Associate Vice President of Information Technology

Position Overview

Spalding University is seeking an Associate Vice President of Information Technology to lead and advance the university's technology infrastructure, services, and strategic direction. This is a newly created position reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, signaling the university's commitment to elevating IT as a strategic function.

The AVP will oversee a team of four IT professionals and serve as a key partner to faculty, staff, and students across campus. This role comes at an exciting time as Spalding modernizes its technology ecosystem to better serve students and enhance operational efficiency.

The ideal candidate is a collaborative leader who can balance hands-on technical expertise with strategic vision: someone who builds relationships, communicates effectively with non-technical stakeholders, and creates a culture of service and continuous improvement within IT.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Develop and execute a multi-year IT strategic plan aligned with university goals and enrollment growth objectives
• Provide strategic leadership for all IT operations, infrastructure, and services
• Identify opportunities for technology to improve student experience, retention, and academic outcomes
• Partner with senior leadership to evaluate and prioritize technology investments
• Lead change management efforts for technology adoption across campus

Cybersecurity & Risk Management

• Develop and implement a comprehensive cybersecurity program to protect university systems and data
• Establish and maintain incident response procedures and business continuity plans
• Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations including FERPA, GLBA, PCI-DSS, and state data breach notification laws
• Conduct regular security assessments and implement remediation plans
• Lead cybersecurity awareness training for faculty, staff, and students

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of four IT professionals
• Build a service-oriented IT culture focused on responsiveness and collaboration
• Identify staffing needs and develop the team's capabilities to support university growth
• Establish clear performance expectations, workflows, and service level standards

Operations & Infrastructure

• Oversee all campus technology infrastructure including network, servers, cloud services, and end-user computing
• Manage the university's ERP system (Ellucian Colleague) and related integrations
• Evaluate and implement solutions to enhance the student digital experience (portals, mobile apps, self-service tools)
• Support learning management systems and academic technology needs
• Manage vendor relationships, contracts, and service level agreements
• Oversee IT budget planning, forecasting, and resource allocation

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the primary technology liaison to academic and administrative departments
• Communicate technology initiatives, updates, and priorities to campus leadership, faculty, and staff
• Translate technical concepts into accessible language for non-technical stakeholders
• Represent IT on relevant university committees and working groups

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field
• 10 years of progressive IT experience with at least 5 years in leadership roles managing teams
• Current cybersecurity certification: CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) or CISM (Certified Information Security Manager)
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing cybersecurity programs and policies
• Proven track record of leading technology modernization or digital transformation initiatives
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build relationships across all levels of an organization
• Experience managing IT budgets and vendor relationships
• Knowledge of data privacy regulations and compliance requirements in an educational or similarly regulated environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant field or MBA
• Experience in higher education IT leadership
• Experience with Ellucian Colleague or other higher education ERP systems
• Familiarity with student information systems, learning management systems (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle), and academic technology
• Experience leading IT in a smaller organization where hands-on work is sometimes required
• Knowledge of cloud migration strategies and hybrid infrastructure management
• Project management certification (PMP) or demonstrated project leadership experience

What Success Looks Like

In the first year, the successful candidate will:

• Complete a comprehensive assessment of current IT infrastructure, security posture, and service delivery
• Develop and begin implementing a cybersecurity roadmap with measurable milestones
• Build strong working relationships across campus and establish IT as a trusted partner
• Create an IT strategic plan aligned with university priorities
• Implement service delivery improvements that enhance responsiveness and user satisfaction

Why Spalding

• Opportunity to build and shape IT strategy in a newly created leadership role
• Mission-driven institution committed to student success and community impact
• Collaborative, supportive campus culture
• Competitive benefits including tuition remission, retirement contributions, and comprehensive health coverage

ABOUT SPALDING UNIVERSITY:

Spalding University offers a comprehensive package including medical, dental, vision, Spalding matching contribution up to 5% to your 403b/Roth retirement plan, generous Paid Time Off program, Parental Leave, paid holidays, paid life insurance and long-term disability, paid time for volunteering, and more.

Situated in the heart of downtown Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city, Spalding University combines a rich social justice history and a commitment to community service as we attract students who desire a high-quality education in a very personalized setting. An engaged faculty serves nearly 2,000 students at the bachelors’, master’s and doctoral levels, providing real-world learning in liberal and professional studies.

Faculty, staff and students are united by the institutional mission: Spalding University is a diverse community of learners dedicated to meeting the needs of the times in the tradition of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth through quality undergraduate and graduate liberal and professional studies, grounded in spiritual values, with an emphasis on service and the promotion of peace and justice.

With a focus on service and leadership, Spalding offers all students a mission-driven connection to community and comprehensive learning resources while striking a distinctive balance serving the educational needs of both the traditional student and the working student. In addition, our unique 8-week class delivery format affords students scheduling flexibility amidst other life responsibilities.

Spalding aspires to become the first choice for students of compassion and service.  Celebrated for a rigorous yet nurturing environment, emulated for interdisciplinary collaborations, and acclaimed for contributions to the community. 

Spalding University is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. The University complies with all federal, state and local equal employment opportunity laws. It is the University’s policy not to discriminate against any individual or group of individuals and to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of race, color, national origin, age, disability, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, veteran status or other protected status. All job offers are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check.