Senior Director Student Information and Systems Design, Information Technology [R0149151]

University of Nevada Las Vegas•Las Vegas, MD

26d

About The Position

The Senior Director of Student Information and Systems Design provides strategic leadership and oversight for UNLV’s student information systems (branded as MyUNLV, powered by Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions). This role encompasses both functional leadership and technical management of all Campus Solutions modules – including admissions, recruitment, registration, financial aid, academic advising, student financials, and campus community – and the newly implemented Oracle Student Financial Planning (SFP) ensuring their effective implementation, maintenance, integration, and optimization to support the university’s academic and administrative goals. The Senior Director acts as the principal owner of MyUNLV, directing cross-functional teams in enhancing system capabilities, data integrity, and user experience. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Digital Enablement (within the Office of Information Technology), this position collaborates extensively with academic and administrative stakeholders to align system functionality with institutional strategy. The expanded scope of the role now includes direct oversight of the PeopleSoft technical developers in addition to the functional analysts, thereby unifying accountability for both the functional use and technical development of MyUNLV. In line with industry best practices for higher-education IT leadership, the Senior Director serves as a bridge between campus business units and technology teams, ensuring that MyUNLV is leveraged to its full potential in support of student success, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency.

Requirements

This position requires an earned Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university as recognized by the United States Department of Education and/or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field and a minimum of eight years of progressively responsible experience in managing or supporting enterprise information systems, with at least five years specifically in a student information system environment (PeopleSoft Campus Solutions preferred).
This experience should include demonstrated success in leading projects or teams for system implementation, upgrade, or enhancement.
Candidates should have substantial exposure to the functional operations of key student services (e.g., admissions, registration, financial aid) as well as familiarity with the technical underpinnings of an ERP system.
Credentials must be obtained prior to the start of employment.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field (such as an MBA, M.Sc. in Computer Science, M.Sc. in Information Systems, or M.S./M.Ed./Ph.D. in Higher Education) is highly desirable, as it indicates advanced expertise in organizational leadership and technology management.
Over 10 years of experience in higher education information technology, including leadership roles that oversaw both functional and technical aspects of an SIS. Experience at an institution similar in size and complexity to UNLV (R1 research university with a diverse student population) is a plus.
Direct experience with Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.2 (student administration modules) and Student Financial Planning or other cloud-based ERP student information system solutions is strongly preferred.
Experience leading a major upgrade or module implementation in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions or Oracle Student Financial Planning would be considered ideal.
Experience with ancillary systems (CRM systems for recruitment like Salesforce, learning management systems, data warehouses, etc.) and their integration with a SIS is beneficial.

Responsibilities

Strategic SIS Leadership: Lead the planning and direction of MyUNLV, aligning system capabilities and enhancements with institutional goals and student success initiatives. This includes formulating long-term SIS roadmaps, upgrade cycles, and innovation strategies in collaboration with university leadership.
Functional Oversight: Provide functional leadership for student-related processes by working closely with Enrollment Management and Academic Affairs units (Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid, Academic Advising, Graduate College, etc.) to ensure MyUNLV supports and optimizes these offices’ workflows. The Senior Director facilitates needs assessment, prioritizes enhancements or fixes, and ensures that delivered solutions meet end-user requirements and improve service delivery to students and staff.
Technical Oversight: Directly oversee the MyUNLV technical team responsible for system configuration, development, integration, and support. This includes guiding technical staff in implementing new modules or features, applying updates and patches, optimizing system performance, and maintaining integrations with other systems. The Senior Director ensures that technical efforts are coordinated with functional priorities and that the system’s architecture and configurations adhere to best practices and Oracle guidelines for stability and security.
Systems Integration & Collaboration: Champion cross-functional collaboration and systems integration efforts. Work closely with other enterprise platform teams (e.g., Learning Management Systems, Customer Relationship Management such as Salesforce, document imaging systems, identity management, data warehouse/BI platforms, and the University’s finance/HR systems) to ensure MyUNLV interfaces smoothly with the broader campus technology ecosystem. This involves coordinating data feeds, ensuring consistent user experience across platforms, and jointly planning initiatives that span multiple systems for a seamless student and staff experience.
Data Management & Reporting: Oversee student data reporting and analytics functions related to MyUNLV. Leverage the SIS to provide strategic data insights and ensure accurate, timely reporting for institutional needs (e.g., enrollment statistics, retention, compliance reports). Develop and implement data reporting strategies and data governance policies that enhance decision-making and institutional effectiveness, while also ensuring compliance with federal, state, and institutional reporting requirements (such as IPEDS, accreditation, National Student Clearinghouse, and FERPA regulations).
Policy Compliance & Best Practices : Ensure that usage of MyUNLV aligns with university policies and industry best practices. This includes enforcing data security and privacy standards, maintaining audit compliance within PeopleSoft modules, and minimizing customizations in favor of delivered (out-of-the-box) functionality where possible. The Senior Director stays informed on Oracle’s product roadmap and higher-education technology trends to guide UNLV in leveraging new features and preparing for future changes (e.g., PeopleSoft updates or transition to cloud-hosted solutions).
Team Leadership & Development: Provide high-level supervision and mentorship to a diverse team of functional analysts, business systems analysts, technical developers, and reporting specialists. Set clear performance expectations, oversee workload and project assignments, and support professional development opportunities to build team capacity. Foster a collaborative, inclusive work environment that encourages innovation, customer service excellence, and accountability.
Resource Management: Manage the budget and resources for the student information systems area. Develop annual operating budgets and project budgets for MyUNLV-related initiatives, and monitor expenditures to ensure they remain within approved limits. Make data-driven recommendations for resource allocation (e.g., staffing, training, procurement of third-party tools or consulting services) to effectively support and enhance the SIS.
Stakeholder Communication: Serve as the primary liaison for MyUNLV-related communications campus-wide. This involves informing stakeholders of new system features or changes, providing timely updates on system issues or outages, and guiding the campus through major PeopleSoft events (upgrades, new module rollouts, etc.). The Senior Director directs SIS governance and user advisory groups or steering committees to gather feedback and set priorities, ensuring transparency and stakeholder engagement in governance of the student information system.