OPPORTUNITY PROFILE Chief Information Officer

OPPORTUNITY PROFILE
Chief Information Officer
THE ORGANIZATION LANGARA COLLEGE
Located in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, Langara College started in 1965 as part of Vancouver
City College and in 1970, it opened its West 49th Avenue campus. On April 1, 1994, Langara
College was established as an independent public college under the Provincial College and Institute
Act. Today, Langara is one of BC's leading undergraduate institutions providing University Studies,
Career Studies, and Continuing Studies programs and courses to more than 23,000 students
annually.
Langara College’s Strategic Plan was developed in 2009 and had its priorities renewed in 2013. It is
the vision for the future. It builds upon the regional reputation as a leading undergraduate college by
focusing on existing strengths, while growing new programs and services.
To achieve this vision, Langara is focusing on three key areas over the next several years:
Opportunities for learners: Develop and implement relevant programs and services that support
the increasingly diverse student body.
Institutional capacity: Continue to develop a working environment that attracts and supports
leading faculty, staff, and administration, and develop facilities, technology and financial resources
that can accommodate ongoing growth.
Reputation: Expand the reputation nationally and beyond and pursue community relations and
partnerships in circles that support the vision and strategic priorities.
Langara’s Mission Statement
Langara College provides accessible undergraduate education opportunities that meet the needs of
our diverse community. This means the offering of a variety of programs and services focused on
university, career, and continuing studies at an undergraduate level.
For more information, please visit www.langara.bc.ca
THE OPPORTUNITY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Reporting to the Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Business Development, the CIO serves as a
leader in creating and executing the Langara Information Technology vision, strategy, policies and
standards. The CIO works closely with the leadership team to ensure that the IT department serves
the vision and strategy of the College in an effective and sustainable fashion. The CIO is responsible
for the information technology governance, enterprise architecture and the IT roadmap across the
College. In this role, the CIO acts as the technology engineer, integrator, enabler and visionary to
serve the operational and transformational needs of the organization.
The CIO participates in the formulation of policies, programs and budget development through
collaboration with administrators, faculty, staff, and organizations external to the College. Under the
leadership of the CIO, the department provides a full range of information and technology services,
including networking and client services, enterprise software and infrastructure, instructional media
services and telephone system across the College. The CIO is responsible for overseeing the
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development, implementation, coordination and administration of integrated information and
computing services for students, faculty and staff.
Duties and Responsibilities
Responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction to IT’s delivery of
effective, sustainable and innovative information technology solutions by:
Participating in strategic and operational governance processes of the organization with
respect to information technology.
Collaborating with departments to identify, recommend, develop, implement and support
effective, sustainable and innovative information technology solutions and roadmap.
Developing and implementing short and long term plans and programs in support of the
Langara vision, strategy and plans.
Developing and maintaining an appropriate IT organizational structure in support of the needs
of the College.
Collaborating with the BC Higher Education IT community to leverage shared opportunities.
Developing departmental policies, procedures and processes.
Leading and ensuring that the activities of the various IT units are coordinated with and
responsive to other departments and initiatives of the College.
Championing ongoing projects that are consistent with strategic plans to enhance
effectiveness and efficiency of the College’s resources.
Communicating strategic direction, defined department roles and responsibilities, and policies
to impacted users.
Identifying, assessing, and managing risk and security in the planning, development, and
implementation process.
Developing performance measures to evaluate IT investments, service delivery and other
project initiatives. This includes assessing information and making decisions or directional
changes accordingly.
Researching and maintaining knowledge of current developments in technology, policies and
principles, and other best practices in information technology.
Overseeing the planning, coordination, and design of operational activities by:
Providing guidance to the Associate Director, Operations in the development and
implementation of client support services, network and security, servers and infrastructure,
IMS and the telephone system.
Providing guidance to the Associate Director, Development in the development and
implementation of information technology projects that support departmental (e.g. Registrar,
Finance, Human Resources) functions that use the college’s integrated enterprise system
and other in-house software and systems.
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Negotiating major purchases and service agreements with external vendors and ensuring that
external vendors maintain service deliverables and continually meet College business
requirements.
Overseeing updates and maintenance of department websites, forms and formal publications
to the general public through designated staff.
Ensuring the effective day-to-day administration of all IT units.
Responsible for the management of human resources by:
Establishing objectives and priorities and fostering effective communication and teamwork
among employees.
Designing organizational, workflow and communication structures that are conducive to
departmental goals and objectives.
Recruiting, selecting, evaluating, mentoring and disciplining staff reporting to the CIO.
Ensuring that IT employees receive orientation and ongoing training development.
Promoting effective union/management relationships and working with union representatives
to resolve problems effectively, including representing management in grievances.
Consulting with the Director of Human Resources or delegate in administering the terms and
conditions of employment and relevant collective agreement in relation to the employee.
Providing input to the College’s collective bargaining process regarding operational issues
and plans.
Accountable for the financial and resource management of IT by (10%):
Developing and administering the information technology department operational and capital
budgets.
Reallocating resources to align with and support the outcomes of the College’s strategic plan.
Overseeing the research, acquisition, and implementation of technology resources to support
instructional and administrative functions.
Coordinating periodic reviews of IT equipment and software applications to identify areas
requiring additions, replacements and/or updates.
Approving major purchase agreements for capital equipment, contract services and software
applications.
Implementing and maintaining an effective control system to include general safeguarding
and stewardship of all resources in the IT units.
Performs other projects/related duties as required (5%):
Participating in various internal and external committees, conferences or board meetings as
directed by the Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Business Development.
Represents the College on external committees and task forces.
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THE PERSON
Education and Experience
Master's degree in computer science, software engineering, information systems or related
discipline and 10 years progressive management experience within information technology,
or as a chief information officer. An equivalent combination of education and experience may
be considered.
Minimum 15 years of overall professional experience in information technology.
Minimum 10 years of experience working in a leadership role in a product and project
management-based environments with a demonstrated track record of applying industry best
practices of product management, project management, business analysis, quality
assurance, operations and support.
Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience in an Enterprise Architecture role in large scale,
multi-user, heterogeneous environments.
Minimum 5 years of hands-on or leadership experience in systems delivery, operations and
support for large scale mission critical environments.
Demonstrated experience advising and collaborating with executive teams in medium or large
organizations on information technology strategies and planning.
Demonstrated hands-on or leadership experience with the implementation and operation of
infrastructure solutions, including servers, storage, firewalls, load balancers, networking,
databases, application and web servers, and security frameworks.
Demonstrated hands-on or leadership experience with the implementation and operation of
heterogeneous, connected, highly available, scalable and high performance application
systems built on a variety of technologies and delivery models, including SOA, Web, OLTP,
DW, SaaS, Data Center and Cloud.
Demonstrated hands-on or leadership experience evaluating and making recommendations
with regards to information technology systems and organizations.
Demonstrated hands-on experience managing procurement processes and partnering with
vendors and other organizations, including creating, executing and ensuring the quality of
requests for proposals and responses, statements of work, and contracts.
Experience leading and managing information technology across multiple business domains;
managing in an academic or public sector environment an asset.
Demonstrated expertise in administering, developing and sustaining information technology
systems and programs with a proven record of leading and implementing change; knowledge
of current and emerging computer technologies and information issues pertaining to
administrative and instructional applications
Broad knowledge encompassing business case modeling, project management, strategic
planning and change management.
Experience in the management of budgets, technology infrastructure and human resources.
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Skills and Abilities
Excellent communications skills, including verbal, interpersonal, written and presentation, to
work effectively and collaboratively with staff, faculty, administrators, students, other postsecondary institutions, external agencies, and the general public.
Ability to analyse complex technology problems and develop solutions and recommendations
that are understood in business terms.
Ability to champion, develop and support innovation and institutional change to ensure the
effective delivery of IT infrastructure, software, business processes and training.
Ability to develop and communicate a compelling and credible vision of the future of IETS
within the College community.
Ability to positively influence and direct the work of others in a collegial setting to ensure the
commitment and achievement of desired outcomes.
Ability to strategically partner with the administration, college staff, faculty and students of
every academic division to develop innovative information systems to enrich teaching and
learning.
Ability to assess issues and make accurate, timely decisions based upon research,
consultation, experience and judgement.
Ability to lead and develop cohesive teams across the portfolio and understand their roles as
enablers within the organization.
Ability to resolve conflict and problems while creating a positive work environment.
Ability to manage complex budgets and optimize cost-effectiveness in resource allocation and
expenditures.
Ability to function with a high degree of tact and diplomacy.
Exceptional project management skills as demonstrated through effective ability to organize,
delegate, multi-task and balance multiple priorities simultaneously.
Ability to develop, interpret and apply College, government, agency and departmental
policies, procedures and guidelines.
Ability to integrate traditional, new and emerging technologies into teaching and
administrative functions.
Strong commitment to customer service and student success.
Ability to build and manage user and technical support services that assist students, faculty,
staff and administrators, as well as the broader community, in their use of campus IT
resources.
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Additional Knowledge Desired
Broad understanding and/or working knowledge in the following areas:
Substantial technical expertise with a variety of desktop and networking technologies and
computer platforms.
Helpdesk support, preferably knowledge of Information Technology Infrastructure Library
(ITIL) concepts.
Data storage, disaster recovery and contingency plans.
Enterprise Resource Planning, preferably Ellucian Banner or similar.
Classroom and instructional technology, including Learning Management Systems (e.g.
WebCT), instructional workshops and advanced learning technologies to develop
instructional applications.
Instructional media services encompassing audio visual functions, digital graphic designs and
classroom technology.
Instructional computer resources and related support services.
Competencies and Personal Characteristics
Strategic Leadership – Ability to set goals and communicate them effectively across an organization.
Inspire and motivate others through their own example, instilling enthusiasm and commitment. Ability to
analyze, assess and make appropriate recommendations both internally and externally.
Team Player / Teamwork – Demonstrated success leading a high performance team, talks openly with
others, establishes expectations, holds self and others accountable, supports group decisions, shares
credit, builds enthusiasm for goals, and resolves conflict appropriately.
Project Management – Identifies need for project, develops plans, manages projects and subordinates’
role(s), consults stakeholders as necessary, implements change effectively; makes contingency plans.
Results Focused – Takes high-level plans and translates them into practical action plans. Has a track
record of meeting and exceeding goals.
Financial Competence – Experienced with capital and operating budget development and
management; ability to manage the financial performance of a department or program; experienced
overseeing expenditures within budgets and taking corrective action if required.
Creativity and Innovation – Develops new insights into situations; questions conventional approaches;
encourages new ideas and innovations; designs and implements new or cutting edge
programs/processes.
Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills – Effectively consult, identify needs, thoroughly collect data,
analyze problems in context of organizational goals, use sound judgment, build consensus, make
independent decisions appropriately, and implement solutions or resolutions accordingly.
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COMPENSATION
A competitive compensation package will be provided including an attractive base salary and
excellent benefits. Further details will be discussed further in a personal interview.
FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Jen Curdie or Greg Longster
Davies Park Vancouver
#880 – 609 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V7Y 1G5
Phone: (604) 688-8422
Email: [email protected]
Additional information can be found at: www.daviespark.com
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