Alternate Locations: Greensboro, NC (North Carolina)

Work Arrangement:

Hybrid : Employee will work 3 days a week in a Lincoln office

Relocation assistance: is not available for this opportunity.

Requisition #: 76395

The Role at a Glance

As the Director, Unified Communications & Collaboration (UCC), you will be responsible for the strategy, architecture, engineering, governance, and lifecycle management of the organization's communications and collaboration platforms. You will oversee technologies that enable employees communicate, collaborate, meet, and leverage emerging AI capabilities across the enterprise.

You will provide leadership for Microsoft 365 collaboration services, Teams, Exchange Online, voice and telephony solutions, conference room technologies, digital workplace capabilities, collaboration governance, and AI-enabled productivity platforms. In addition, you will serve as a strategic partner to business and technology leaders to ensure collaboration technologies deliver measurable business value, improve employee experience, and support enterprise transformation initiatives.

What you'll be doing

Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and execute a multi-year roadmap for communications, collaboration, workplace productivity, and AI-enabled user experiences.
• Establish technology standards, governance models, and operating processes for enterprise collaboration platforms.
• Partner with executive leadership to align collaboration and communication capabilities with business objectives.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on emerging technologies, industry trends, and digital workplace strategies.
• Drive adoption, value realization, and continuous improvement across collaboration services.

Platform Ownership

• Own the strategy, architecture, and delivery of:
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Exchange Online
  • Microsoft 365 Collaboration Services
  • Teams voice platform
  • Conference room and AV technologies
  • Webcasting and enterprise events
  • Microsoft Copilot and AI productivity services
  • SharePoint, OneDrive, and collaboration ecosystems
• Ensure platform reliability, scalability, security, and operational excellence.

Engineering & Architecture

• Provide leadership and direction-first operating models.
• Lead evaluation, design, and implementation of new technologies and service enhancements.
• Establish architecture standards and technical roadmaps aligned with enterprise objectives.
• Maintain a technology catalon for solution architecture, engineering, automation, and platform modernization.
• Drive cloud-first and automatiog and governance processes to ensure standards remain current and effective.

Operations & Service Management

• Ensure delivery of highly available, secure, and resilient services.
• Establish service level objectives, operational metrics, and continuous improvement practices.
• Oversee incident management, problem management, change management, and service health processes.
• Manage vendor relationships and strategic partnerships, including escalation management and contract oversight.
• Lead operational readiness for major platform upgrades and transformations.

AI & Collaboration Innovation

• Champion responsible adoption of AI-enabled collaboration technologies.
• Partner with enterprise AI governance teams on security, compliance, and platform readiness.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity through automation, Copilot, digital assistants, and collaboration workflows.
• Drive measurement of adoption, utilization, and business outcomes from AI investments.

Financial & Vendor Management

• Develop and manage budgets, forecasts, licensing strategies, and vendor contracts.
• Lead FinOps and consumption management practices across collaboration platforms.
• Optimize technology investments while balancing user experience, security, and operational efficiency.
• Build business cases and investment recommendations for leadership review.

Talent Leadership

• Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of engineers, architects, analysts, and platform specialists.
• Establish clear goals, career development plans, and succession strategies.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Build strong partnerships across Infrastructure, Security, Enterprise Architecture, AI, and Business Technology teams.

What we're looking for

Must-haves:

• 5+ years of progressive IT leadership experience.
• 5+ years leading enterprise collaboration, communications, workplace productivity, or digital workplace platforms.
• Experience managing large-scale Microsoft 365 environments.
• Proven experience leading platform engineering and operational teams.
• Experience managing enterprise technology budgets and vendor relationships.
• Demonstrated success leading complex modernization and transformation initiatives.

Technical Expertise

• Microsoft 365 Services
• Microsoft Teams
• Exchange Online
• Collaboration Governance
• Copilot for Microsoft 365
• Identity and Access Management
• Enterprise Voice and Telephony

Application Deadline

Applications for this position will be accepted through 11/01/2026 subject to earlier closure due to applicant volume.

What's in it for you:

• Clearly defined career tracks and job levels, along with associated behaviors for each of Lincoln's core values and leadership attributes
• Leadership development and virtual training opportunities
• PTO/parental leave
• Competitive 401K and employee benefits
• Free financial counseling, health coaching and employee assistance program
• Tuition assistance program
• Work arrangements that work for you
• Effective productivity/technology tools and training

The pay range for this position is $96,900 - $176,200 with anticipated pay for new hires between the minimum and midpoint of the range and could vary above and below the listed range as permitted by applicable law. Pay is based on non-discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, education, location, licensure requirements, proficiency and qualifications required for the role. The base pay is just one component of Lincoln's total rewards package for employees. In addition, the role may be eligible for the Annual Incentive Program, which is discretionary and based on the performance of the company, business unit and individual. Other rewards may include long-term incentives, sales incentives and Lincoln's standard benefits package.