JOB POSTING: Director, IT & Broadcast Services
About CKUA
CKUA is recognized as one of Canada’s first public broadcasters, and it continues to inspire and guide a world-wide community of loyal arts and culture enthusiasts along a journey of musical discovery every day. CKUA offers more than 45 expertly curated multi-genre musical programs, plus other enriching arts and cultural content on-air and online. CKUA serves 380 communities across Alberta with FM Radio and reaches listeners around the world with live-streaming and digital content through CKUA.com, the CKUA App, and social platforms. We are an inclusive, creative, hardworking group on a musical mission to enrich lives and support the arts.
Director, IT & Broadcast Services
Location: Edmonton | In-person | Full-Time | Non-Union
About the Opportunity
CKUA is looking for a people-focused leader to direct its IT & Broadcast Services department. This leadership role is responsible for the technology that keeps CKUA on the air 24 hours a day, including studios, on-air systems, transmitter sites across Alberta, streaming, IT infrastructure and cybersecurity.
You’ll be a member of CKUA’s Leadership Team and report to the Chief Operating Officer. You’ll have a say in organization-wide decisions and help your team understand the why behind them.
You’ll lead a small, talented team with skills across IT, broadcast, software and projects. Together, you’ll look after broadcast and transmission, IT systems, CKUA’s website and digital platforms, and the technology and operations of our historic downtown Edmonton building, where CKUA is both owner and landlord. With this much ground to cover, the role is both strategic and hands-on. And because CKUA broadcasts around the clock, it includes on-call availability for major outages and incidents.
This role suits a leader who puts people first, communicates clearly, and can turn a long-term plan into steady progress.
How You’ll Make an Impact
Leading people is at the core of this role. You’ll hold regular one-on-ones, set clear expectations, recognize good work and handle performance concerns with empathy and honesty. Scheduling, hiring and onboarding are part of the job, along with finding training that helps people grow. IT & Broadcast Services exists to serve and support the rest of CKUA. You’ll nurture a department that’s proactive, responsive and focused on making it easier for colleagues, hosts and volunteers to do their work.
As part of the Leadership Team, you’ll set the direction for how technology supports CKUA’s mission. You’ll build a multi-year technology strategy and capital plan, give clear recommendations on options, costs and risks, and make sure projects are well scoped and delivered on schedule.
You’ll be accountable for CKUA’s full on-air chain, from studios to transmitter sites and streaming. That means keeping maintenance and continuity plans current, meeting CRTC and ISED technical obligations, and being ready for busy periods like fundraising campaigns. When an outage happens, you’ll lead the response calmly and work alongside your team to fix it.
Security is another key responsibility. You’ll own CKUA’s cybersecurity program, partner on privacy and PIPEDA compliance, and help colleagues build good security habits. You’ll also lead how CKUA adopts new tools, including AI, with training built around how people actually work.
Because CKUA owns its building, building operations fall under your area too, including maintenance, access systems, and tenant technology services. You’ll also manage operating and capital budgets with the Director, Finance, and oversee vendor and transmitter site agreements.
When something goes wrong, whether it’s a broadcast outage, a network failure or a building issue, you’ll bring calm, steady leadership. You’ll make the hard calls, work alongside your team to resolve it, and make sure lessons learned lead to lasting improvements.
What We Offer
Purpose That Hits All the Right Notes: Keep Alberta’s voice for music, arts and culture on the air and online for listeners across the province and beyond.
A Seat at the Strategy Table: Join CKUA’s Leadership Team and help shape decisions across the organization.
Room to Make Your Mark: Shape CKUA’s technology direction and capital plan, and make the case for where to invest.
A Team to Lead and Grow: Coach and develop a dedicated team and help build its skills and future, working alongside colleagues, hosts and volunteers who care deeply about CKUA.
Variety in Your Work: Work across areas like broadcast, transmission, IT, cybersecurity and building operations.
Flexibility Where It Counts: A flexible, in-person work model that gives you room to manage your time, balanced with the needs of a 24/7 broadcaster.
Benefits That Support You: CKUA’s total rewards include comprehensive health and dental coverage, plus a pension plan.
A Workspace with Character: Our historic downtown Edmonton building is full of history and just the right number of vinyl records.
Work That Leaves a Legacy: Help carry CKUA into its next century by building technology that’s reliable, secure and ready for what comes next.
What You Bring
You are, first and foremost, a leader. You understand that leading a team means supporting people through challenges, having honest conversations when they are needed, and building an environment where people feel supported and want to do their best work. You lead with empathy and directness, and you are comfortable with the full range of what people leadership requires.
You’re also a strong communicator. You can explain a technical risk in plain language to a Board member or a colleague, you listen well, and you help people adjust when things change. Project planning and coordination come naturally to you, and you’ve managed technology budgets, capital plans and vendor contracts. Under pressure, you stay calm and make good decisions.
On the technical side, you bring broad, current, hands-on knowledge of IT infrastructure, and cybersecurity, along with having the judgment to know when to solve a problem yourself and when to guide your team through it. Experience in broadcast technology is considered an asset.
You will likely have a post-secondary degree or diploma in IT, Computer Science, Broadcast Technology, Engineering or a related field (or an equivalent combination of education and lived experience), along with 10 to 12 years of progressive experience in IT and/or broadcast technology, including at least five years of leadership. Experience in broadcast, media or another 24/7 operation is preferred. Experience with building operations, RF and transmission, or CRTC and ISED requirements is an asset, as are designations such as CBRE, CISSP, ITIL or PMP.
This role requires a valid Class 5 driver’s licence and a vehicle to travel to transmitter sites, availability for on-call and after-hours escalation.
Most of all, you bring a collaborative spirit and a strong alignment with CKUA’s values of Community, Diversity, Inclusion, Creativity, Curiosity and Authenticity, and you’re ready to lead a team that keeps CKUA connected and on air.
Additional Information
This leadership role is a full-time, non-union position within a union environment, which is federally regulated. This is a primarily an in-person role work located at CKUA’s downtown Edmonton office in the historic Alberta Hotel on Jasper Avenue, with flexibility to work from home from time to time when needed. The pay range for this position starts at $50.18 per hour and is based on a 40-hour work week.
In addition to comprehensive benefits and a pension plan, this role offers the opportunity to contribute to meaningful, community-powered arts and music programming that strengthens connections across the communities we serve.
How to Apply
If you’re ready to support CKUA’s mission and help create community connections through music, arts, and culture, we’d love to hear from you.
Please apply online through ADP at https://ckua.com/careers/. This position will be posted until our unicorn (read: ideal candidate) is found.
CKUA welcomes applications from all qualified individuals. We are particularly interested in and encourage applications from equity-seeking communities, including women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions.
CKUA is a donor-supported arts organization that inspires and connects through the power of music, arts, culture and story. With a focus on musical discovery, we showcase the best creative work from Alberta and beyond and deliver it on-air, online and in-person.
In the spirit of our journey to promote reconciliation, we honour the truth of the shared history and acknowledge that we operate on Treaty 6 and Treaty 7 territories.
Treaty 6 territory is the traditional gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples including the Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakoda, Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibway, Saulteaux/Anishinaabe and many others whose histories, languages and cultures continue to influence our vibrant community of Amiskwaciwaskahigan, also known as Edmonton. Treaty 7 is the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy which includes the Siksika, Kainai and Pikani, the Tsuut’ina and the Stoney Nakoda nations including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley nations. We also recognize the Métis people and the Inuit who make their home in Mohkins’tsis, also known as Calgary.
