Chief Information Officer

Chief Information Officer

Information Technology Services

Illinois Wesleyan University seeks an experienced and forward-looking Chief Information Officer (CIO) to lead its technology initiatives, manage its division of Information Technology Services, and drive innovation throughout the University in support of faculty productivity and student success. Reporting to the Provost and Dean of the Faculty, the CIO will be responsible for IT planning and budget management, network and information security, information systems deployment and oversight, enterprise, administrative, and academic computing, technology training programs, and information technology policy. The CIO collaborates with the Vice President for Business and Finance and the Associate Provost on IT prioritization and procurement, and with departmental colleagues to coordinate the technology resources of the university in support of strategic interests around attracting and retaining students, improving the student experience, promoting innovation in teaching, improving operational effectiveness, and growing and diversifying revenue streams.

About the Organization:

Illinois Wesleyan University is a selective, liberal arts university founded in 1850, and located in Bloomington, Illinois. With an undergraduate enrollment of 1,625 (Fall 2019), IWU provides access to 50 majors across its College of Liberal Arts, College of Fine Arts, and School of Nursing, and is routinely recognized both for the quality and the affordability of its academic program by publications such as U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. The Illinois Wesleyan education is made more distinctive by its First-Year-Experience program, commitments to providing access to internship and study abroad opportunities, and by the number of its students involved in undergraduate research initiatives and community-centered research and service activities, especially through its Action Research Center.

Information Technology Services (https://www.iwu.edu/information-technology-services/) is currently made up of three departments – Administrative Systems, Network Services, and Teaching, Learning, and Technology Services – and collaborates with colleagues in academic departments, student services, and the Office of Communications to manage the delivery of services to classrooms and public computing labs, and to oversee Web Services. ITS provides support to students, faculty, staff, and other members of the IWU community through a Service Desk located in The Ames Library. ITS and the Library collaborate on a number of technology initiatives designed to support innovative approaches to teaching, learning, and scholarship, primarily through The Thorpe Center (https://www.iwu.edu/library/tools/thorpe-center/). 

Responsibilities:

The CIO will be responsible for the overall technology enterprise at IWU, and will demonstrate:

• the ability to think strategically about the use of technology in teaching, learning, research, and operations with a commitment to cost-effective innovation and transformational results;

• a capacity to bring diverse constituent groups together to identify and implement university-wide IT solutions;

• a record of success in collaborating with across departments, stakeholders, and senior leadership to advance the organization’s mission and strategic initiatives, and to advocate for change, when needed;

• strong technical knowledge;

• previous experience successfully managing technical teams;

• experience in managing complex projects, often within the context of constrained resources, while setting appropriate expectations for resource needs and project timelines;

• experience establishing good relationships with vendors and managing those relationships effectively to support the university’s needs; and

• effective communication skills aligned with the different needs of multiple audiences.

Required Qualifications:

In addition to the above, the successful candidate will have:

• a master’s degree in computer science, information systems, information technology management, business administration or other related field or comparable experience;

• at least seven (7) years of experience managing a technology enterprise of comparable complexity;

• demonstrated experience managing multiple IT functions, projects, or teams, personnel, budgets, business services, communications, and strategic planning;

• a demonstrated record of successfully implementing appropriate and successful strategies to ensure cost-effective delivery of efficient and reliable IT services; 

• a demonstrated record of collaborating with stakeholders and community partners to support innovation in the use of technology to promote core services and strategic initiatives, and,

• experience and enthusiasm for managing and implementing change.

Preferred Qualifications:

• experience working in an institution of higher education, with demonstrated understanding of policy and regulatory requirements in a student-centered learning environment, and the mission of a liberal arts college;

• experience collaborating with faculty to employ technology for innovation in teaching, learning, and scholarship

• demonstrated commitment to a user-centric focus in the development of IT strategies and support services; and,

• successful experience in recruiting, developing and retaining a team.

Application Information:

Please send a cover letter, resume and contact information for three professional references to Human Resources.  Within your cover letter, please indicate how you learned of this opening. The University is committed to an environment of diversity and inclusion. Please feel free to share any opportunities you have had in collaborating in a diverse, multicultural and inclusive setting. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.  

Send to:

Illinois Wesleyan University

Human Resources, Holmes 209

1312 Park Street

Bloomington, Il  61701

Email:  hr@iwu.edu

Fax:  309-556-1710

The final candidate will pass a pre-employment background investigation.

Illinois Wesleyan University’s sexual harassment and sexual misconduct policy may be accessed at http://www.iwu.edu/human-resources/SexualMisconduct.html. 

Illinois Wesleyan University is an Equal Opportunity Employer Committed to Inclusive Excellence; details at www.iwu.edu/diversity