Job Description:

Job Summary:

The IT Services (ITS) Chief of Staff plans and directs all administrative, financial, human resources (HR), and operational activities for the University Office of the Associate Vice President for IT and CIO. Organizes and prioritizes critical issues and required information for the CIO to facilitate efficient decision making. Chief of Staff will provide vision and leadership for a broad range of communication and engagement efforts for customer, partner, and stakeholder audiences. This role is a member of the Office of the CIO, is a key member of the CIOâ™s senior leadership team, and functions as the chief of staff to the CIO. S/he serves as the principal aide and logistics manager for the CIO by directly supporting daily and long-term activities and projects advancing the organizational agenda to ensure key programs and initiatives meet defined objectives and expectations. The role is expected to leverage organizational savvy to advise, offer guidance, and provide organizational perspective to the senior leadership team and senior staff members in support of strategies and directions including escalating and remediating issues when needed. Serves as a senior advisor to the CIO, including as a confidential partner with access to material of sensitive and confidential nature. Partners with CIO and others to develop organizational vision and IT strategic and operational plans that align IT priorities and actions in support of University-wide goals. Provides organizational vision, advice, and strategic planning expertise. Cultivates relationships, gains credibility with diverse constituencies, and collaborates effectively within a decentralized environment. Manages and leads significant change management efforts. Owns development and delivery of strategic messaging and communication within and from ITS. Ensures information flow to and from the office of the CIO via many channels (e.g., correspondence, presentations, conferences, summits, retreats). Conducts research and prepares presentations and talking points for CIO on an array of topics and for a breadth of constituents.  Provides management and strategic oversight to the following ITS functions: organizational effectiveness, internal and external strategic communications, finance, human resources, and administrative services.  Leads the annual capital and expense planning process for information technology, both within ITS Services and in coordination with campus business partners.

Responsibilities:

Governance Program Support

• On behalf of the CIO, manages governance programs associated with University IT activities, including the IT Leadership Council; the faculty-led Board of Computing Activities and Services; Provostâ™s IT committee for project governance; University IT senior staff; and others as defined. Collaborates with the CIO and other campus leaders to establish annual governance agendas for senior administrative and technology leaders. Works with appropriate offices and individuals across the University of Chicago to ensure timely discussion of strategic matters and facilitates input to policy and funding decisions.  Tracks progress of complex initiatives and projects associated with governance agendas; coordinates agendas, documents, scheduling and logistics for key committee meetings; handles complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously, mixing long-term projects with the urgency of immediate demands; collaborates with others to achieve actionable results.  Responsible for tracking, monitoring, and follow-up on the progress of projects, action items, and strategies resulting from senior leadership and similar organizational leadership meetings. Initiates subsequent follow-up meetings and communications with key stakeholders regarding various outcomes and action plans.

University IT Program Leadership and Support

• Creates and leads ITS-wide teams associated with programmed events to create and sustain organizational culture. These events include but are not limited to ITS Town Halls, âœIT Matters❠speaker series, and organizational-wide social and recognition events. Delivers high-quality events, planned by teams representing a broad spectrum of ITS and IT, that serve to build the ITS and IT communities as well as improve overall organizational operations.  Works with members of the ITS Senior Leadership Team and senior staff members to identify strategies that increase consistency and effectiveness of operations. Responsible for management team development (all managers and directors); raises overall management-leadership competence, creates greater consistency in management practices, and identifies approaches to capitalize on synergies that enable work teams to collaborate in new ways to deliver expected outcomes. Broadly communicates information to staff, clients, and stakeholders regarding immediate initiatives and long-term organizational strategic direction and priorities.  

Talent and Organizational Effectiveness

• Defines, facilitates, supports, and documents a comprehensive organizational strategy that supports the growth and development of ITSâ™s extraordinary staff. Provides processes and tools to support talent planning and development focused on growing and developing a competent and diverse leadership and management team. Aligns talent strategies and approaches to organizational priorities to enable delivery of business outcomes while providing support for career planning and talent pipeline development. Creates organizational goals, measures ongoing progress, and communicates results. Creates professional development programs for staff (e.g., âœUChicago IT Academy,❠see https://it.uchicago.edu/it-academy). Grows and develops a competent and diverse leadership and management team that can quickly resolve issues, make decisions, and respond to changes in technology and client trends.   Establishes a program of regular sessions and learning opportunities to enable managers to succeed in their role. Administers planning and assessment tools for local management as well as IT enterprise-wide to enable local managers to build teams and improve work group operations, as well as to identify underlying systemic improvement opportunities.

Competencies:

• Needs to have a very strong customer service orientation.
• Must show characteristics of sound judgment based on information available to support good decision-making.
• Ability to work successfully under pressure and to meet deadlines required.
• Ability to work successfully as member and leader of a team required.

Education, Experience or Certifications:

Education:

• Bachelorâ™s degree is required. 
• Masterâ™s is preferred. 

Experience:

• Minimum seven years of management experience with project and operational budgeting oversight is required.
• Minimum fifteen years of relevant experience is preferred.

Technical Knowledge or Skills:

• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills; highly articulate in both oral and written forms, translating complex technical concepts into non-technical language required.
• Proven IT technical leadership with strategic planning and staff development skills required.
• Strong team-building skills with technical and non-technical staff; excellent supervisory skills required.

Required Documents:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

NOTE: When applying all documents MUST be uploaded under the Resume/CV section of the application.

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via the Applicant Inquiry Form.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.