Executive Director, Communication and Collaboration Systems

University of Miami•Town of Webster, NY

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The University of Miami Information Technology Department has an exciting opportunity for a full-time Executive Director, Communication and Collaboration Systems. This position is based on-site in Miami, Florida. The Executive Director will be responsible for all aspects of the communication and collaboration systems used by employees, students, and other university affiliates. This suite includes systems such as email, live chat, videoconferencing systems, office productivity software, survey systems, virtual team meeting spaces, visualization tools, and integrated AI-based enhancements. The Executive Director will oversee a team that is responsible for integrations, configuration, support, vendor management, and data migration when needed. Furthermore, the person in this position will be expected to stay current with the tools within the suite to ensure that the enterprise is able to capitalize on new features in a manner that enables the security and privacy of university data.

Requirements

Bachelor’s in Information Technology or a related technical or related field
Minimum 5 years of relevant experience.
Project management experience
Experience managing an Office365 system
Experience collaborating with security professionals
Experience with incident response procedures
Experience implementing and integrating cloud-based applications
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Ability to communicate technical information to non-technical audiences
Ability to lead cross-functional teams toward a common goal
Any appropriate combination of relevant education, experience and/or certifications may be considered.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree is preferred
Project management or ITIL certifications preferred

Responsibilities

Works with leadership for the development of competitive strategic plans to achieve the organization’s mission of excellence.
Utilizes the University technology platform to analyze service efficiency and financial productivity and make recommendations on operational improvements.
Focuses on productivity management such as labor budget and productivity/process analyses and improvement with decision support and ongoing performance improvement support.
Collaborates with leadership and Finance to outline strategic technology requirements for major capital expenditures that are recommended in future fiscal years, determined through a strategic planning process.
Oversees Information Technology’s support services, growth, metrics, human resource and financial functions as they relate to the University of Miami and affiliated organizations.
Keeps senior leadership informed of technology barriers, advancements, opportunities and resource requirements to execute strategic initiatives.
Directs the development/maintenance of IT strategic planning, workforce and resource allocation, while maintaining a forward looking vision and strategy.
Oversees the management and coordination of activities for assigned enterprise-wide information technology projects to include an efficient and timely conclusion.
Ensures internal control oversight and compliance with laws and regulations, safeguarding of assets, compliance with University policies and procedures, reliability of internal and external reporting, and efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
Creates an effective control environment, conducts risk assessment, implements, and monitors controls.
Adheres to University and unit-level policies and procedures and safeguards University assets.
Ensure the smooth operation of the university’s dual-tenant messaging and collaboration environments (Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace).
Lead the evaluation and implementation of AI-driven features across the enterprise stack (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, Gemini for Workspace, and Zoom AI Companion) to enhance institutional productivity.
Establish appropriate processes for provisioning and deprovisioning tool access to employees, students, and affiliates as they begin their roles, change roles, and end their relationship to the university as former employees, former associates, retirees, and alumni.
Direct the administration of enterprise-wide tools including Zoom, Box, and Microsoft Teams, ensuring high availability and optimal performance.
Utilize PowerBI to develop dashboards for service health, license utilization, and user adoption metrics.
Manage the university’s Qualtrics instance to gather and act on institutional feedback.
Partner with the Information Security Office to manage the configuration of email filtering, threat protection, and phishing mitigation systems.
Collaborate with the Integrations Team to manage API connections, Single Sign-On (SSO) configurations, and automated provisioning workflows for all managed platforms.
Ensure all collaboration platforms adhere to security best practices to protect sensitive research and student data.
Serve as the primary liaison between the Collaboration Team and the Security, Infrastructure, and Integration units.
Oversee the delivery of tier-3 technical support, ensuring the team provides high-quality documentation, training resources, and timely incident resolution.
Manage strategic relationships with major vendors (Microsoft, Google, Zoom, Box) to influence product roadmaps and optimize licensing costs.

Benefits

The University of Miami is recognized as one of the nation’s premier research institutions and academic health systems and is among the largest employers in South Florida.
With more than 20,000 faculty and staff, the University is committed to excellence and guided by a mission to positively impact the lives of students, patients, and communities locally and globally.
We are dedicated to fostering a culture where every individual feels valued and empowered to contribute meaningfully.
United by shared values, the University community works together to build an environment defined by purpose, collaboration, and service.
The University of Miami is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Applicants and employees are protected from discrimination based on certain categories protected by Federal law.
The mission of the University of Miami is to transform lives through education, research, innovation, and service.
A vibrant and diverse academic and healthcare community, the University of Miami and the University of Miami Health System ("UHealth") have rapidly progressed to become one of the nation’s top research universities and academic medical centers in the nation.
The University comprises 12 schools and colleges serving undergraduate and graduate students in more than 350 majors and programs.
The University ranks No. 55 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Colleges list and ranked No. 49 in the 2022 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings.
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is ranked the #1 eye hospital in the USA and offers some of the nation's premiere eye doctors to treat every eye condition for adults.
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer, part of the Miller School of Medicine, received the prestigious National Cancer Institute designation in 2019.
The University of Miami and UHealth have also ranked among the Forbes Best Employers and Best Employers for Women on several occasions, most recently in 2022.
With more than 17,000 faculty and staff, the University strives for excellence, and is driven by a powerful mission to transform and impact the lives of its students, patients, members of the community, and people across the globe.