Director of Technology Enablement

About Understood Understood is a nonprofit helping millions of people navigate the realities of neurodivergence. We translate trusted knowledge about ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia into clear guidance, practical tools, and community support — so people don’t just feel informed, they feel understood. Having a shared commitment to our values is a key factor in any hire we make. We have five core values: • Continuously learn. • Act with intention. • Champion difference. • Inspire change. • Grow together. Come be part of an organization with an entrepreneurial spirit that’s working toward a future where people can navigate neurodivergence with clarity, in a world that truly understands them. To learn more about Understood, please visit: www.understood.org Who you are To advance Understood’s mission and to further our impact, we’re hiring a Director of Technology Enablement, reporting to our VP, Engineering & IT and working closely with our Chief People & Culture Officer, to fundamentally elevate how technology enables our people, strengthens our organization, and advances our mission. This leader owns the full spectrum of how technology serves our people. That spans everything from “your laptop works” to “here’s how this tool changes your workflow.” Technology is not a support function at Understood. It is a catalyst for how we think, collaborate, solve problems, and deliver impact. As AI and emerging technologies rapidly reshape what's possible, we need a leader who is constantly looking ahead, experimenting with new capabilities, and identifying opportunities to fundamentally improve how we work. This person won't simply respond to the organization's technology needs. They'll help us anticipate what's next and turn emerging possibilities into meaningful organizational advantage. Success in this role requires both operational excellence and transformational leadership. This person will lead a reliable, secure, and effective IT function while driving technology adoption, proficiency, innovation, and behavior change across the organization. They'll bring the technical depth to personally explore, build, and implement new solutions, the strategic judgment to prioritize opportunities, and the organizational influence to make new ways of working stick. They'll approach employees as people to enable, not tickets to close, and help position AI as a fundamental shift in how work gets done rather than another tool layered onto existing workflows. The role also carries a cultural mandate. We invest in our people’s technology capabilities because we believe it makes them, and our mission, stronger. We provide enablement, training, and the right tools, and we expect our people to lean in: to be curious, to experiment, and to take ownership of their own growth. This leader will help build a culture where continuous learning, experimentation, and adaptability are embedded in how we operate. In close partnership with our Director of Talent Development & Operations, this leader will also lead the change management, enablement, and capability building that turn the technology they build and own into new ways of working across Understood. We're looking for a hands-on technologist, forward thinker, and organizational change leader who can operate with significant autonomy. Someone who is genuinely energized by emerging technology, constantly exploring and building, and capable of challenging our thinking about what's possible. Above all, someone who can translate that curiosity and ambition into meaningful, sustained improvements in how Understood works. This is a hybrid role that requires a minimum of three (3) days a week in our NYC office, with a focus on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. We are a Mac-based environment, and team members are provided a Mac laptop for their work. What you’ll do AI and technology transformation • Act as a technology evangelist: Proactively find ways teams can work better with tools they already have, such as AI features in Adobe Creative Cloud, Gemini in Google Workspace, and automation in Slack and Jira. Partner with teams to unlock that potential in their day-to-day work. • Champion Claude and AI across the organization: Serve as a hands-on internal Claude champion who works inside each function to redesign workflows with AI and shows teams how to build their own skills, plugins, and workflows for their actual work, so every team has Claude working for them, and experimentation becomes self-sustaining. • Drive adoption of new tools: Own the adoption and internal integration of new rollouts. Work with external training vendors where useful, but own the integration into how people actually work, because adoption doesn’t stick when the person driving it leaves. Measure success by how work changes, not just usage. • Design and automate workflows across the organization: Configure and connect our systems so work flows end to end, not tool by tool. IT operations • Lead and develop a small IT team to run day-to-day operations, without daily executive involvement, and rebalance the team as needed. You’re comfortable rolling up your sleeves with a lean team and moving quickly in ambiguity. • Own the hardware lifecycle: laptops, access points (APs), network taps, and audio/visual (AV) equipment. • Own the employee support tier structure, including mobile device management (MDM) tools, vendor management, and compliance infrastructure. • Overhaul the IT queue: Define what’s self-serve versus white-glove, with a baseline expectation that people troubleshoot before they escalate. Adoption, governance, and culture • Centralize knowledge in Jira: Become the internal owner of consolidating how work is tracked and made visible. Convene and run the cross-functional working group, drive taxonomy and workflow decisions, and establish a shared vocabulary across teams. Includes connecting Jira to the docs and decisions behind each project, and making our work queryable by AI. • Partner on new technology rollouts: Serve as the technical enablement partner to other internal functions, leading workshops and ensuring adoption. • Set a culture of technology curiosity: Model the expectation that curiosity is normal and experimentation is encouraged, with troubleshoot-before-escalate as the baseline and self-directed growth as the norm. • Keep a future view: Track emerging technology with the VP of engineering and IT, and translate what’s coming into capability plans for the organization, and bring forward proposals with a clear plan, cost, and expected impact. Minimum qualifications In this role, you bring leadership experience and the ability to set direction across a capability. You also own team-level priorities, manage multiple direct reports, including hiring and resourcing decisions, own the team budget, and communicate directly with the leadership and executive leadership teams. We don't expect a perfect match across every category. What matters is relevant experience, genuine interest in the work, and a mindset for growth. Leadership and people • Experience: 10+ years of experience in technology, IT, or digital transformation roles, including 3+ years leading a team in a fast-moving or complex environment. You’ve owned team-level priorities and delivered results with impact across the organization. You’ve led transformation that changed how people work, not only system migrations or tool swaps. • People leadership and development: You manage multiple direct reports and make decisions on hiring, team structure, and resourcing. You coach and develop people, and keep the team motivated through change. • Stakeholder and cross-functional partnership: You work effectively with leaders in other functions, senior leaders, and direct reports. You make tradeoffs across teams when priorities compete, and build strong working relationships up, down, and across the organization, including in a hybrid setting. You’ve led change from inside an organization and brought people along over time. Strategy, execution, and data • Domain expertise: You’re a hands-on technical owner who has personally set up, configured, and run the systems you’re accountable for, from identity and devices to integrations and automation. Deep expertise in IT operations and technology enablement, from operational stability to embedding new tools and workflows into how people actually work. You treat employees as customers to enable, not tickets to close. • Strategic thinking and execution: You turn company strategy into clear plans and priorities. You balance long-term thinking with getting work done day-to-day, and adjust the plan when conditions change. • Project management: You plan and run multiple projects across the team and functions. You set clear milestones, manage risk, and keep the team on track to deliver. • Data and analytics: You develop insights to shape strategy and priorities. You decide what data is needed and use analysis to test ideas and make better decisions. Communication, collaboration, and technology fluency • Communication: You communicate clearly and confidently with leadership and executive leadership teams, peer leaders, direct reports, and external partners. You adapt the message to the audience. You bring executive presence and polish. • Collaboration and ways of working: You drive organizational and cultural change that makes technology adoption stick, while keeping people and mission at the center. You work with integrity, emotional awareness, and resilience through change. • AI fluency: Hands-on fluency with AI and modern productivity tools, including building AI workflows, automations that connect systems end to end, and agentic AI that can take action across systems with the right human oversight. All with a track record of driving real adoption, not just access. You know where AI adds value at the team and function level, and set expectations for using it responsibly. Nice-to-haves • Experience leading device management and identity platform work, such as MDM rollouts and SSO migrations. • Experience standing up shared taxonomies and work-tracking systems (e.g., Jira) across an organization. • Personal connection to the mission or understanding of neurodiversity, learning differences, education, or related spaces. The base salary range for this role is $180,000 - $250,000, depending on years of experience and qualifications. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that supports wellness for our team members and their families. You can learn more about our benefits and offerings. Understood.org does not sponsor applicants for work visas or legal permanent residence, including providing assistance with STEM OPT extensions. Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion Understood encourages individuals of all learning styles and ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds, including those whose life experiences may include the challenge of access due to a disability, to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to supporting this work. Understood is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, alienage or citizenship status, marital or familial status, domestic partnership status, caregiver status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, change of sex or transgender status, genetic information, medical condition, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, physical or mental disability (where the applicant or employee is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation), any protected military or veteran status, or status as a victim of domestic or dating violence, sexual assault or offense, stalking, or any other characteristics protected by federal, st…