Specialist, Systems Administrator

District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS); Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

DCPS is seeking a Specialist, Systems Administrator to support and administer critical instructional and productivity systems across the district. You will serve as a tier-2 escalation point, manage Office 365 and Entra ID, and work on integrations with Canvas, Clever, and other education platforms.

The role requires regular in-person presence, collaboration with senior IT staff, and a focus on reliability, security, and timely incident resolution in a large school district environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 3–5 years of related experience, including 3+ years in enterprise Azure/AD/Office 365 administration.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Microsoft Azure and Office 365 certifications.
• Experience with Entra ID, VDI, Canvas, and Clever in education tech.
• Strong PowerShell skills for automation and scripting.

Responsibilities

• Provide level 2 in-person and remote support for DCPS staff and students across enterprise platforms.
• Document incidents and requests in ITSM with clear, actionable notes.
• Maintain and administer Office 365, Entra ID, Teams, and Exchange environments.
• Assist with administration of instructional platforms like Clever, Canvas, and LightSpeed.
• Collaborate with senior admins and stakeholders on security, data, and integrations.

Skills

Azure Admin

Office 365

Entra ID

PowerShell

SSO

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Azure AD

VDI Platform

Canvas

Clever

Job description

The mission of the Office of Data and Technology is to support schools and the district as a whole to use technology and data effectively to accelerate student achievement. The Office includes the following teams:

• The Information Technology team provides DCPS students and staff in every school with the infrastructure, systems, and support to use technology effectively to accelerate student achievement.
• The Data team ensures stakeholders at all levels of the organization have access to accurate, timely, and relevant data, conducting analysis and research, and building school-based capacity to use data tools to inform planning and decision-making.
• The Enterprise Application team leads the district’s efforts to ensure all DCPS students and staff, in every school, have application technology and systems needed to be successful.

The Information Technology team provides DCPS students and staff in every school with the infrastructure, systems, and support to use technology effectively to accelerate student achievement.

The Specialist, Systems Administrator will play a significant role in the administration and end user support of the instructional and business-critical operational/productivity systems. Serving as an escalation point from the service desk, the Specialist, Systems Administrator, will apply their advanced skillset and troubleshooting experience to identify the root cause and resolve issues in a timely fashion. Proficiency in core business and educational platforms, including Microsoft Office 365, Entra ID and education technology, is critical to the success of this position.

The Specialist, Systems Administrator is a technical support role that requires regular in-person presence to perform essential job functions, including maintaining IT infrastructure, supporting enterprise systems, responding to operational issues, and providing hands‑on technical assistance.

This position has been designated as Security Sensitive. Pursuant to section 410 of Chapter 4 of the D.C. Personnel Regulations; in addition to the general suitability screening, individuals applying for or occupying security sensitive positions are subject to the following checks and tests: Criminal background check; Sex Offender Registry check; Traffic record check (as applicable); Consumer credit check (as applicable); Reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol test; and Post‑accident or incident drug and alcohol test.

The Specialist, Systems Administrator will report to the Director, IT Infrastructure and Operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

• Provides level 2 in-person and virtual business and education platforms support to DCPS staff and students by serving as an escalation point from the service desk.
• Documents incidents, problems, and service requests through the district’s ITSM.
• Follows strict service level agreements to ensure timely service.
• Supports the configuration of business and education platforms to ensure requirements are implemented with fidelity. Performs ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting of instructional platforms and applications to ensure their ongoing availability, stability, and compliance with established standards and security requirements, including but not limited to setting up users, roles, security, and internal system notifications.
• Works closely with various senior-level system administrators and business application owners on SSO, data, and systems integrations.
• Develops secure automated solutions for administrative and domain management tasks.
• Maintains, administers, and supports Office 365, Entra, Teams, and Exchange.
• Assists in administering mission critical instructional platforms such as Clever, Canvas, LightSpeed, and Adobe.
• Assist in administering school operation and administrative applications.
• Interfaces with Microsoft and other solution providers for any tier 3 support requirements.
• Develops concise and accurate engineering and knowledgebase documentation, including design plans, implementation guides, knowledge guides, and standard operating procedures.
• Identifies risks and problems and conducts qualitative and quantitative analysis to generate and evaluate alternatives and to make recommendations.
• Works closely with the academic and education technology teams to gather requirements and implement solutions to meet desired outcomes.
• Follows organizational change management processes and standard operating procedures to plan for and implement continuous improvements of the environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three to five years of related work experience, including a minimum of three years of enterprise level Azure/AD/Office 365 Administration experience.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus.
• Microsoft Azure and Office 365 certifications.
• High degree of system‑specific knowledge and a background in the various technologies and practices required by DCPS, including: Entra ID, VDI platform, Office 365 Suite, Canvas and Clever.
• Excellent understanding and working knowledge of PowerShell and the ability to create and maintain scripts for effective use with exchange/Office 365 and Azure environments.
• Experience with the integration of Office 365 with third party security and application tools.
• Strong communication skills and experience partnering with senior IT and program leadership.
• Must be able to express key ideas and obtain tangible feedback from cross‑functional team members and stakeholders.
• Works well with clients and other vendors in achieving mission success and is committed to providing quality products and services.
• Obsessive attention to detail and accuracy of information.
• Must be available after hours and on weekends to respond to urgent requests and emergencies as needed.

DCPS Values

• STUDENTS FIRST: We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.
• COURAGE: We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK‑12 success.
• EQUITY: We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.
• EXCELLENCE: We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.
• TEAMWORK: We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.
• JOY: We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals with disabilities. Accommodation and/or application assistance is available upon request at all stages of the application and employment process. To request accommodation, please contact [e-mail].