Chief Information Officer; CIO

Central New Mexico Community College Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Academic Career & Executive Search is pleased to assist Central New Mexico Community College in its search for Chief Information Officer.

For full consideration, please apply by March 2, 2026.

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) is at a strategic inflection point. As New Mexico’s largest community college, CNM is advancing a bold strategic vision centered on student success, workforce relevance, equity, and long‑term financial sustainability. Achieving this vision requires enterprise transformation, not incremental optimization, and technology is a central lever in that work.

CNM has demonstrated, and will continue to demonstrate, a commitment to investing in innovation and modernization, with a clear expectation that technology investments produce measurable results and sustainable value. This role is designed for an experienced CIO with strong business acumen, who is ready to lead at scale, shape enterprise direction, and leave a lasting institutional legacy.

Reporting directly to the President, the CIO serves as a trusted advisor to the President and Executive Cabinet and engages with the Governing Board on technology strategy, digital risk, and institutional readiness. As a cabinet‑level executive, the CIO is empowered to modernize enterprise platforms, strengthen digital foundations, and deliver measurable improvements in institutional performance, shaping CNM’s future and leaving a lasting institutional legacy.

The CIO is a collaborative, strategic partner who balances innovative transformation with operational stability across all mission‑critical systems. This role carries clear decision rights and institutional backing to:

• Establish enterprise technology standards and architectural direction.
• Lead prioritization of major technology investments in alignment with institutional strategy.
• Oversee cybersecurity posture, digital risk management, and institutional resilience.
• Direct vendor, sourcing, and shared services strategies.

The CIO will provide executive oversight for an established Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and a highly capable IT leadership team, setting enterprise direction and ensuring alignment across cybersecurity, digital platforms, and institutional priorities.

Serving nearly 30,000 learners annually, CNM’s mission is deeply rooted in access, completion, and economic mobility, positioning the College as a critical driver of the region’s educational and workforce success. The ideal CIO will be committed to this mission and ready to lead enterprise change at scale.

• Serve as CNM’s senior executive leader for technology‑enabled transformation.
• Translate institutional strategy into a clear, outcome‑driven enterprise IT and digital roadmap.
• Act as a strategic partner to the President and Cabinet on modernization, cybersecurity risk, and innovation investments.
• Lead CNM’s progression toward higher IT maturity, moving from reactive service delivery to proactive, value‑driven enablement.

• Ensure reliable, secure, and resilient delivery of core IT services, including infrastructure, networks, enterprise applications, cloud platforms, and end‑user services.
• Provide executive oversight and strategic alignment for the CISO function, ensuring effective cybersecurity, identity and access management, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation.
• Develop and maximize operational benefits of CNM’s participation in the New Mexico Collaborative for Higher Education Shared Services (CHESS), particularly in enterprise shared services, cybersecurity, and enterprise applications.
• Establish service management disciplines and performance metrics that ensure accountability and transparency.

• Partner with academic and administrative leaders to modernize instructional, student‑facing, and business processes through technology.
• Collaborate with the Chief Data Officer (CDO) to align enterprise platforms and integration capabilities with data strategy, analytics priorities, and institutional research needs.
• Enable the…