Chief Information Officer

Essential Functions

Collaborative leadership skills which cultivate internal and external partnerships that achieve excellence in student and employee success outcomes, community engagement, and a highly engaged team-based culture are paramount in this role. The Chief Information Officer will:

• Implement the strategic development and collaborative student-focused culture, assure fiscal sustainability of the organization, uphold policy and procedures, proactively lead talent performance and talent development, and build community relations as a collaborative partner on the College Leadership Team and within a shared governance structure.
• Provide values-driven emotionally-intelligent leadership to the Information Technology unit to build a high-performing team that provides excellence in customer service, operations and consultation through innovative, creative and collaborative practices to all units and campuses within the College, as well as the external community.
• Champion the values of excellence, purpose, integrity, compassion, unity and inclusion as an executive leader of the College.
• Support student and employee success by demonstrating a commitment to equity, inclusion, and respectful interactions with persons of diverse ethnic, cultural, socio-economic or educational backgrounds.
• Provide leadership and direction for a complex workforce, including represented (union) and non-represented employees.
• Implement best practices in recruitment, evaluation, succession planning, recognition, and retention of IT leaders and staff.
• Retain top talent in the College by ensuring meaningful professional development and learning with a particular focus on consultative, student-focused approach to partnership, skill acquisition and operational excellence.
• Model and expect a data-informed approach and systems-based thinking to decision-making from leaders in areas such as project and product management, IT architecture, cyber-security, data integration, learning/training, operational processes and procedures and budget analyses and allocation that is grounded in the College’s culture of inquiry and evidence and reflects equity-based practices.
• Plan, coordinate, direct and evaluate the overall function of the Information Technology unit in accordance with Board of Trustees’ policies, the College’s values and strategic priorities, shared governance processes and as required by law.
• Direct the development and implementation of short and long-range digital strategy to support the mission, strategic and equity plans and growth of the College including incorporating ever-evolving student, employee and workforce needs within Lake County in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead an open, transparent, collaborative, and inclusive, budget development, allocation and monitoring process in partnership with the College Leadership Team that is aligned with the College’s strategic priorities.
• Oversee an IT unit operating budget ($15.25M in FY27) and annual multi-million dollar capital technology projects.
• Oversee four areas within IT unit including application development, cybersecurity, technology support, core systems and infrastructure which are supported by 44 employees.
• A few examples of key areas driven by CIO are to:
• Direct and coordinate the completion of the Workday deployment and PeopleSoft retirement (project name: LancerNext) in collaboration with the College Leadership Team and project and division leaders and implementation partner team from Alchemy and other contracted consultants.
• Draft and deliver on-going and regular communication with the College’s Board of Trustees in collaboration with the President.
• Develop and execute the organization's enterprise-wide artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, digital transformation initiatives, and long-term growth goals.
• Manage cybersecurity and IT compliance for the College.
• Lead director-level IT staff in developing, implementing, maintaining and enforcing policies, procedures, processes and internal controls that protect all College data, systems and equipment to mitigate risk and comply with related laws and regulations.
• Ensure appropriate insurance policies and coverage levels are maintained in partnership with the College’s brokerage firm.
• Advise the President on Information Technology strategic and operational matters and make recommendations for developing and updating institutional policies.
• Collaborate in institutional governance and equity-based reviews for new policies and updates.
• Implement Board policies upon approval.
• Assemble as a thought leader around changes in society and technology, such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, and their impact on higher education, unit structure, IT operations and talent development.
• Negotiate and manage Information Technology vendor contracts in collaboration with Finance and Procurement leaders and in alignment with state requirements for public colleges.
• Develop and implement annual IT unit operational and institutional capital budgets related to systems, software and equipment.
• Participate in shared governance commissions, councils and committees to ensure transparency and CLC community input and feedback on key technology initiatives and policies.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and vendors to maintain innovative and effective communication with students, faculty, staff and community members which can be positively and proactively advanced through the savvy use of technology.
• Serve as a key College liaison to other post-secondary colleges and universities, professional networks (such as Educause, Strategic Horizon Network), corporations and partner organizations.
• Serve on external boards and committees as necessary to advance the College mission, vision and visibility in the county, state and region.
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the President.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in information systems, computer science, business administration, higher education administration or a related field from an accredited college or university.
• Seven to ten years of successful senior or executive organizational leadership in Information Technology including developing and managing complex, mid-sized IT operational and capital budgets.
• A minimum of ten years of managerial experience with a proven record of hiring top talent within a hybrid work environment and a commitment to employee retention through intentional engagement, skill advancement and career progression.
• Demonstrated expertise and experience in change leadership and project management of organization-wide information technology initiatives that reflected innovation, growth mindset, systems-thinking and an ability to positively influence individuals, teams and ultimately the culture of an organization.
• Proven ability to align technology strategy and services with institutional master plans, strategic priorities, and educational objectives coupled with the ability to translate academic and institutional priorities into technology solutions that enhance educational effectiveness and operational excellence.
• Demonstrated professional experience using evidence-based decision-making, short and long-term planning, budget development and working within an accountability structure.
• Demonstrated success in developing partnerships with organizational unit/division leaders and outside entities, vendors and networks.
• Exceptionally skilled communicator with a proven ability to work collaboratively in a shared governance environment; possessing the skills to visualize, articulate and actualize advances in technology, best practices, projects and unit employees’ work to the College’s goals and vision for student, employee and community successes and opportunities.
• Proven record of providing an exemplary level of customer service to all internal and external stakeholders including customers/students, employees, partners, vendors and community members. Must maintain professionalism in demeanor, interactions and appearance.
• Demonstrated understanding of the open access mission of community colleges and the role of technology in advancing student success, equity, access, retention, and completion goals.
• Demonstrated ability to inspire others and build a culture of engagement through high energy and skill in communicating a vision of organizational excellence, with personal strengths in ethical values and relational leadership.
• Proven ability to work effectively and constructively with persons of diverse cultures, language groups, and abilities; demonstrate sensitivity to and ability to work with the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, faculty, and staff, including those with disabilities; establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.