Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Synopsis of Role:

The Chief Information Officer will align the technical vision with our high-growth business strategy and integrate appropriate technology, enterprise systems and processes. This position will also partner to develop and implement initiatives and processes to streamline and scale operations, provide contemporary online learning environments and communities for students and faculty, and achieve expected business benefits.

Essential Functions 

• Lead strategic planning to achieve academic and business goals by identifying and prioritizing development initiatives and setting timetables for evaluation, development, and deployment of all services.
• Deliver a service oriented technology vision, architecture and implementation roadmap to support demanding objectives.
• Identify technology trends and evolving social behavior that may support or impede the success of APUS.
• Evaluate and identify appropriate technology platforms (including learning management system, ERP, Web application frameworks and the deployment stack) for delivering APUS' services.
• In partnership with the APUS leadership team, identify opportunities and risks for delivering services, including the identification of competitive services, opportunities for innovation, and assessment of marketplace obstacles and technical hurdles.
• Participate as a member of the senior management team in establishing and managing governance processes of direction and control to ensure that objectives are achieved, risks are managed appropriately and the organization's resources are used responsibly, particularly in the areas of software development, office and educational networks and computers, and telecommunications.
• Develop a highly engaged, customer-centric IT team that partners with business and academic associates to deliver timely, cost-effective, scalable technology solutions that delight students and faculty and are easy to use.
• Ensure stability, availability, security, compliance and scalability of IT infrastructure, communications systems, networks, data, and learning environments.
• Direct development and execution of an enterprise-wide disaster recovery and business continuity plan.
• Communicate the company's technology strategy to management, staff, partners, customers, and stakeholders.
• Establish strong relationships with peers and build a shared vision on how technology supports their current and future business functions.
• Balance academic, business and technical requirements, organize for ease-of-use, reliability, innovation, productivity and efficiency.
• Make tough decisions on people, processes, and technology.
• Deliver on IT strategy.
• Manage IT operations services and development organizations.

Critical Skills and Job Complexity:

• Speciality expertise in one or more of the following technical areas:
  • ERP implementation and migration
  • Instructional technology
  • Infrastructure and networking
  • Administrative systems design and development, preferably in higher education
• Demonstrated ability to envision Web-based services that meet consumer needs or solve business problems.
• Demonstrated success partnering across business functions to drive process improvement.
• Proven leadership ability.
• Ability to manage priorities judiciously.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to articulate ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Exceptionally self-motivated and directed.
• Keen attention to detail.
• Superior analytical, evaluative, and problem-solving abilities.
• Exceptional service orientation.
• Ability to motivate in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Ability to represent APUS appropriately with students, faculty, Board of Directors and Trustees, and the higher education industry at large.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Degree in the field of computer science or business administration. Advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years experience as a CIO with at least 3 years of recent experience as a CIO in a high growth, online 24x7 education or service business.
• Experience driving the development and implementation of new technologies and service offerings in a Web 2.0 environment.
• Familiarity with technical requirements of Internet marketing and search engine optimization.
• Experience with two or more software development methodologies.
• Contribution to one or more open source projects.
• Experience with information security vulnerabilities and risk management.
• Familiarity with consumer privacy and payments industry compliance requirements.
• Experience in business process development, governance processes, management, budgeting, resource allocation and administrative operations.
• Experience creating a high-performance, customer-centric culture focused on service, innovation, efficiency and productivity.

Work Environment and Physical Demands:

• Must be willing to work in the Charles Town, WV location with travel within 75 miles to co-location and other office locations.