Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
The Organization: WMHT
WMHT Educational Telecommunications is multichannel public communications organization that reaches beyond the traditional broadcasting model to act as a leader by convening arts, culture, learning, and civic interests. Located in New York’s Capital Region, WMHT serves diverse communities from the Mid-Hudson Valley to the Berkshires including portions of Vermont and Connecticut, reaching an area of more than one million people. WMHT provides entertainment, enrichment, and engagement through television, radio, digital media, and educational services including WMHT-DT (17.1), WMHT-Create (17.2), WMHT-World (17.3), WMHT PBS Kids (17.4), WMHT-FM 89.1 & WRHV-FM 88.7 (classical public radio); and EXIT 97.7 and 106.1 WEXT (AAA public radio). WMHT also operates RISE, a radio reading service for the blind and print disabled.
WMHT services are focused on three key areas of community need: Civic and Public Affairs, Arts and Culture and Children and Education.
The Opportunity:
The Vice President, Chief Technology Officer is WMHT’s top technology executive responsible for developing and implementing multi-platform digital technology solutions for creation and distribution of WMHT content across current and emerging platforms. The mandate for this leader is to ensure that WMHT broadcast engineering, production, and digital operational requirements are fulfilled to include IT network integrity, production, communications, and operations systems, broadcast distribution integrity, and internet/social media distribution integrity. Most important is the ability to collaborate and support management to align technology and business objectives with the technology and interests of WMHT audiences and members.
The Chief Technology Officer will work closely with the President and leadership team in providing strategic and tactical leadership for the technology needs of WMHT. The CTO oversees broadcast operations, information technology, engineering functions, broadcast transmission/distribution services, a modern broadcast center with two television studios and three radio studios, and a suite of digital products and delivery systems. The CTO is responsible for planning, developing, and maintaining the station’s technical infrastructure. He/she works
closely with the Production Manager and the Chief Content Officer in support of Production personnel.
Ideal candidates will feel a connection with WMHT’s public service mission, have an interest in understanding media consumption and technology use in the WMHT service area, and will be experienced across a range of technology systems and engineering functions including broadcast production and distribution.
Qualifications of the Ideal Candidate:
• BA, BS or BSEE or equivalent professional experience.
• At least 12 years of progressive work experience in broadcast/digital media with strong knowledge of architectures, trends and emerging technologies.
• At least 5 years leadership experience in digital audio/video formats and technologies for mobile and emerging platforms.
• Capable of leading and inspiring diverse groups of engineers to accomplish complex projects.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex projects from start to finish. PMP certification a plus.
• Knowledge of FCC rules and regulations for licensed broadcast facilities.
• Proven experience in managing a technology and operations function from a financial and managerial point of view.
• Prior experience managing key vendor relationships and leading formal vendor selection processes including competitive bidding and RFPs through contract negotiation is a plus.
• Ability to implement excellent customer service based processes.
• Experience in enterprise level technology construction or renovation projects is desirable.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to stakeholders of varying technical knowledge.
• Desire to be part of a mission-driven organization that serves New York’s Capital Region community.
• Technology environments, including telecommunications, networks, programming, media, and desktops.
• Industry-standard security laws/governance, practices, procedures, and tools.
• Computer systems characteristics, features, and integration capabilities.
• Data processing, databases, hardware platforms, enterprise software applications, and outsourced systems.
• Networking (DNS, IP) and Network Security, including VPNs.
• Web development and user support.
• Business theory, business processes, management, budgeting, and business office operations.
• Project management principles.
• HR, Budget and fiscal systems
• Server Technologies, such as virtualization, converged infrastructure, and cloud based.
• Voice over IP.
Preferred Qualifications:
Demonstrated increasing responsibilities in the areas of leadership, supervision and technology industry standards
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong tactical skills.
• Proven leadership ability.
• Proven experience in strategic technology planning, execution, and policy development.
• Proven experience managing and/or directing technological operations.
• Superior understanding of the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Keen attention to detail.
• Self-motivated and directed.
• Exceptional service orientation.
• Technical experience with systems networking, web development, and user support.
• Education and/or course work in Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Management and Information Security.
Personal Characteristics Desired:
• A pragmatic, collaborative, results-oriented leader with highly developed relationship building skills; adept as an influencer and consensus builder.
• An unquestioned reputation for integrity and ethics; a strong character that will quickly gain the trust of others.
• Creative, versatile, intuitive, and driven; mission oriented.
Ability to:
• Set and manage priorities judiciously.
• Articulate ideas to both technical and non-technical users.
• Motivate in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Prioritize and work under pressure of multiple demands while meeting deadlines.
• Manage customer expectations.
• Assimilate and simplify complicated issues
• Interface with management.
• Coordinate multiple projects and their related priorities.
• Work effectively as a part of a leadership team.
• Apply technology solutions to business problems.
• Analyze, evaluate, and problem-solve.
Job Location: WMHT-TV, 4 Global View, Troy, NY 12180
Department: Engineering
Type: Full Time, Exempt
Reports to the CEO
Yearly Salary Range is $125,000 - $135,000

WMHT Educational Telecommunications is an equal opportunity employer. The community and audience we serve is diverse, and we wish to foster that diversity in our workplace. Toward that end, WMHT does not discriminate against individuals in hiring, employment or promotion on the basis of race, religion, color, sex/gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, handicap or disability, veteran or
military status, political belief, pregnancy, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law.