Understanding the Role of IT Director

An IT Director is a high-ranking leadership position overseeing the computer and IT systems of an enterprise. The professional may supervise teams of employees, IT systems and other technical operations, and typically reports to the organization’s Chief Information Officer (CIO). IT Directors work in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, finance and insurance, government and healthcare.

The chief responsibility of an IT Director is to ensure that a company’s technology solutions meet its needs, are aligned with its business goals and are optimally secured and configured. The director of IT may also be responsible for facilitating communication between IT and other departments.

Other daily responsibilities may include:

Many large organizations employ both an IT Director and a CIO. The CIO is at the executive, or C-suite level, which is typically a more public role and focused on understanding how technology can be used to help meet the demands of the organization. 

The CIO will spend more time engaging with their peers and developing innovative ways to transform the organization, whereas a director of IT typically has a more day-to-day, hands-on management role. The IT Director often takes responsibility for things like computer systems maintenance, vendor agreements, and responding to business requests from within the organization.

The IT Director’s role is a crucial one as companies strive to keep pace with technological advancements. For its Leading IT Trends for 2024 report, NinjaOne and Omdia surveyed more than 600 IT decision makers from 10 industry sectors; their findings concluded that the role of IT has never been more critical in ensuring business security, efficiency and innovation.

Here are the key challenges identified in their research:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) cites the need for businesses, particularly those managing sensitive information, to initiate more robust security policies in response to increasing cyber security threats. 

As organizations are increasingly reliant on IT services and their systems, hardware and software require more oversight, the need for computer and information systems managers will continue to rise. The BLS projects employment for computer and information systems managers to grow 15% on a national level from 2022 to 2032, much faster than the average for all occupations. They also expect there to be about 46,900 job openings for these managers each year, on average, over the decade.¹

If you’re preparing to pursue a career as a director of IT, keep in mind that there are specific skills, educational benchmarks and work experience requirements you’ll need to meet.

As in many other careers, a mixture of technical and workplace skills is essential.

According to the BLS, computer and information systems managers typically need a bachelor’s degree in computer and information technology or a related field. Many organizations MAY require candidates for management roles to have a graduate degree, like an MBA, as well.

At DeVry and our Keller Graduate School of Management, we offer an MBA degree program that can help get you on the path toward preparing to pursue roles like IT Director. Our Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program blends management theory with real-world applications, exploring how to work with the technology and analytics tools that help run the businesses of today. You’ll also have the opportunity to sharpen your skills in collaboration, problem-solving and human capital leadership as well.

Our Master of Business Administration is accredited² by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) www.acbsp.org, a mark of quality that verifies that a business education from DeVry meets the industry standards of excellence.

An IT Director’s role may require you to earn certifications. By adding an IT or project management-focused certification to the other credentials you already have, it may help you stand out among other job candidates.

Some IT management certifications you might consider earning are:

The final component in our rundown of the IT Director’s role is work experience. Where lower-level positions may require only a few years of industry experience, according to the BLS, directors are more likely to need 5 to 10 years of experience in a related role. 

The exact qualifications like the amount of previous industry experience, specific skills and certifications will vary from one organization to another based on their needs, but these should be made clear in employers’ job postings.

DeVry and our Keller Graduate School of Management can help you prepare to pursue your goals with graduate-level education designed to help you gain the skills required to enter today’s dynamic workplaces.

A Keller Master of Business Administration (MBA) can help you acquire and sharpen many of the skills leadership and interpersonal that many employers look for in management-level candidates. 

Designed for busy, working professionals, our MBA program lets you choose from 10 industry-focused specializations and the flexibility of studying online or in a hybrid format.³ 

Concerned about the amount of time it may take to complete your MBA program? With at least 9 credit hours of qualifying Prior Learning Credit and at an accelerated pace, you can earn your Keller Master’s Degree in as few as 12 months, or follow a normal schedule and complete your program in 2 years and 2 months.⁴