Director of IT

A smart move for your career.     

Join our team, and you’ll work with a damn good group of seasoned professionals who thrive on a culture of respect, support, and being refreshingly easygoing. We invest heavily in personal and professional development.

This is an opportunity to create vision for the IT team and Firm. Perkins is the largest locally owned accounting firm in Oregon and growing. We’re in early stages of leveraging automation and AI in our business. The IT team is in transition, and the Firm is evolving for the future. This is a true leadership position where you can have tremendous impact as you collaborate with other leaders to guide the firm through this evolution.

Essential Duties

• Collaborate with the IT Steering Committee and Operations to develop and implement IT strategies that support the firm’s overall goals and objectives.
• Oversee the design, implementation, and maintenance of the firm’s IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, and telecommunications systems.
• Oversee the firm’s information security program and document management systems and address safety and risk management concerns.
• Develop and execute a forward-thinking IT strategy, emphasizing security, automation, and technological advancements.
• Manage the selection, implementation, and integration of software applications used across the firm, including accounting, tax, and client management systems.
• Lead and mentor a team of IT professionals, providing guidance, support, and professional development opportunities.

A culture where flexibility and balance add up to success.

Public accounting is a demanding profession, which is the very reason for our ‘people-first’ culture. We invite, support, and celebrate remote work. We trust our people so there’s no need to micromanage schedules or scrutinize “butts in seats” to know that great work is getting done. In fact, over 20% of our employees are fully remote from outside of the Pacific Northwest.

Nonetheless, given the nature of responsibilities in this leadership role, we have a strong preference for a local candidate who will embrace a hybrid work model, regularly working in-office at least two days per week. Highly qualified, non-local candidates may be considered if they’re willing to spend three to five consecutive workdays in Portland, OR, four times per year. When in the office, you’ll enjoy beautiful surroundings, ample public transportation options, paid parking, a bike garage, gym for employees, lots of complimentary snacks, and other amenities.

Time off to recharge.

Empowering our staff with ample time off is central to how we operate and an important component to giving you the time you need to recharge. In addition to five weeks of PTO, enjoy 14.5 paid holidays and paid leave options, including parental leave. We even have a sabbatical program.

What makes you a fit for this role?  

You’re an excellent leader with a track record of building teams, facilitating strong performance, and fostering collaboration across departments. You’re accustomed to working directly with executive teams or company owners, and you’re flexible to meet changing business needs. You’re organized. You have deep project management experience—appropriately prioritize/deprioritize, keep things moving, bring all the right people into the planning and discussion, anticipate and resolve problems, etc. for effective execution and completion of projects. You’re creative in finding solutions, and work with your smart colleagues to do so. You’re decisive as needed, but you’re even keeled (or at least can fake it). Finally, you must have a sense of humor and be able to “let your hair down” and have some fun. We take our work seriously around here, but not our egos.

For those who like a checklist of qualifications, here you go:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or a related field; or 10+ years related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• 8+ years of experience in IT leadership roles, preferably in a professional services or public accounting environment.
• Experience with IT governance frameworks such as ITIL or COBIT and familiarity with relevant regulatory requirements and industry best practices.
• Proven track record of successfully managing complex IT projects and initiatives, from planning through implementation and ongoing support.
• Strong knowledge of management tools, such as JIRA and scripting languages, such as PowerShell.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms, such as Amazon, Azure and Google.
• Familiarity with legal and compliance requirements for document retention and destruction.
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of the following technology & tools:
• Microsoft Office 365, both cloud and desktop.
• Windows server and domain administration, such as AD and Exchange.
• Microsoft licensing programs and procedures.
• Azure Cloud Platform and virtual machine hosting.
• Entra ID and Microsoft 365 administration.
• Cloud infrastructure design tenants.
• Enterprise networking infrastructure.
• Experience with the following software would be a significant bonus:
• Any CCH (Wolters Kluwer) products or other tax accounting suites.
• CaseWare or other audit process and workflow tools.
• Atlassian Cloud, such as JIRA JSM, JWM and Confluence.
• Citrix Platform Services, such as Citrix Files.
• SharePoint site development and administration.
• Microsoft SQL concepts and administration.
• Microsoft Power BI and Automate.

Compensation and benefits:

• Salary range is $124K - $163K annually, varying DOE. Compensation may be adjusted for those who live in areas with a higher cost of labor than Portland, OR
• 401(k) profit sharing plan; immediate vesting of employer contributions 
• 14.5 paid holidays, 5 weeks of PTO, up to 12 weeks paid medical leave (includes parental leave) and a sabbatical program for all employees

See our full list of benefits.

A company you’ll feel proud to be part of.   

We don’t like to brag, but we have some significant accolades under our belt—all thanks to our passionate teams. At Perkins, we feel good about our work and love that our community feels good about it, too.   

• The largest women-owned accounting firm in Oregon & Clark and Skamania counties, WA.  
• 12th largest women-owned business in Oregon & Clark and Skamania counties, WA.  
• 3rd Most Diverse Accounting Firm in Portland Metro (Portland Business Journal)  
• Best of Accounting Diamond Award Winner for Exceptional Client Service (ClearlyRated)  
• #1 Most Admired Accounting firm in Oregon & SW Washington. 16 years on Oregon’s Most Admired Companies list (Portland Business Journal)  
• America’s Best Tax and Accounting Firms (Forbes) 
• America’s Most Recommended Tax and Accounting Firms 2024 (USA Today) 
• We AAM to Serve award for Corporate Philanthropic Efforts (Association for Accounting Marketing) 
• Best Accountant of Portland (Willamette Week reader’s poll) 

Whew! That was A LOT of information! If you’re still reading, this job clearly resonates and there’s a good chance that you’re just the sort of IT leader we’re looking for. You know you want to apply. Go for it.

We keep it simple: just submit your resume or LinkedIn profile—no tedious application form or cover letter required (but we read them if you include one). Areena McLaughlin, Director of Recruiting, or another member of the recruiting team will respond timely.

Perkins & Co is an Equal Opportunity Employer