Chief Information Officer

Scope and Responsibilities
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) makes strategic recommendations for information technology infrastructure, services, and security required for existence, operation, and management of an enterprise IT environment for students, faculty, and staff. The role is an important part of the executive leadership team and reports into the Chief Financial Officer.
The CIO role can be divided into three main roles:

1. Chief Information Officer – Strategy/mission/vision focus
2. Chief Integration Officer – Strategy/alignment within the enterprise/institution focus
3. Chief Infrastructure Officer – Technical/infrastructure focus

The Department of Information Technology currently operates as a central systemwide IT group of 350 employees with a budget just over $100M. The current teams include business strategy, technology strategy, shared services, research strategy, design/data/development, campus and community engagement, service management and operational excellence, and security and risk management.
Under President Harroz’ leadership and direction from the Board of Trustees, the IT group has transformed over the last five years into a more-centralized IT organization. Focus is on growth, research, becoming data driven, protecting information technology assets and data. Progress has been made in centralizing resources, rationalizing systems, integrating systems with more efforts required on this transformation.
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) will oversee OU’s well-defined infrastructure and lead in fine-tuning prioritization and consistency in the delivery of IT services. The CIO will work to further define and implement a business aligned comprehensive IT strategy and risk management framework. The CIO must be a forward-looking and transformative leader who aligns and leverages technology to ensure cost-effective delivery of efficient, secure, and reliable IT services.

Specific Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic planning for IT initiatives and technologies that directly support the success of instruction, research, administration, and community service.
• Advise key stakeholders in defining appropriate measurements and metrics to ensure strategic alignment, risk management, benefits/value delivery and efficiency.
• Provide strategic oversight, direction, and planning of critical application development and IT infrastructure projects.
• Plan major IT initiatives, identify goals and objectives and develop and prioritize projects.
• Lead efforts to achieve cost efficiencies.
• Establish disaster recovery of enterprise IT environment aligned with business requirements.
• Develop business case justifications and cost benefit analysis for IT spending.
• Establish service level agreements and metrics to proactively take steps to improve services and their quality and effectiveness.
• Monitor and analyze emerging technology trends and advancements, evaluate technology solutions, and work with university administration to select solutions that best meet university students, faculty, and staff.
• Track incidents to develop, prioritize, and implement a response plan and monitor customer satisfaction.
• Plan and initiate improvements in campus infrastructure, applications, and end-user devices based on incident analysis.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and university regulations, policies, and standards.
• Advise the university on matters related to information technology.
• Oversee provision of end-user service, including help desk and technical support services
• Develop, successfully implement, and oversee strategic technology policies throughout the university.
• Reinforce a culture of excellent customer service to faculty, students, research, and staff.
• Lead focused initiatives for academic technology, research data management, supercomputing, and digital learning resources.
• Monitor quality control to coordinate technical efforts with university goals.
• Encourage and support collaboration between campuses to share solutions and efficiencies.
• Evaluate the cost of all large contracts, products, and services against university goals and consult executive financial stakeholders for wider budget impacts.

Selection Criteria
University of Oklahoma is seeking an experienced IT leader with experience implementing change while navigating the need for more controls and efficiency in a decentralized environment.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Minimum 10 years of relevant work experience in technical management concentrating on advanced information technology systems and operations.
• An MBA or Masters in, IT, CIS, Computer Science, or related field is preferred.
• Extensive demonstrated experience in the monitoring, management, oversight, and strategic expansion of communications and system infrastructures, advanced network structure, and enterprise applications with a mix of centralized and distributed environments.
• Extensive experience in deploying and implementing secure enterprise technology systems and processes in a complex environment that meet regulatory and contractual requirements as well as provide resilient and highly available services.
• Experience in cloud or shared technology deployments among multiple institutions.
• Demonstrated experience in service development, deployment, and management.
• Higher education experience is preferred.
• Experience aligning and prioritizing business needs with required changes in IT infrastructure and processes.

Compensation
An attractive compensation package will be offered based upon background and experience, including base salary, and an excellent benefits plan.

Belonging Statement
The University of Oklahoma, fosters an inclusive culture of respect and civility, belonging, and access, which are essential to our collective pursuit of excellence and our determination to change lives. The unique talents, perspectives, and experiences of our community enrich the learning, and working environment at OU, inspiring us to harness our innovation, creativity, and collaboration for the advancement of people everywhere.