Description

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) seeks an accomplished technology leader to further the District’s goals and work collaboratively with District Office and college leadership teams to set and execute technology strategy.  Reporting directly to the Chief Operations Officer (COO) and serving as a member of the Chancellor’s Executive Team (CET), the Vice Chancellor/Chief Information Officer (CIO) is the senior-most information technology official in the District. The CIO provides executive-level vision, strategic technology planning, execution, and operations, as well as technology governance, administration, and procurement policies for the District and its ten Colleges.

About Maricopa County Community College District

The Maricopa County Community College District is among the largest community college districts in the nation and serves more than 200,000 students across its ten colleges in the Phoenix metropolitan area.  

The Information Technology Services Organization

The Vice Chancellor/CIO leads the District's Information Technology Services (ITS) organization, which provides centralized technology services and infrastructure supporting all ten colleges and the District Office. ITS teams are responsible for enterprise applications, network and infrastructure, cybersecurity, and technology support services. The VC/CIO also provides strategic guidance and support to the IT leaders embedded at each of the ten colleges, fostering a collaborative, district-wide technology community.

 Role of the Vice Chancellor and CIO

The Vice Chancellor/CIO serves as a strategic partner to the Chancellor's Executive Team, collaborating with campus presidents and their IT leaders to champion technology initiatives that advance student success, enable academic programs, and support effective operations across the District. In this capacity, the CIO regularly advises the Chancellor's Executive Team and Governing Board on technology strategy, outcomes, and investments.

In partnership with the District’s Chief Information Security Officer and fellow executive leaders, the CIO establishes and governs the policies, standards, and practices that safeguard the security, availability, integrity, and confidentiality of District assets - ensuring that systems supporting students, faculty, staff and administrative operations across the District and its colleges are protected, resilient, and aligned with enterprise risk and compliance expectations.

The Vice Chancellor/CIO is responsible for District-wide information technology operational excellence and security, fostering an integrated organizational culture and vision, and building collaboration among the District’s divisions and colleges.  This position manages the overall information technology budget and capital investment priorities, while managing risk and optimizing costs across technology systems and operations.

The Vice Chancellor/CIO also represents the District in information technology-related matters with federal and state agencies, corporate entities, and peer institutions of higher education. This external-facing role requires the ability to build and sustain strategic partnerships that advance the District's technology mission and enhance its regional and national standing.

 Key Priorities

The Vice Chancellor/CIO joins the District at a time of significant change for higher education and information technology.  They will continue efforts underway to re-architect and deploy a new district-wide network, implement a new cybersecurity strategy, and support the move of the District offices.  They will continue efforts to sustain and optimize the District’s shared student information and enterprise resource planning solution and catalyze conversations about its future direction.  Additionally, the VC/CIO will:

•      Develop a long-term technology roadmap that reflects and supports the District's Strategic Plan
•      Ensure the development and adoption of policies, procedures, priorities, and technical standards related to information technology, including security and      accessibility
•      Lead the District IT organization (ITS) with a focus on creating meaningful career opportunities, supporting employees in reaching their full potential, and building the bench strength needed to sustain organizational excellence over the long term
•      Build a sense of community across all IT teams in partnership with college CIOs and their technology divisions
•      Implement and maintain high-quality, reliable IT services across the District and continuously look for ways to improve
•      Evaluate options and lead the development of a long-term ERP modernization strategy
•      Bring the District’s colleges and divisions together to achieve shared goals, guided by the principles of shared governance.
•      Represent the MCCCD at local, state and national IT-related events and conferences.

Applications and Inquires

MCCCD has retained Next Generation Leadership Partners to support this recruitment.  Please submit applications directly to https://tinyurl.com/MaricopaCIO. Please submit any confidential inquiries or nominations for the position to Phil Goldstein, Managing Partner of Next Generation at phil@nextgenpartnersllc.com.   For full consideration applications must be received by May 4th.  

The Maricopa County Community College District is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

Requirements

Qualifications and Key Experiences

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.
• At least 10 years of progressively senior IT leadership experience in a large, complex, multi-site organization, with a proven track record of managing enterprise systems, networks, and infrastructure. 
• At least five (5) years of senior leadership experience with direct supervisory and managerial responsibilities.

In lieu of a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree, at least 10 years of progressively senior IT leadership experience in a large, complex, multi-site organization, with a proven track record of managing enterprise systems, networks, and infrastructure, which includes five years of experience as the senior most IT leader for a large, complex organization with multiple divisions or a deputy to a senior IT leader with oversight responsibilities for multiple areas of IT in a large, complex multi-site organization, unless otherwise subject to any other requirements set forth in law or regulation, may be considered. There is no substitution for the five (5) years of senior-level leadership experience with supervisory/managerial responsibilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

•      Master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.
•      Leadership experience in a higher education or public sector environment.
•      Experience working within a shared governance environment to facilitate consideration and resolution of complex issues.
•      Demonstrated success leading complex enterprise-wide change initiatives including building stakeholder alignment, and driving sustained adoption of new             technologies and processes.
•      A track record of evaluating and incorporating stakeholder requirements into the design of solutions to facilitate access and adoption.
•      Led initiatives to implement IT services and an IT organization that serves all students equitably and is responsive to the varied needs of the communities it supports       (students, faculty, staff, community).
•      Strong critical thinking, writing, speaking, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to write and present to varied audiences including governing boards, faculty, staff and technology teams.

Key Experiences

The most competitive candidates will have many of the following experiences:

•      Leading and implementing information technology transformation through a shared governance process with vision, strategy, and excellent judgment.
•      Implementing innovative technology and organizational change strategies that enhance processes and improve the end-user experience
•      Leading, developing, and motivating staff with a leadership style rooted in transparency, trust and integrity
•      Implementing and maintaining data security and privacy strategies
•      Understanding the decision-making processes and structure of large, complex, multi-campus educational institutions.
•      Building broad support for initiatives by working collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, and senior administrators and local communities.
•      Developing and executing large scale organizational change management strategy with clear and consistent communication.
•      Managing complex budgets with multiple sources of funds and cultivating effective vendor partnerships.
•      Representing an institution in information technology matters with external stakeholders, including government agencies, corporate partners, and peer institutions.
•      Advising governing boards and senior executive teams on technology strategy, risk, and investment decisions.
•      Building and sustaining a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence across a distributed IT organization.