Executive Director, IT Strategy and Operations

Executive Director, IT Strategy and Operations

University Information Technology Services (UITS) is the University of Arizona's central technology organization. UITS delivers enterprise and specialized technology services that support students, faculty, researchers, staff, and campus partners. Through innovation, strategic partnerships, and a commitment to accessibility and continuous improvement, UITS supports the evolving needs of a leading research university and the communities it serves.

Reporting directly to the CIO, the Executive Director, IT Strategy and Operations provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for enterprise technology planning, portfolio management, and administrative operations in support of organizational priorities. The position is responsible for developing and maintaining the enterprise IT strategic roadmap, leading long-range planning for IT modernization, and translating executive priorities into actionable initiatives and measurable outcomes.

The position oversees enterprise IT portfolio management, strategic program execution, operational metrics, and data-driven analysis to support informed decision-making, resource optimization, and continuous improvement across the technology organization. The role further oversees administrative and operational functions for the division, ensuring alignment of technology investments, operational efficiency, cost optimization, and accountability for enterprise technology assets and resources.

Candidates working anywhere in the U.S. may be considered for a remote assignment, with strong preference for candidates able to work in a hybrid capacity from the Tucson, Arizona campus.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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• 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.

• 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.

• 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…