| Vice President and Chief Information Officer Fordham University Fordham University seeks a collaborative, engaging leader to serve as the Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO). The CIO reports to the Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, has full access to the senior leadership of the University, and actively works with academic and administrative colleagues to help Fordham leverage data and technology to further its mission and goals. The CIO will join a vibrant institution with multiple locations in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic cities. They will help Fordham realize important strategic initiatives including growing online programs, supporting computationally intensive graduate and undergraduate programs, enabling innovative pedagogy and further personalizing student services and enhancing on-going alumni engagement. About Fordham University Founded in 1841 on the grounds of Rose Hill Manor in the Bronx by Bishop John Hughes, Fordham University opened its doors as St. John’s College. In 1846, the State of New York chartered the College, and Bishop Hughes transferred control of the College to a contingent of French Jesuits. Under a 1907 New York Board of Regents charter amendment, St. John’s College changed its corporate name to Fordham University. Today, Fordham University stands as an independent, Jesuit, Catholic institution comprising nine schools and colleges across three campuses in New York. The University is dedicated to providing an education that, in the Jesuit tradition, aims for more than the transmission of technical or professional skills. To individuals of all and of no religious persuasion, Fordham encourages the cultivation of the whole person, fosters academic experiences that promote depth of thought and imagination, and promotes the pursuit of justice in accordance with the enduring values of Catholic social thought. Fordham affirms that reason and faith complement each other in the pursuit of wisdom, and encourages a maturation of faith consonant with intellectual and moral development while fostering critical thinking, ethical reflection and precise expression. Although rooted in a tradition nearly 500 years old, Fordham strives to develop excellent 21st century leaders who are capable of negotiating both the possibilities and the challenges posed by modern technology in our global society. More than 16,500 students are taught by a fulltime faculty of approximately 800 on campuses in Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester County in New York. The University has a campus in London and supports programs in China and South Africa. The University has an annual operating budget of approximately $650 million and an endowment of $850 million. The CIO Agenda The CIO is the principal member of the University’s executive leadership team responsible for devising the University’s technology strategy in support of teaching, learning, research and operations. Working in collaboration with faculty, key administrators, and IT staff, the CIO will build on past successes and articulate a vision and roadmap for technology and data that include: - Enhancing support to faculty to enable connections between 21st century best practices in academic technology and Fordham's mission as the Jesuit University of New York
- Creating capacity to facilitate the development and delivery of online programs
- Positioning the University to use data in decision-making by improving data governance and data management practices, integrating data sources and increasing organizational capabilities
- Enhancing student and faculty research initiatives through the implementation of a robust IT infrastructure, while maintaining an appropriate continuum of on-premise and cloud-based computational resources
- Supporting the digital transformation of administrative and student service processes
- Facilitating a vision for tracking and enabling student, alumni and other constituent engagement and interactions and developing a long-term direction for administrative systems
- Building the structures, competencies and processes within Fordham IT to enable it to provide excellent service and adapt to continued technology change
- Creating additional physical and virtual spaces to enable collaborations
- Keeping abreast of emerging technology and strategic IT issues across industries to position Fordham to adopt relevant innovations
The CIO will create an IT governance structure that embraces the University’s commitment to shared governance and effectively aligns technology priorities with Fordham’s strategy and resources. It is expected that the CIO will assess the delivery of technology and information services across the campuses, academic and administrative units. They will facilitate efforts to leverage ties to technology partners and the City’s growing tech economy to bring appropriate technologies to Fordham to improve the student and alumni experience and will work collaboratively with the Provost, Deans, Career Center, Development and University Relations to develop multi-dimensional partnerships with technology companies. About Fordham IT The CIO will lead the Fordham IT team, presently organized into five major divisions: enterprise technology services, information security, instructional technology/academic computing, software services and information architecture, and strategic planning and innovation. The CIO works in close consultation with the IT directors for the School of Law, School of Business, University Library and Enrollment Services to establish standards and coordinate services. Leading a staff of more than 160 employees and contractors, the CIO oversees the development and execution of an annual operating budget of $38 million, including IT staff compensation and benefits, as well as the University’s technology capital budget. Fordham IT has a strong foundation to enable new strategic directions. It has a diverse and dedicated staff with a blend of deep Fordham experience and technical knowledge brought from multiple industries. The University has regularly invested in the renewal and replacement of its core infrastructure and classroom technology. It has a mature information security program and well-defined security plan. Fordham has a cloud-first strategy and runs its ERP, learning management system, collaboration and communication suite in managed cloud environments. With support from University leadership, IT is championing new strategic initiatives to replace its web content management system through a digital experience platform (DXP), and providing students and faculty with access to an innovation space in the Library (LITE). Professional Experiences and Personal Qualities The successful candidate will have excellent leadership, management, collaboration and persuasive communications skills. A bachelor’s degree or seven or more years of significant management experience in a comparably complex IT organization is required. At the University’s discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be excepted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the University, an equivalent combination of education and experience preparing the candidate for success in the position. Additional required skills and qualifications include: - Experience building and leading teams and developing staff
- Excels at listening, communication, facilitation, and collaborations
- Commitment to creating a culture welcoming of diversity and fostering equity and inclusion
- Adept at balancing the needs of diverse constituents and establishes clear priorities
- An ability to build support for a major investment or decision in a consensus-driven organization
- Track record of successfully planning and managing complex IT services and projects
- Demonstrates awareness of key issues and trends in broad areas of technology including infrastructure, cloud services, data management, mobility, and security
- Financial acumen and experience developing and managing operating and capital budgets
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