Chief Technology Officer

$250,000 - $265,000/Yr

Columbia University - New York, NY

Full-time - Executive

New York, NY

Educational Services

About the position

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) plays a pivotal role in the Office of Alumni and Development (OAD) at Columbia University, reporting directly to the Deputy Vice President for Administration. This position is crucial for ensuring that OAD meets its goals and objectives through effective technology utilization. The CTO is tasked with providing vision and leadership in the strategic planning and budgeting for all technology-related aspects within OAD. This encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, including overseeing OAD-wide information systems, ensuring information security, managing database development and accessibility, and handling all telecommunication systems and audio-visual equipment. The CTO will also be responsible for the integration of technology within the community, ensuring that all technological initiatives align with the overall mission of the department. In addition to strategic oversight, the CTO will prioritize, execute, and reconcile major OAD projects, collaborating with other senior leaders to evaluate various initiatives. The role requires a strong understanding of IT systems and infrastructure, coupled with a strategic and business-oriented mindset. The CTO will establish and communicate a technology roadmap, develop IT objectives that align with departmental and community goals, and mentor the technology team to ensure high levels of customer service and integrity. The CTO will also manage a technology budget, oversee services related to technology infrastructure, and partner with various teams to understand their technical needs. This includes serving as the principal liaison for OAD on technology issues, managing vendor relationships, and ensuring compliance with university policies. The CTO will engage with key administrative leaders and constituents throughout the university community, forge relationships with central administrative units, and benchmark technology usage against peer Ivy League institutions. The role may also involve exploring new technological opportunities in collaboration with the Executive Director for Emerging Technologies, as well as performing other duties as assigned.

Responsibilities

• Establish, communicate, and direct a technology team based on a strategic IT roadmap and develop IT objectives that align with departmental and community goals.
• Partner with the Deputy Vice President for Administration to identify and execute ongoing projects including change management, project prioritization, and resource allocation.
• Direct, mentor, and coach staff within the OAD Technology division by assigning and delegating tasks, providing direction and training, and resolving problems.
• Oversee a technology budget and services in support of technology infrastructure, hardware, software, user support, web design, and application development/integration needs.
• Partner with the Data Strategy and Information Management Team to understand their needs while managing the technical infrastructure that houses organizational data.
• Serve as the principal liaison for OAD within the University and with external groups on technology issues.
• Work closely with the OAD technology team to manage operational efforts that align with best technology practices.
• Determine and manage strategies for maintaining vendor relationships and integrations with OAD systems.
• Develop recommendations for and implement all approved policies related to the use of computer hardware and software purchase, installation, access, and security in accordance with University-wide requirements and policies.
• Engage key administrative leaders and constituents throughout the University community.
• Forge relationships with CUIT and other central administrative units to ensure compliance with University policies and direction.
• Collaborate with members of the OAD technology team to maximize existing technology resources.
• Partner closely with the Executive Director for Emerging Technologies in exploring new technological opportunities.
• Benchmark technology usage in peer Ivy League institutions.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree and 8-10 years of related experience is required.
• Results- and goal-oriented individual with persistence and patience to work effectively with various internal and external constituents.
• Ability to detect emerging trends and make recommendations for change.
• High degree of personal integrity and ethics, with the ability to gain credibility with diverse constituencies.
• Strong IT experience in information security, software development, project management, strategic planning, IT governance, consultancy, systems architecture and administration, client support, storage, virtualization, and operational management.
• Experience with vendor management is required.

Nice-to-haves

• Master's degree is highly desirable.
• Experience in a multi-vendor distributed computing environment that includes responsibilities for systems, networking, planning, and operations in a research/academic environment is preferred.
• Familiarity with national research computing and networking initiatives preferred.