Fast Facts

Villanova University is seeking an experienced Assistant Vice President for Academic Technology Services to lead and support technology initiatives that align with educational goals and enhance teaching and learning experiences.

Responsibilities: The AVP is responsible for developing strategies for technology adoption and implementation in teaching and learning, managing university-wide applications, collaborating with academic partners, and overseeing operational excellence and budget management for technology services.

Skills: Candidates should possess advanced technical knowledge, excellent communication skills, and experience managing cross-functional teams and projects within an IT environment.

Qualifications: A bachelor’s degree is required, with a master’s degree preferred. Additionally, 15 or more years of relevant IT experience, along with leadership experience in academic settings, is necessary.

Location: This position is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA.

Compensation: Not provided by employer. Typical compensation ranges for this position are between $130,000 - $180,000.

Villanova University Technology Services currently has an opportunity for an Assistant Vice President, Academic Technology Services!

The AVP will be a part of the senior leadership team (SLT) for University Technology Services (UTS), presently organized into eight divisions: Enterprise Technology Services, University Information Systems, Customer Experience Support, Instructional Technology, Security, University Card Services, Project Management and Finance/Business Operations. UTS has approximately 125 employees and contractors, an annual operating budget of $24 million, and the University’s technology capital budget to support a diverse portfolio of services and solutions including Ellucian Banner ERP, Salesforce, Slate, TeamDynamix and Adobe Experience Manager, and a migration to D2L as a new learning management system.

The AVP Academic Technology Services is responsible for partnering with academics to create, source and implement technologies and services that support the achievement of Villanova’s curricular goals and faculty adoption of effective pedagogy. As a member of the University Technology Services’ leadership team, the AVP leads, with academic partners, the development, delivery, and support of all university-wide teaching and learning applications and the design and use of technology capabilities in classrooms and labs. The AVP is responsible for working in partnership with the Office of the Provost, the Office of Online Programs, the Villanova Institute for Teaching and Learning, the University Library and other partners to design and deliver services that faculty desire as well as support the evaluation and adoption of teaching and learning technologies.

The AVP, collaboratively with academic partners, leads the strategy for selecting and investing in teaching and learning technologies, and through the University’s planning processes, stewards efforts to evaluate and pilot new technologies and classroom designs. They establish regular structures to understand and assess faculty and student experience with existing solutions and seek ways to improve capabilities and services to meet needs. The AVP provides leadership across the IT organization and works in partnership with college IT teams to:

• _{Provide direction and guidance to direct and indirect reporting staff that support the teaching and learning environment, consisting of 200+ classrooms and learning spaces.}
• _{Operate the Learning Technology environment, including the learning platform and 40+ academic 3rd party applications.}
• _{Implement IT continuous improvement programs.}

Duties and Responsibilities:   

Strategic Planning

• _{Create and maintain teaching and learning technology solutions roadmap that leverages modern design principles to meet current and future needs.}
• _{Align technology solutions and capabilities with the requirements of the University’s curriculum and identify strategies to support the distinct needs of particular colleges or departments.}
• _{Partner with university stakeholders to address various requests utilizing a needs assessment process, and develop, acquire, and design solutions to meet their needs.}
• _{Collaboratively advance efforts to determine and support the uses of AI in teaching and learning environments.}
• _{Partner with the Office of the Provost, deans, and faculty to identify opportunities to provide students with experiences to use leading and emerging technologies relevant to their fields of study and potential careers.}
• _{Partner with stakeholders to develop strategies to use data to evaluate the impact of technology solutions on learning outcomes.}
• _{Lead the evaluation of teaching and learning application technologies that meet short and long-term goals, and develop business cases, return on investment (ROI) assessments, total cost of ownership (TCO) calculations, and other analyses to help guide their selection by academic stakeholders.}
• _{Build capabilities and lead technology planning efforts in the classroom design and refresh process to create and maintain innovative learning spaces that improve faculty and student experience.}
• _{Engage with external higher education partners to leverage best practices, benchmarking, research, and thought leadership for the university’s benefit}

Organizational Leadership

• _{Facilitate the implementation of Villanova’s Augustinian values and IT’s RESTLESS vision and values.}
• _{Foster high-performing and agile teams dedicated to technical excellence and exceptional customer service, and fluid customer experiences}
• _{Embrace effective communication within the team, across IT and across the university.}
• _{Train, coach, and mentor employees under their supervision. Plan and conduct performance appraisals of employees under their supervision.}
• _{Participate in or lead hiring processes, as needed.}

Operational Excellence

• _{Manages strategic relationships with key university constituents. Act as an internal consultant, advocate, and change agent.}
• _{Adopt user experience design methods and principles to improve teaching and learning technology solutions.}
• _{Partner across the IT organization to lead efforts to develop or integrate complementary applications with the learning management ecosystem of applications.}
• _{Collaborate with IT decision-making structures, university stakeholders, and the IT PMO to establish project priorities in alignment with the University and IT strategic plans.}
• _{Develop and implement strategies to make it easy for faculty and students to discover and adopt teaching and learning technology solutions.}
• _{Manage operating and capital budgets for the Academic Technology Services team.}
• _{Oversee the evaluation of new technologies to identify strengths, weaknesses, and potential benefits to the University; provide recommendations, support, and consult with university administrators and faculty for application and infrastructure planning for new initiatives and technology upgrades}
• _{Direct the day-to-day operations for the Academic Technology Services team, including creating and managing strategies, plans, policies, procedures, and budgets.}
• _{Ensure high availability, reliability, and security of the teaching and learning applications and classroom technologies.}
• _{Partner with the Office of the VP and General Counsel to draft and finalize third-party vendor contracts.}
• _{Manage third-party vendor relationships as needed, ensuring obligations are met, projects are delivered on schedule and university stakeholders are receiving exceptional overall customer service.}

Additional Responsibilities

• _{Work closely with administrative offices to ensure that technology initiatives and implementations align with the University and the Academic Strategic Plans.}
• _{Serve on multiple university and college-level committees.}
• _{Perform other duties as assigned by the University VP and CIO}

Why work at Villanova?

• _{Join a mission-driven organization.  Since  Villanova University’s  founding in 1842, we have been inspired by the values of truth, unity, and love, and are a community dedicated to service to others.}
• _{We believe that an inclusive community fosters an understanding and appreciation for diversity among our students, faculty, staff and administrators .}
• _{Villanova’s most precious asset is our people. As an employee, you will receive a holistic benefits package, generous paid time off, a competitive retirement savings plan, flexible work options, wellness programs including gym membership, professional development, tuition assistance, and  more .}

_{Villanova is a Catholic university sponsored by the Augustinian Order. The University is an equal opportunity employer and seeks candidates who understand, respect, and can contribute to the University’s mission and values.}

Formal Education

• _{A bachelor’s degree is the minimum required education, accompanied by equivalent certification, training, and experience that may be considered in lieu of a master’s degree.}

Work Experience

• _{15 or more years of IT and business/industry work experience including advanced technical knowledge in assigned IT function.}
• _{7-10 years of leadership experience in managing multiple, cross-functional teams and projects, and partnering with senior level management and key stakeholders.}
• _{Significant experience in collaborating with non-technical staff on large, complex applications and solutions.}

Work Skills

• _{Excellent written and communication skills}
• _{Ability to present information too accurately to initiate action plans.}
• _{Capable of working closely with technical as well as non-technical support staff, faculty, and students.}
• _{Excellent interpersonal skills with a strong commitment to quality.}
• _{Motivator and self-starter with the ability to consistently work on multiple tasks}
• _{Ability to analyze and evaluate complex data}
• _{Ability to use independent judgment and show attention to detail}
• _{Possess IT Leadership skills necessary to lead a successful IT organization: Strategic planning; IT Governance, Organizational Effectiveness, Partner Management, Metrics and Marketing, Service Management; Compliance Management; Operational Management; and Portfolio Management}
• _{Flexible schedule which accommodates evening and weekend hours may occasionally be necessary.}
• _{Specific Job Knowledge}
• _{Must have the ability to plan, direct, implement and evaluate instructional technology programs; must have experience developing a vision for adopting emerging instructional technologies that address teaching and learning needs; must have the ability to coordinate activities with a variety of staff and departments.}
• _{Must have knowledge of operating systems, networks, software applications, and hardware platforms; must have knowledge of current practices in the administration of technology based instructional systems; must have experience with budget maintenance and project planning, must have knowledge of accessibility standards.}

Equipment Knowledge

• _{Strong working knowledge of technologies used in instructional design, delivery and academic computing.}

Preferred Qualifications:        

Formal Education

• _{Master’s Degree preferred. A bachelor’s degree accompanied by equivalent certification, training, and experience may be considered in lieu of a master’s degree.}

_{Please Note: To be considered for this role, candidates must live or be willing to relocate within a commutable distance to Villanova University in Villanova, PA.}