Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Applications and Services

University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

63d • $250,000 - $260,000

About The Position

The Assistant Vice President for Enterprise Applications and Services (AVP) is a member of the IT Senior Leadership team and provides strategic and operational leadership for the University’s enterprise applications portfolio, including Student, Finance, HR/Payroll, Research Administration, Alumni/Advancement, Facilities, and communications platforms, and the shared services that support them (data services, integration, web, and reporting/analytics). The AVP sets a clear vision, builds strong partnerships with business and academic leaders, and leads a high‑performing organization to deliver reliable services while re-architecting services and service delivery. This role stewards a sustainable financial model (operating funds, recharge, and capital), ensures disciplined governance and value realization, and champions a culture of service, learning, and inclusion. The AVP partners with other IT senior leaders to collaboratively develop strategic and organizational plans, budgets, and prioritization.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 10+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s or master's degree in computer science , i nformation t echnology, b usiness a dministration, or a related field.
• Fifteen ( 15) + years leading enterprise‑scale administrative systems, including delivery of large‑scale application implementations across on‑premises and cloud platforms.
• At least three (3) years in an R1 university or comparably complex environment managing a portfolio that includes custom‑developed and third‑party solutions (client‑server, SaaS, cloud, and web).
• Proven success leading organizations of 75+ technology professionals (direct and indirect) through transformation, such as modernizing platforms, processes, and skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of AI/automation in administrative processes, including document processing, service management, and analytics, with responsible‑use practices.
• Successful leadership of ERP and enterprise platform implementations and ongoing operations, such as financials, HCM/payroll, student, and CRM.
• Hands‑on experience advancing data governance, master data management, APIs/integration, and business intelligence/analytics in a federated environment.
• P roven track record of migration initiatives from on-premise and cloud-based systems to Software as a Service ( SaaS ) environments .
• Project Management Professional (PMP), ITIL Foundation or higher, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or comparable credentials.
• Proficient with platforms such as Oracle Financials, Workday HCM, Salesforce, Slate, and modern data/analytics stacks.
• Skilled in vendor management across managed services , Software as a Service ( SaaS ) , P latform as a Service ( PaaS ) , Integration as a Service ( IaaS ) , and b usiness process outsourcing ( BPO ) support models, ensuring performance alignment, cost optimization, SLA adherence, and strategic partnership management .
• Regulatory and risk awareness - familiarity with FERPA, HIPAA, GDPR, accessibility, and cybersecurity best practices.
• Track record building strong partnerships with academic and administrative leaders to co‑deliver measurable outcomes, such as student success, research support, and operational efficiency.
• Talent leadership - attract, develop, and retain top talent; foster psychological safety and inclusive excellence.
• Change leadership - lead organizational transformation, manage ambiguity, and drive adoption through communication, training, and enablement.
• Financial stewardship - develop sustainable operating and capital plans; manage recharges and total cost of ownership; align investments to value.
• Relationship management - collaborate across divisions with diplomacy and transparency; influence without authority.
• Strategic communication - convey complex technical topics to non‑technical audiences; write clear business cases and executive updates.
• Customer focus - design services around user needs and measurable outcomes; maintain high service quality and continuous improvement.
• Program/portfolio discipline - prioritize, sequence, and deliver complex initiatives with clear success metrics and benefits realization.

Responsibilities

• Provides vision and technical leadership for an enterprise application ecosystem spanning ERP, HCM/Payroll, Student Information Systems, CRM, research systems, and web platforms, with a focus on reliability, security, scalability, and user experience.
• Builds, mentors, and retains a diverse, high‑performing organization with a cu lture of acc ountabi lity , inclus i ve leadership, and collabo ration ; sets clear goals, establishes career pathways, and embeds continuous learning cloud, AI/ML, data engineering, and cybersecurity.
• Establishes annual product roadmaps and service level objectives for each major platform in partnership with business owners; aligns capacity and funding to priorities and risk.
• Drives a dopt ion of modern delivery practices (Agile, DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing, and AI- assisted coding ) to increase quality , time-to-market, and efficiency .
• Institutes robust vendor management and contract governance; negotiates service levels, aligns incentives to outcomes, and ensures compliance with University policies and regulations.
• Drives operational excellence in EAS by collaborating with peers on incident/problem/change management, disaster recovery, and continuity planning with clear metrics and post‑incident learning.
• Champions secure coding practices and application security standards across all development teams while proactively identifying , assessing, and mitigating technology risks to protect institutional data and maintain regulatory compliance.
• Develops a portfolio management practice that will ensure applications are continuously evaluated to assess criticality and value, prioritize investments, and reduce technical debt.
• Serves as primary application development technology partner to Financial Services, HR/Payroll, University Research Administration, Facilities, Campus and Student Life, Alumni Relations and Development, and other academic and administrative units.
• Builds trust and transparency through regular communication, shared scorecards, and joint roadmap reviews; ensures governance bodies can prioritize work based on institutional value.
• Cultivates effective relationships with acad emic and adminis trativ e lea ders, distributed IT leaders, data stewards, and faculty/administrative stakeholders to align ent erpr ise pl atform s with business str ategy , risk to ler ance, architecture design , data standards, and service expectations.
• Champions an inclusive, user‑centered design approach and co‑design with end users and incorporates feedback loops to improve services.
• Translates University strategy into actionable multi‑year technology roadmaps; articulates benefits, risks, costs, and change impacts.
• Using the IT Service s portfolio processes , o versees portfolio planning and execution across projects and products; ensures disciplined intake, resourc e management and benefits realization.
• Sponsors mission‑critical programs, such as student system modernization, master data management, AI‑enabled automation, and integration/API platform, with clear success measures.
• Serves as an escalation point for EAS directors to i dentify and remove impediments to delivery; escalates and resolves issues that threaten scope, schedule, budget, or value.
• Coordinates cross‑functional initiatives with IT Services Senior and Operational Leadership teams and executive sponsors; communicates progress to governance committees.
• Actively participates in portfolio management meetings and working groups for students, research, alumni and administration, the Enterprise Applications and Services Leadership Team, and other committees as assigned.
• Leads strategic initiatives such as expanding responsible AI in administrative applications, implementing a state‑of‑the‑art student system, and developing an enterprise master data and integration strategy.
• Establishes functional business plans and contributes to the development of IT systems strategy, goals, and priorities.
• Oversees the planning, execution, and management of IT Services projects.
• Directs front-line troubleshooting and problem solving.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Benefits

• The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees