IT Systems Manager, Firm Operations

Founded in 2023, Crete Professionals Alliance (Crete PA) delivers big four firepower to local American firms. Our rapid growth has made us a magnet for leading firms nationwide, eager to join our revolution in accounting. We empower small to mid-market firms with PE-backed capital, strategic technology partnerships, and innovative workforce solutions—including national recruiting and offshore support—while preserving a personal, local touch.

With a presence in over half the US, 30+ regional offices, 1,000+ dedicated professionals, and offshore operations in Asia, we're the fastest-growing accounting firm in the nation and well on our way to the Top 20. At Crete PA, our culture and relationships are the cornerstone of our success, and we’re always looking for talented, ambitious people to join our team.

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled IT Systems Manager with deep expertise in enterprise infrastructure and cloud technologies and proven leadership in M&A integration playbook execution to oversee and continually improve our firm’s cloud-centric IT environment. This role is responsible for ensuring reliable, scalable, and secure systems that support our partner firms across the organization and meet enterprise standards. The ideal candidate brings strong experience in global enterprise IT operations, cloud-first architecture, and application support within the CPA or professional services industry and high growth platform companies.

Key Responsibilities

IT Operations & Enterprise Support

• Provide support to firm operations including service desk, endpoint management, patching, monitoring, and incident response.

• Ensure stable support for tax, audit, workflow, and document applications commonly used by CPA firms.

• Establish ITIL-aligned processes that enhance reliability, uptime, and partner-firm satisfaction.

• Ensure system uptime, performance, and reliability by proactively monitoring and resolving issues before they impact operations.

• Assist firms with life cycling technology assets and implementing industry leading solutions such as cloud-based platforms, LAN/WAN infrastructure, firewalls/VPN’s, and backup systems

M&A Integration Leadership

• Lead the planning, due diligence, and execution of IT integration playbooks, ensuring smooth technology alignment and rapid adoption of corporate standards.

• Assess acquired firm infrastructure, identity, and application landscapes to design structured and relevant technology roadmaps.

• Coordinate cross-functional projects, timelines, communications, budgets, resource allocations, and change management.

Systems & Infrastructure

• Lead the configuration, optimization, and governance of Microsoft 365, Active Directory, Azure AD, Intune/Endpoint Manager, and related enterprise services.

• Assist firms with maintenance, configuration, and support of on-premises, hybrid, and cloud-based systems including servers, virtualization platforms, storage, identity management, and endpoint management tools.

• Ensure a modern, seamless end-user experience across all partner firms through standardization, automation, and proactive monitoring.

• Oversee identity and access management using Microsoft Entra ID, including Conditional Access, MFA, SSO integrations, identity governance, and privileged identity management.

• Maintain secure, scalable identity architecture that supports cross-firm collaboration and onboarding of acquired or partner entities.

• Manage and optimize Azure services including compute, storage, networking, virtual desktops, security services, and hybrid-cloud integrations.

• Design and maintain scalable infrastructure architectures aligned with best practices in availability, performance, and cost management.

• Oversee Azure governance, resource organization, policies, and automation frameworks for consistent standards across partner firms.

• Support the implementation and management of modern security platforms including Microsoft Defender XDR, Intune, and other security-related tools.

Leadership & Strategic Alignment

• Manage and mentor IT staff, promoting a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.

• Ensure all systems adhere to firm, client, and industry regulatory requirements relevant to CPA and professional services.

• Contribute to the development of technology standards, cloud strategy, and long-term infrastructure roadmaps.

• Work closely with partner firms and business leaders to align technology with organizational goals and operational needs.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.

• 5–8+ years managing enterprise IT environments with strong focus on Microsoft 365, Entra ID, and Azure.

• Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining reliable, scalable cloud systems.

• Experience supporting CPA/professional services applications and operations.

• Proven success leading M&A technology integration projects for high-growth platform companies.

• Strong communication, leadership, and project management skills.

Preferred:

• Microsoft certifications (AZ-104, MS-102, SC-300/400, AZ-305, or equivalent).

• ITIL certification and/or experience with mature ITSM processes.

• Experience implementing Zero Trust, cloud governance, and automation frameworks.

• Background in hybrid and cloud-only modernization initiatives.

Crete Professionals Alliance is an equal opportunity employer, considering all applicants for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state of federal law.