Manager of Innovation (Systems Operations Mgr.) (Travis County Employees only)

Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : 700 Lavaca Street, Austin, TX
Job Type: Full Time
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 27-10932
Department: Information Technology
Opening Date: 10/02/2026
Closing Date: 10/11/2026 11:59 PM Central

Job Summary
The Manager of Innovation leads and manages initiatives that introduce new technologies, modern practices, and creative solutions across Travis County Information Technology. This role oversees innovation projects, pilots, and programs that improve operations, enhance customer experience, and support strategic modernization goals. The manager ensures innovation activities align with business needs, coordinates cross-department collaboration, evaluates emerging technologies, and manages resources, timelines, and budgets associated with innovation work.
Distinguishing Characteristics:

This position is part of the Information Technology job family and is responsible for managing innovation efforts that support organizational improvement and technology modernization. Unlike higher-level executive or director roles, the Manager of Innovation focuses on program execution, stakeholder coordination, and hands-on delivery of innovation initiatives. Work is performed through project teams, vendors, partners, and matrixed staff. The role requires adaptability, creative problem-solving, leverage data to aid in policy decisions and strong communication skills to support evolving organizational priorities. A flexible schedule may be required to meet project deadlines and stakeholder needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Manages and coordinates innovation projects and programs that introduce modern tools, methods, and technologies designed to improve operational efficiency and service delivery.
• Evaluates emerging technologies, industry trends, and innovative practices, and recommends opportunities for pilots, proofs of concept, or implementation within the organization.
• Collaborates with internal departments, external partners, and leadership teams to identify innovation opportunities, define goals, and ensure alignment with enterprise strategies and business needs.
• Leads project teams or matrixed staff assigned to innovation initiatives, providing guidance, coordinating activities, supporting professional development, and fostering a culture of creativity and continuous improvement.
• Ensures technology and innovation efforts are aligned with business strategy and deliver measurable value to internal customers and stakeholders.
• Establishes and maintains innovation standards, processes, and best practices related to technology exploration, evaluation, governance, and implementation.
• Participates in budget development and manages expenditures for innovation-related initiatives, ensuring fiscal responsibility and efficient use of available resources.
• Approves and manages resources and tools used for innovation activities, including pilot environments, research assets, and technology evaluation platforms.
• Works closely with Data Teams to build the innovation ecosystem with good data.
• Manages the day-to-day operations of the innovation lab, ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget, and meet quality standards
• Develop and implement metrics and KPIs to track the success of innovation projects and initiatives.
• Keep up to date with industry trends and emerging technologies and use this knowledge to drive innovation within the organization.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

Education and Experience:
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration or a directly related field AND nine (9) years of relevant work experience, including five (5) years of team lead, supervisory or management experience;

OR,

Any combination of education and experience that has been achieved and is equivalent to the stated education and experience and required knowledge, skills, and abilities sufficient to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities of this job.

Licenses, Registrations, Certifications, or Special Requirements:
Valid Texas Driver's License.

Preferred:
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Management and supervisory principles, practices and techniques.
• Policies, practices, procedures and terminology of assigned function.
• Federal, State, Local and County applicable laws, rules, regulations and guidelines.
• Information technology hardware, software and peripherals as related to assigned function.
• Operating systems and foundation architecture.
• Network Operating Systems, systems integration and multiple network protocols, such as TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, DHCP, DNS, and SNMP.
• Tasks and processes associated with installing, administering and monitoring complex Ethernet networks.
• Budget preparation and office management.
• Computer equipment to include word processing, spreadsheets, databases and a variety of software packages.
• May be required to develop knowledge of and adhere to federal and state laws requiring the confidential handling of certain health information.

Skill in:

• Managing staff, allocating resources and evaluating programs.
• Leadership, collaboration and negotiation techniques, including contracts, agreements and proposals.
• Managing user expectations and satisfaction.
• Developing and evaluating Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
• Strategic planning, development, monitoring and evaluation.
• Developing and monitoring programs and related budgets.
• Problem-solving and decision-making.
• Both verbal and written communication, including presentations and communicating technical issues in non-technical language.

Ability to:

• Manage, motivate, train, develop and evaluate staff.
• Work independently and efficiently and as part of a team.
• Manage time well, perform multiple tasks and organize diverse activities.
• Translate policies and objectives into ideas and applications web-based information products.
• Design, install, manage and monitor the most highly complex systems, operating system software and applications.
• Research, compile, analyze, interpret and prepare a variety of memorandums or reports.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with departmental clientele, representatives of outside agencies and providers, other County employees and officials, and the general public.

Work Environment & Other Information

Physical requirements include the ability to lift/carry up to 35-40 pounds occasionally, visual acuity, speech and hearing, hand and eye coordination and manual dexterity necessary to operate a computer and office equipment. Subject to standing, sitting, walking, climbing, crawling, bending, stooping, crouching, kneeling, pushing, pulling, reaching, twisting, balancing, repetitive motion, and squatting to perform the essential functions. Subject to exposure to variations in extreme heat, cold, mechanical, fume/odor, and dust/mites.

Travis County employees play an important role in business continuity. As such, employees can be assigned to business continuity efforts outside of normal job functions.

Work Hours: 8 am - 5 pm, Monday-Friday. May work some nights, weekends, holidays.
Location: 700 Lavaca St, Austin, TX
Department: Information Technology
This job description is intended to be generic in nature. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The essential duties, functions and responsibilities and overtime eligibility may vary based on the specific tasks assigned to the position.

Benefits
Employment at Travis County comes with a full array of benefits. We offer comprehensive health insurance, a no-cost, on-site Health and Wellness clinic, longevity pay, paid vacations, sick time and personal holidays, not to mention an industry competitive salary structure and a friendly, stable work environment.
FY2026 Travis County Benefit Guide

In this valuable you will find benefit summaries, eligibility requirements, costs, contact numbers and addresses as well as other general information on the benefits available to Travis County Employees and Retirees.

Credit Union
Employees may join the Travis County Credit Union which offers low-interest loans, savings plans through payroll deduction, safe deposit boxes and other benefits.

Deferred Compensation
Employees may enroll in a tax- free sheltered investment plan through payroll deduction.

Direct Deposit
Employees may sign up for direct bank deposit.

Employee Assistance Program
Travis County provides a confidential counseling and referral service free of charge to county employees and their family.

Employee Organizations
Membership in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union is available through payroll deduction.

Employee Health & Wellness Clinic
Employees may access the clinic for a variety of wellness program and health care services with no co-pay, no deductible and no co-insurance costs.

Holidays
An average of eleven paid holidays are designated by the Travis County Commissioners Court at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Insurance
Employees may select from four plans: an Exclusive Physician Organization (EPO), Choice Plus Preferred Physician Organization (PPO), Consumer Choice or a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA). All four options include a Pharmacy Plan. Travis County's current policy is to pay 100% of the employee's health insurance premium for the Consumer Choice and HDHP. Employees will pay a premium for both the EPO and PPO. Other insurance benefits include $50,000 Basic Life and AD&D paid by the County.

The following benefits are employee paid:

• Dental
• Vision
• Supplemental Life, AD&D
• Dependent Life
• Short Term Disability
• Long Term Disability
• Long Term Care

New employees are covered on the first day of the month following 28 calendar days of employment.

Longevity
Longevity pay is paid for each year completed after three years of continuous service. Peace Officers in a law enforcement activity, whose job requires state peace officer certification, receive pay after one year of certification.

On the regular payday on or after the employee's fourth and subsequent adjusted service dates, he or she receives a single payment for the previous year.

Parking
A limited number of assigned parking spaces are available to employees in the Courthouse Complex.

Personal Holidays
Regular, full-time employees are eligible for up to three paid personal holidays each calendar year. Part-time employees shall be granted personal holidays on a prorated basis. New employees earn personal holidays for the calendar year in which he/she begins employment, based on the month in which employment begins:

January - March

3 personal holidays
April - June

2 personal holidays

July - September

1 personal holiday
October - December

None

New employees are eligible to take personal holidays after 90 days of employment.
Retirement
Travis County is a member of the Texas County & District Retirement System with mandatory participation by certain classes of employees. Seven percent (7%) of the gross salary is deducted each pay period. An employee is fully vested after eight years of service. Benefits are prorated for part-time employees.

Sick Leave
Regular employees earn sick leave at a rate of eight hours per month with unlimited accrual during employment. Part-time employees earn sick leave on a pro-rated basis.

Parental Leave
Each Full-time Paid Parental Leave Eligible (PPL) Employee is entitled to a total of 320 hours of Paid Parental Leave in a 12 month period. Paid Parental Leave for Part-time PPL Eligible Employees is prorated based on the number of hours that they are regularly scheduled to work.

Tuition Refund
Certain classes of full-time employees may receive reimbursement for fees associated with pre-approved, job related course work completed satisfactorily.

Vacation
Based on years of county service, regular, full-time employees earn vacation time at the following rates:

0 to 5 years

4.0 hours per pay period

6 to 10 years

4.5 hours per pay period

11 to 15 years

5.0 hours per pay period

16 to 20 years

5.5 hours per pay period

21 plus years

6.0 hours per pay period

Part-time employees earn vacation leave on a pro-rated basis.
Workers' Compensation
The county provides all employees workers' compensation coverage with benefits in accordance with state statute, if the employee sustains an injury out of, or in the course of work.
01

What is your strategy for building partnerships with internal teams, external vendors, or community partners?
02

Explain a time when you produced data that assisted in policy change.
03

How do you balance experimentation with the need for predictable outcomes and timelines?
04

What role do you believe innovation should play in a county-level IT organization?
Required Question