlitz County offers a competitive benefits package for Full-Time employees, including:

• Health Insurance: Variety of Medical, dental, life, vision, and prescription insurance for employee and family. Employees who are covered under another person's medical plan have the option of an HRA (Health Retirement Account) in lieu of medical insurance. HSA and FSA plans are also available, depending on eligibility.
• 11 Paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.
• Retirement: All full-time employees must participate in a Washington State Retirement Services plan, and may participate in a Deferred Compensation Plan, if desired.
• Employee Assistance Program employees and family members for help with personal or family issues.
• Group Life Insurance: Basic life and Accident insurance is provided to employee, with additional insurance available to purchase.

01

Which of the below best describes your professional experience managing or providing senior leadership over a multi-functional information technology organization that includes areas such as infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, applications, databases, telecommunications, cloud services, service desk, and/or enterprise systems?

• I have no experience managing a multi-functional IT organization.
• Less than 2 years.
• 2 to less than 4 years.
• 4 to less than 6 years.
• 6 to less than 10 years.
• 10 or more years.

02

Describe your experience directing day-to-day enterprise IT operations. Include your responsibility for incident management, problem management, change management, system availability, service levels, infrastructure maintenance, and customer support. In your response, provide one specific example of an operational problem you inherited, the action you took, and the measurable improvement that resulted.Maximum response: 500 words.
03

Which best describes the largest number of IT employees for whom you have had direct or indirect leadership responsibility?

• None
• 1-5 employees
• 6-10 employees
• 11-20 employees
• 21-40 employees
• More than 40 employees

04

Describe your experience supervising managers, supervisors, technical leads, or highly specialized technical staff. Include how you establish accountability, address performance issues, develop employees, and build collaboration among teams with different technical responsibilities.Maximum response: 400 words.
05

Describe your experience leading or overseeing an enterprise cybersecurity program. Your response should identify the security frameworks, regulatory requirements, or compliance standards with which you have worked, such as NIST CSF, CIS Controls, CJIS, HIPAA, IRS Publication 1075, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, or similar requirements. Provide one example in which you identified a significant cybersecurity or technology risk, communicated that risk to executive leadership, and implemented or recommended corrective action.
06

Describe one significant enterprise technology modernization initiative that you personally led or had executive-level responsibility for. Examples may include ERP modernization, cloud migration, Microsoft 365, data center modernization, cybersecurity transformation, telecommunications modernization, infrastructure replacement, or a major enterprise application implementation.Please address:• The business problem or organizational need.• Your specific role and level of decision-making authority.• Approximate project size, budget, or organizational impact.• Major risks or challenges.• The final outcome.
07

Which of the following responsibilities have you personally performed as an IT leader? Select all that apply.

• Developed or managed an annual IT operating budget.
• Developed multi-year technology capital plans.
• Prepared executive or governing-body funding requests.
• Developed or evaluated RFPs, RFQs, or technology procurements.
• Negotiated or managed major technology contracts.
• Managed technology service providers or technology consultants.
• Managed enterprise software licensing agreements.
• Conducted vendor performance or contract-compliance reviews.
• Presented technology expenditures, risks, or recommendations to executive leadership.
• None of the above.

08

Briefly describe the largest or most complex technology budget, contract, or procurement for which you had direct responsibility and your role in the decision.
09

Scenario:You are the Deputy CIO/Deputy Director of IT for Cowlitz County. The CIO is unavailable, and you are acting on their behalf.At 8:00 a.m., you learn that:• A critical County system is experiencing a significant outage.• Cybersecurity staff are investigating suspicious activity that may or may not be related.• Two department directors are requesting immediate restoration of service.• An IT manager believes restoring the system before the security investigation is completed could increase organizational risk.• The County Administrator and elected officials want an update within 30 minutes.• A technology vendor believes it has identified a solution but needs authorization to proceed.Please explain how you would manage the first 60 minutes of this situation.Your response should address:• How you would establish command and decision-making authority.• How you would balance operational restoration against cybersecurity risk.• What information you would require before making a decision.• How you would communicate with County leadership and affected departments.• How you would manage the vendor.• What you would document.• When and why you would escalate the matter.Maximum response: 750 words.
Required Question