About Athena

Athena is a creative place for leaders, risk-takers, and boundary-pushers. We partner with organizations looking to transform their presence, reputation, and performance. For more than a decade, we’ve delivered business insights, marketing strategies, and brand activations for leading organizations across industries ranging from telecommunications to major league sports. 

Our people make Athena, Athena. As a three-time Philadelphia Inquirer Top Workplace, we pride ourselves on fostering an environment where passion meets excellence. We are solutions‑oriented, collaborative, and not afraid to roll up our sleeves to make work that works—while sharing a few laughs along the way. 

About the Role

The Senior team member owns  Athena’s technology, systems, security, and execution in full. This role is responsible for ensuring that Athena’s IT environment works reliably, securely, and without friction so the business can move fast and deliver for clients.

This is a hands-on and onsite leadership role requiring enterprise thinking, strong technical judgment, and a solution-oriented mindset. The Senior Lead is expected to see issues early, make informed decisions, and act as the senior technical escalation point for the organization.

The person in this role will operate within Athena’s Information Security framework and will work closely with executive leadership and security stakeholders to ensure that technology systems and operations align with established governance, risk, and compliance requirements.  This role will have access to sensitive Athena and client information, which must be handled with integrity, discretion, and professionalism.

Key Responsibilities:

IT Ownership & Leadership

• Serve as the single point of accountability for Athena’s IT environment
• Own technology decisions, prioritization, execution, and outcomes
• Acts as the senior technical escalation point for complex system, endpoint, identity, and integration issues
• Operates as a hands-on leader, directly engaging in system configuration, troubleshooting, and implementation as needed
• Partner closely with Executive Leadership, HR, Operations, and Information Security
• Evaluate and manage external vendors, consultants, and managed service providers, including performance, cost, and operational effectiveness
• Partner with executive leadership on vendor selection, risk evaluation, and contractual considerations
• Coordinate with external IT partners to ensure system interoperability, clear ownership boundaries, and consistent operational standards

Systems, Tools & Infrastructure

• Own and oversee Athena’s core systems, including:
• • Endpoint management (Mac & PC)
  • Identity and access management, including role-based access control, lifecycle management, and integration across systems
  • Collaboration and productivity tools
  • HRIS and business systems (e.g., Rippling)
• Ensure systems are stable, scalable, and support a hybrid workforce
• Oversee hardware lifecycle, procurement, inventory, and asset tracking
• Ensure secure and consistent identity management through Athena’s identity provider and connected systems

Security, Compliance & Risk

• Serve as the primary IT point of contact for technology-related controls and requirements within Athena’s information security program
• Implement, maintain, and continuously improve technology controls aligned with ISO 27001 and other applicable security and risk frameworks
• Translate security, compliance, and risk requirements into operational procedures, configurations, and system controls
• Monitor system health, logs, and security alerts; lead IT response efforts during incidents, including triage, investigation, and remediation
• Ensure strong operational controls across user access, endpoints, data protection, and technology assets
• Implement systems, processes, and controls aligned with organizational data governance, retention, and privacy requirements
• Ensure technology solutions support secure handling and appropriate lifecycle management of organizational and client data
• Partner with executive leadership and security stakeholders to ensure IT systems and processes align with defined governance policies and risk management objectives

Employee IT Experience

• Own end‑to‑end IT onboarding and offboarding in partnership with HR
• Ensure employees receive timely, clear, and solution‑oriented support
• Establish and enforce IT service standards focused on responsiveness and resolution
• Translate technical issues into business‑ready answers for leaders and employees

Execution, Documentation & Improvement

• Develop, document, and maintain SOPs, standards, and IT operating procedures
• Maintain documentation for systems, tools, processes, and recovery plans
• Identify inefficiencies, risks, and gaps, and execute related corrective actions
• Identify, prioritize, and execute IT improvement objectives in alignment with Athena executive team priorities, and execute those improvements with a focus on simplicity and effectiveness
• Lead planning, coordination, and communication for system changes, rollouts, and upgrades to minimize disruption, ensure successful adoption, and document appropriately according to change management policies
• Establish and meet defined service levels for system availability, request response, and issue resolution
• Drive measurable improvements in system performance, reliability, and employee IT experience
• Support technology integration and collaboration across partner organizations and newly onboarded teams, ensuring secure system alignment, clear ownership boundaries, and consistent employee experience

Additional Responsibilities

• Stay current on relevant enterprise IT and security trends
• Recommend improvements aligned to Athena’s size, growth, and risk profile
• Participate in leadership and cross‑functional meetings as needed
• Perform other duties within the scope and expectations of the role

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Athena expects the Senior Information Technology Lead to demonstrate:

• Enterprise‑level thinking paired with hands‑on execution
• Strong independent judgment and comfort making decisions without perfect information
• Critical thinking and structured problem solving
• Clear, direct communication with technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Strong organization, follow‑through, and accountability
• Strong troubleshooting and diagnostic skills across a wide range of enterprise systems and technologies
• Ability to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment
• Ownership mentality, being accountable for outcomes, not just processes 

Education & Experience

• 7+ years of progressive IT experience, including ownership of systems, vendors, and operational outcomes
• Proven experience supporting hybrid or distributed teams
• Demonstrated ability to operate strategically and execute tactically
• Cloud‑first, SaaS‑based environment experience required
• Experience with ISO 27001, SOC 2, Secure Controls Framework (SCF), or comparable internationally recognized security and risk frameworks strongly preferred
• Endpoint management, identity/access management, and systems administration experience required
• Demonstrated experience acting as a technical escalation point and independently resolving complex system and infrastructure issues
• HRIS and business systems experience a plus
• Relevant certifications a plus, but not required

Benefits

·      Medical and dental benefits, including a $1,100 Health Reimbursement Account

·      401(k) with employer match

·      Generous PTO policy

·      Substantial parental leave policy

·      Hybrid work environment

Our application process is simple, transparent, and painless, and we’re excited to meet candidates like you. Let’s get started.

Athena is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

If you need assistance applying, please contact us at 866.299.6040 or visit https://AthenaGlobalAdvisors.com.