University of Chicago · 1 month ago
Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Applications and Services
Chicago, IL
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
$250K/yr - $260K/yr
10+ years expThe University of Chicago is seeking an Assistant Vice President for Enterprise Applications and Services to provide strategic and operational leadership for the university's enterprise applications portfolio. This role involves building partnerships, leading a high-performing organization, and ensuring reliable service delivery while re-architecting services and advancing data-informed decision making.
Higher Education
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 culture of accountability, inclusive leadership, and collaboration; 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 adoption 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 academic and administrative leaders, distributed IT leaders, data stewards, and faculty/administrative stakeholders to align enterprise platforms with business strategy, risk tolerance, 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 Services portfolio processes, oversees portfolio planning and execution across projects and products; ensures disciplined intake, resource 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 identify 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
Qualification
Required
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
Preferred
Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, information technology, business administration, 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
Proven 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), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Integration as a Service (IaaS), and business 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
Benefits
Health
Retirement
Paid time off
Company
University of Chicago
One of the world’s great intellectual destinations, the University of Chicago empowers scholars and students to ask tough questions, cross disciplinary boundaries, and challenge conventional thinking to enrich human life around the globe.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Chicago has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (341)
2024 (318)
2023 (285)
2022 (233)
2021 (179)
2020 (172)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Benedicte Nolens
Distinguished Executive in Residence
Recent News
2025-11-08
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