Executive Director, IT Strategy and Operations

IT Strategy

• Develop and maintain the enterprise IT strategic roadmap aligned with organizational strategic priorities.
• Lead long-range planning for technology modernization, digital transformation, infrastructure lifecycle management, and operational scalability.
• Advise executive leadership on emerging technologies, operational risks, and enterprise technology opportunities.
• Conduct continuous IT service rationalization and make recommendations on operational improvements based on customer satisfaction, service effectiveness and financial impact.
• Establish and maintain enterprise IT governance, standards, and reporting to enable effective decision-making, risk management, and accountability.

Portfolio Management

• Lead enterprise IT portfolio management across intake, prioritization, planning, execution, and delivery, including resource, capacity, risk, and dependency management, to ensure alignment with organizational priorities and delivery within scope, budget, and timeline.
• Collaborate with service owners to define and track operational metrics, cost-efficiency benchmarks, and service outcomes.
• Conduct ad-hoc analysis (financial, strategic, operational) and advise the CIO with concise, specific metrics and recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to improve the use of resources and tools for managing projects and evaluating progress and outcomes.
• Develop and lead the division-wide IT Project Management efforts to deliver on organizational priorities and technology strategy.
• Partner with executive leadership, business units, and technology teams to direct strategic IT programs and technology investments, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and the successful delivery of business outcomes.

Software License Management

• Develop and lead a university-wide centralization of software license management.
• Collaborate with centralized procurement to consolidate purchasing, leveraging bulk academic discounts, and preventing departmental duplication of digital resources.
• Establish processes for managing enterprise software contracts.
• Collaborate with the Information Security Office and Procurement to achieve appropriate vendor compliance with university information resource security requirements.

Administrative Operations and Facilities

• Oversee key functions such as vendor management, procurement, inventory control, administrative coordination, and financial operations (e.g., purchasing, PCard coordination) not covered by centralized shared services.
• Manage IT building operations, space planning, and coordination of physical infrastructure for IT units, both within UITS-managed spaces as well as in collaboration with unit leadership when IT needs are best met via space allocation in other locations.
• Monitor technology expenditures and identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and cost optimization.
• Oversee vendor relationships, contract performance, procurement coordination, and licensing management, in partnership with Procurement Office.
• Support enterprise technology investment planning and total cost of ownership analysis. Establish operational accountability for technology asset and resource utilization.

Team Leadership

• Provide leadership, mentoring, and performance management for assigned managers, teams, and operational leaders.
• Support workforce planning, succession planning, and organizational development initiatives.
• Promote effective communication across technical and non-technical stakeholder groups.
• Lead organizational change management efforts related to enterprise technology initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of ITIL or equivalent service management frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and manage complex operational environments.
• Knowledge of facilities operations or space management within an IT or institutional setting.
• Strong analytical skills and experience developing operational dashboards or service metrics.
• Proven leadership in building collaborative, customer-focused teams.
• Proven ability to assess organizational needs, manage competing priorities, resolve challenges, and adapt strategies to achieve desired outcomes.
• Knowledgeable in organizational development, process improvement, and change management principles, with experience evaluating existing workflows and designing effective solutions for evolving business needs.
• Skilled in leading teams through periods of transition by establishing clear expectations, fostering open communication, and building trust among stakeholders.