Oberlin College & Conservatory, an independent coeducational institution, holds a distinguished place among American colleges and universities. Oberlin was the first college to grant undergraduate degrees to women in a coeducational program and, historically, was a leader in the education of African Americans. The Oberlin community is known for its academic and musical excellence and its commitment to social engagement and diversity. From its founding in 1833, Oberlin College has been a school with a mission, or rather, many missions. Beginning with abolition and coeducation, and most recently addressing the challenges of climate change, Oberlin has always been—to quote historian Geoffrey Blodgett ’53—a “peculiar mix of scholarly ambition and stubborn moral idealism.”

Oberlin is seeking an entrepreneurial, creative and collaborative leader to serve as the chief information officer (CIO). Reporting to the Vice President for Finance and Administration, the CIO is the principal strategic advisor to the College’s Senior Staff and Board of Trustees on technology. Oberlin’s experience during the pandemic has reinforced technology’s essential role in the College’s academic, co-curricular and operational priorities. The CIO will lead the College to develop and implement an information technology strategy that enables academic excellence, supports the student experience, and provides the foundation for efficient, data driven operations.  They will lead and foster the continued development of a strong team of highly experienced IT professionals in the Center for Information Technology (CIT). Finally, the CIO represents Oberlin IT in multiple regional and national consortia (E.g., Five Colleges of Ohio consortium the Great Lakes Colleges Association and the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges) that provide platforms for collaboration and shared services.

The CIO Agenda

The CIO will guide and mentor a team of forty individuals, manage a budget of approximately $5.5 million, and oversee a service portfolio comprising academic and administrative computing, networking, support services, classroom and instructional technology, programming services, and telecommunications. The CIO will position the CIT team to be influential collaborators and thought partners with faculty and staff.  Working in concert with the College’s senior staff, they will form and lead an executive IT governance and planning committee to set strategy, establish priorities, innovate and address risk. They will represent technology perspectives and be a key contributor to the College’s development of an integrated planning model that aligns human capital, financial, enrollment, and facilities planning in support of academic strategies. They will develop an organizational plan for CIT that aligns structure and capabilities with technology changes while promoting retention and development of team members.

In collaboration with CIT leadership, the CIO will build capacity in several areas. They will expand academic technology in support of excellence in teaching, learning and scholarship. In collaboration with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Planning, the CIO will mature the College’s capabilities to manage and use data and co-lead the College’s Data Governance Committee. They will work with administrative colleagues to leverage technology to make services more effective and efficient. The CIO will recommend and implement policies to promote effective and secure use of technology in ways that respond to the rapidly changing risk environment and demonstrate understanding of Oberlin’s mission, values, and community.

Key Priorities

Oberlin’s next CIO will guide strategies to address multiple priorities, including:

• Improve IT decision-making structures and processes to partner with individuals and groups across the College & Conservatory to develop strategies and set priorities in support of institutional strategies and student success. These structures will serve as a model for improved decision-making campus wide.
• Identify ways to support Oberlin's focus on student success and the student experience.
• Attract, facilitate professional development and progression, and retain talented colleagues from diverse identities, backgrounds, and lived experiences.
• Continue to evolve information security and privacy strategies to respond to rapid changes in risk, regulatory and cyber liability requirements.
• Assess and optimize the current applications portfolio and continue efforts to improve College services and processes.
• Assess the current IT infrastructure and develop a strategy and financial roadmap to replace and modernize technologies, including adoption of cloud solutions.
• Implement innovative systems and practices that enhance the quality of the educational experience for students and the work life for faculty and staff.
• Enhance the availability and adoption of digital tools to facilitate communication, collaboration, and engagement.
• Mature Oberlin’s technology, organizational capability, and data integration and management strategies to support and expand the use of data in decision-making.
• Champion diversity and inclusive excellence by creating technology services and processes that are inclusive, equitable, and accessible.

Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate will have excellent collaboration, management, interpersonal and communications skills. The ability to listen, synthesize, mediate, lead, explain and communicate at all levels will be critical. Oberlin seeks candidates with a track record of collaboration, innovation and creativity in the application and management of technology and an understanding of the values of a mission driven institution, knowledge of the strategic issues facing higher education, and a broad perspective on successful IT practices.

Candidates are required to have 7-10 years of IT management experience in a complex organization with multiple stakeholders and diverse technology needs.

It is preferable that candidates have established records of accomplishment in many of the following areas:

• Establishing and nurturing relationships and effective collaborations with all stakeholders to implement strategies and design services and operate jointly led projects.
• Managing enterprise-wide technologies and leading data integration and change management strategies to facilitate significant process change and service improvement.
• Experience developing a technology roadmap and supporting funding plan.
• Facilitating the selection and adoption of technology to create distinct educational experiences and excellence in teaching, learning, research, and scholarship.
• Leveraging data and technology to support student success strategies and enhance the student experience.
• Fostering a culture of trusted partnership, service, and continuous improvement within an IT team and beyond.
• Developing an IT plan that balances the need to maintain a strong foundation of IT infrastructure, services, and administrative and academic priorities.
• Introducing technology solutions and services that are inclusive, equitable, and accessible.
• Navigating challenging labor markets to attract and retain a diverse, high performing team of IT professionals.
• Developing future senior IT managers and facilitating the professional development of the IT workforce.
• Guiding technology adoption and sourcing decisions including cloud based infrastructure and applications.
• Identifying and managing technology-related risks including those related to information security, privacy, business continuity and disaster recovery.

Inquiries, and nominations may be directed in confidence to Next Generation partners, Mary Beth Baker, marybeth@nextgenpartnersllc.com. To apply, please email a cover letter, resume to: Oberlin@nextgenpartnersllc.com. For full consideration please submit application materials by August 19, 2022.

Review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until a successful candidate is identified.