Director, University Systems

Director, University Systems

University of Chicago

$/yr - $/yr

OPS ITS - Enterprise Applications and Services

The Director for University Systems provides strategic and operational leadership for a portfolio of enterprise applications and shared services that support the student lifecycle, administrative operations, research administration, and alumni engagement. The Director leads and develops a multi‑disciplinary team of 20+ IT professionals; partners closely with Campus and Student Life, Enrollment and Student Success, Alumni Relations and Development, Financial Services, and University Research Administration;

and ensures that platforms are reliable, secure, user‑centered, and aligned to institutional priorities. The Director drives organizational transformation through modern delivery practices (Agile, Dev Ops/CI‑CD, cloud‑forward architectures), champions data governance and integration standards, and fosters a culture of service, learning, and inclusion.

• Provides vision and technical leadership for an ecosystem spanning ERP/HCM, student information, CRM/admissions, research administration, advancement, and web platforms; prioritizing reliability, cybersecurity, scalability, and user experience.
• Establishes annual roadmaps and service level agreements (SLAs) for each platform in partnership with product owners; manages capacity, funding, and risk to deliver outcomes on time and within budget.
• Adopts and matures Agile and Dev Ops practices (CI/CD, automated testing, infrastructure as code) to increase delivery speed and quality while reducing technical debt.
• Leads operational excellence across incident, problem, change, and release management; ensures disaster recovery and business continuity plans are current and tested.
• Builds, mentors, and retains a diverse, high‑performing organization with clear goals, career paths, and continuous learning in cloud, integration, data engineering, AI, and security.
• Cultivates a culture of accountability, inclusion, and collaboration that supports the mission of the University and IT Services.
• Executes disciplined vendor and contract management, negotiates SLAs, tracks performance, and manages renewals and compliance with University policies and regulations.
• Serves as primary technology partner to Campus and Student Life, Enrollment and Student Success including Admissions/Financial Aid, Alumni Relations and Development, and University Research Administration.
• Strengthens trust and transparency with regular communication, shared scorecards, and joint roadmap reviews; ensures governance bodies can prioritize work based on institutional value.
• Collaborates closely with distributed IT leaders, data stewards, and faculty/administrative stakeholders to align architectures, data standards, and service expectations.
• Champions user‑centered design and co‑creation with end users; incorporates feedback loops, usability testing, and change‑management practices to improve adoption and satisfaction.
• Translates University strategy and Enterprise Application Systems priorities into actionable multi‑year technology roadmaps; articulates benefits, risks, costs, and change impacts.
• Oversees portfolio intake, estimation, and execution across projects and products; applies benefits‑realization practices and reports progress through KPIs and OKRs.
• Sponsors initiatives such as student system modernization, admissions CRM optimization, master data management, and API/integration platform maturity.
• Identifies and removes impediments to delivery; escalates and resolves issues that threaten scope, schedule, budget, security, or value.
• Coordinates cross‑functional work with Academic Technology Services and other IT functions; communicates progress to governance committees and executive sponsors.
• Actively participates in the Change Advisory Board, Operational Leadership Group, Student Data Lifecycle Committee, and other committees as required.
• Contributes to responsible AI enablement in administrative applications, accessibility compliance, and continuous service improvement initiatives, including identify and evaluate AI capabilities within…