Vice President of Information Technology

The Vice President of Information Technology serves as First State Bank and Trust's internal owner of the Bank's technology environment. The Bank does not maintain an internal information technology staff. Engineering, system administration, and help desk work are primarily performed by a managed service provider and by specialized vendors, and this position is accountable for outcomes related to that work.

This is a senior, highly independent position with full ownership of the areas it is responsible for. It does not manage staff and is not responsible for general bank management outside of technology. It is expected to operate with minimal direction, to anticipate problems rather than react to them, and to carry personal accountability for the reliability, security, and performance of the Bank's technology, including work performed by third parties.

The position requires technical depth to understand how the Bank's systems are actually built and connected: how data and email move, what depends on what, where risk accumulates, and when a vendor's recommendation does not add up. That depth is used to evaluate, direct, question, and coordinate the work of others, and to perform initial troubleshooting on smaller issues before engaging outside support. It is not used to personally administer systems on a daily basis.

A substantial portion of the work involves partnering with employees and department leaders across nine locations, understanding what they are trying to accomplish, and leading the technology projects that help achieve those goals. The ability to communicate clearly and patiently with colleagues who are not technical is an important skill for this role. The position reports to the President and Chief Executive Officer and serves as the technology subject matter resource to senior management, the IT Steering Committee, and the Board.

First State Bank and Trust strives to be more technology-forward than many of its peers. The next two years include a core system evaluation, key operations software installations, and enterprise initiatives in artificial intelligence and workflow automation. This position carries real ownership and visibility from the first day, working directly with the President and Chief Executive Officer.

Reports To: President and Chief Executive Officer

Location: Monticello, Illinois. This is an onsite position, with regular travel to the Bank's other locations.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Technology Operations and Managed Service Provider Oversight

• Serve as the Bank's primary owner of day-to-day technology operations across all locations.
• Manage the relationship with the Bank's managed service provider, including service quality, responsiveness, ticket resolution, and adherence to agreed service levels.
• Monitor the performance, capacity, and reliability of servers, networks, endpoints, telephony, and Microsoft 365 services, and identify developing issues before they affect the business.
• Review and challenge vendor recommendations, escalate unresolved issues, and drive them to closure.
• Perform initial triage on user and system issues, determining what can reasonably be resolved internally and what requires outside support.
• Oversee user device standards, procurement, deployment, and lifecycle replacement.
• Maintain accurate documentation of the technology environment, including network diagrams, system and license inventories, configurations, and change history.
• Coordinate technology support for branch openings, relocations, and facility projects.

Technology Projects and Business Unit Support

• Lead technology projects from planning through implementation, including scope, timeline, dependencies, testing, training, and post-implementation review.
• Partner with departments across the Bank to understand business needs and recommend practical technology solutions.
• Serve as the technology representative on enterprise initiatives, including the Bank's core system evaluation and any resulting conversion, loan origination system work, and workflow automation projects.
• Coordinate implementation partners and vendors, holding them accountable to committed dates and deliverables.
• Provide regular project status reporting to management and the IT Steering Committee, including risks and decisions requiring management attention.
• Support employee adoption of new systems through training coordination, documentation, and follow-up.

Cybersecurity and Technology Risk

• Coordinate the Bank's cybersecurity program in partnership with the managed service provider and other specialized third-party resources.
• Monitor security tooling and alerting, including email security, endpoint protection, patching, vulnerability management, and identity and access controls.
• Administer user access provisioning, changes, and terminations, and coordinate periodic access reviews.
• Coordinate incident response activities, including detection, containment, vendor engagement, documentation, and communication to management.
• Serve as the technology point of contact for internal audits, information technology audits, penetration tests, and regulatory examinations, including gathering evidence, responding to requests, and tracking findings through remediation.
• Coordinate technology-related third-party risk activities, including vendor due diligence and review of service provider control reports.
• Maintain technology policies, standards, and procedures, and recommend updates as the environment and regulatory expectations change.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

• Maintain the technology components of the Bank's business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Coordinate backup, replication, and recovery capabilities and verify that they function as intended.
• Plan, conduct, and document recovery testing, including component-level failover exercises.
• Identify gaps revealed by testing and drive corrective action to completion.

Vendor Management, Governance, and Reporting

• Coordinate technology vendors and service providers, including contracts, renewals, service levels, and escalation paths.
• Assist in developing the annual technology budget and monitor spending against it.
• Evaluate proposals and make recommendations on technology investments.
• Prepare and present technology reporting to senior management, the IT Steering Committee, and the Board.
• Support the IT Steering Committee's agenda, materials, and follow-up items.
• Understand and support the technology components of physical security and facility systems, including cameras, access control, and alarm systems, in coordination with the executives responsible for those functions.

Emerging Technology and Continuous Improvement

• Monitor developments in technology relevant to community banking and recommend where they can improve customer experience, efficiency, security, or cost.
• Participate as a technology resource in the Bank's artificial intelligence and workflow automation initiatives.
• Evaluate new tools and platforms and lead pilots and proofs of concept.
• Identify opportunities to reduce manual work, improve processes, and strengthen controls.

Information Security Officer Duties

Depending on the qualifications and regulatory experience of the successful candidate, the Bank may assign formal Information Security Officer responsibilities to this position. That function is not required for the role but is expected for candidates who would fit in the higher range of salary expectations. Candidates prepared to assume that designation are encouraged to describe the relevant experience; candidates who are not will still be fully considered. Where the ISO designation is held elsewhere in the Bank, this position supports it.

• Own the Bank's written information security program, including policy development, maintenance, and periodic review.
• Perform and maintain the information security risk assessment.
• Report on the condition of the information security program to senior management and the Board.
• Serve as the Bank's designated point of accountability for information security matters with examiners and auditors.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Required Experience

• Seven or more years of progressively responsible information technology experience, including meaningful ownership of systems, projects, or an information technology function.
• Demonstrated experience managing or working closely with a managed service provider, outsourced information technology provider, or similar external technical partner.
• Experience owning technology projects from planning through completion, involving both internal stakeholders and outside vendors.
• Working knowledge of network infrastructure, servers, virtualization, endpoint management, and Microsoft 365 administration.
• Practical understanding of cybersecurity controls, incident response, business continuity, disaster recovery, and technology risk management.
• Experience in a regulated, privacy-sensitive, or security-sensitive environment such as financial services, healthcare, insurance, government, education, or utilities, or with a service provider supporting those industries.
• Ability to understand system architecture, integrations, dependencies, and data flows well enough to evaluate vendor recommendations and identify risk.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, without an internal technical team, and to carry a problem through to resolution without direction.

Preferred Experience

• Banking or credit union experience, or experience supporting financial institutions through a service provider.
• Experience serving as an Information Security Officer or leading an information security program.
• Experience participating in regulatory examinations or information technology audits.
• Experience supporting a multi-location organization.
• Participation in a core system, enterprise resource planning, or loan origination system implementation or conversion.
• Experience with cloud and hybrid environments, the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, email security platforms, and identity and access management.
• Working knowledge of relational databases, data integration, API technologies, and data warehousing.
• Experience with artificial intelligence tools, workflow automation, or process automation.
• Formal project management training or experience.

Education and Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, business, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Technical certifications such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco, or VMware credentials are a plus.
• Security or project management certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, Security+, or PMP are a plus but are not required.

Personal Characteristics and Execution Skills

• Takes personal ownership of outcomes, including work performed by third parties.
• Recognizes developing problems early and acts on them.
• Communicates clearly and patiently and translates technical conditions into business consequences and decisions.
• Asks informed questions and is willing to challenge an incomplete or unconvincing answer.
• Executes consistently and follows through without reminders.
• Balances service, security, cost, operational needs, and regulatory expectations.
• Willing to handle small hands-on issues directly, without allowing routine support work to consume the position.
• Maintains composure and clear communication during incidents and outages.
• Approachable and service-oriented with employees across all locations.