Business Relationship Manager

The Business Relationship Manager (BRM) serves as a strategic liaison between Information Technology and institutional business partners to ensure alignment between organizational priorities and technology solutions. This position provides enterprise-level support in business relationship management, with a primary focus on fostering strong partnerships with the strategic leadership and individual contributors across campus departments.

The BRM leads the strategic planning, coordination, and delivery of enhanced business relations—particularly customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and other enterprise platforms—while supporting the IT Leadership Team (ITLT) in strengthening IT’s overall business engagement model. This role operates with a high degree of autonomy and serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and campus stakeholders.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary liaison between Information Technology and strategic business units, building and sustaining strong, trust-based partnerships.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of business unit goals, priorities, challenges, and operational processes and advocates for those customer needs.
• Assists the CIO in prioritizing IT projects for Executive review, approval and status.
• Actively engage business stakeholders to identify needs, opportunities, and concerns related to technology services and initiatives and report on IT activities in support of their business unit.
• Plan, facilitate, and host monthly Enterprise business engagement meetings to ensure alignment across business areas, user groups, and institutional initiatives, including Banner User Groups (BUG), HR partner needs, enterprise-wide projects, and cross-functional committees such as the Fraud Detection Group subcommittee.
• Translate institutional and departmental objectives into clearly defined business needs and prioritized requests for IT engagement.
• Facilitate communication between business units and IT teams to ensure clarity of expectations, timelines, and outcomes.
• Coordinate and support the intake, evaluation, and prioritization of business requests in alignment with governance and portfolio processes.
• Provide guidance to business partners on IT services, processes, policies, and available capabilities.
• Assist the IT leadership team with project and initiative planning from a business perspective including scope definition, success criteria, and value realization.
• Serve as a key point of escalation for business-related issues, risks, or concerns, ensuring timely resolution and stakeholder alignment.
• Participate in IT governance and planning forums as a representative of business interests and relationships.
• Collaborate with training and support teams to ensure business users are informed, prepared, and supported during transitions.
• Maintain ongoing awareness of business trends, organizational changes, and emerging needs that may impact technology demand.
• Prepare and present summaries, recommendations, and status updates.
• Work collaboratively and independently in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Support and assist IT leadership and the CIO on special projects and grants initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  
  

Environmental Conditions

This position is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience (5 years) in higher education environments.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with both technical teams and non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated project or program support experience across complex, cross-functional initiatives.
• Demonstrated analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated customer service orientation and ability to work independently.
• Demonstrated ability to adhere to institutional policies, standards, and governance processes.
• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse groups and populations.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• 10 years experience in higher education.
• Demonstrated experience with CRM, ERP platforms and enterprise applications.
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture, data governance, and accessibility standards.
  
  

All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of any employment visa including student visas.

Since opening its doors for the first time on September 24, 1964, the Community College of Rhode Island has created a strong foundation as the state’s only associate degree-granting institution serving all Rhode Islanders with an affordable, high-quality education.

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