Assistant Vice President, IT Infrastructure and Operations

Department

OPS ITS - IT Services

About the Department

ITS collaborates with campus partners to support the mission of the University of Chicago through the consistent delivery of high-quality solutions and services.   We provide secure, stable, and reliable infrastructure and applications to support the mission of the University.   We support and enable faculty research and teaching with the effective use of technology.   We simplify the technology experience for faculty, students, alumni, and staff, and we ensure technology is mobile-friendly and accessible.   We identify, manage, and mitigate the technology risks of the University.

Job Information

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and serving on the ITS Senior Leadership Team, the Assistant Vice President for IT Infrastructure and Operations provides executive leadership for the technology foundations and services that enable the University’s mission. The portfolio includes enterprise networks, computing and storage, cloud infrastructure, data center services, collaboration technologies, service management, end-user support, and enterprise architecture. This role oversees all telecommunications services, serving both the University and University of Chicago Medicine, and leads approximately 120 staff, together with contractors.

The Assistant Vice President sets strategic direction, develops leaders, and is accountable for service reliability, user experience, operational risk, and financial performance across the portfolio. This leader modernizes infrastructure and service delivery, coordinates shared priorities with unit IT directors and University of Chicago Medicine technology leaders, and oversees major technology vendor relationships and enterprise agreements. Digital Trust owns technology disaster recovery and service resilience; this role coordinates the portfolio’s implementation and operational support. AI and Data strategy and organizational leadership reside outside this position.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a multiyear infrastructure, cloud, and architecture roadmap aligned with University priorities, service needs, risk, and financial capacity; establish clear milestones and measures of value.
• Lead modernization of hybrid infrastructure and service delivery through automation, integrated monitoring, and responsible use of AI. Reduce technical debt and complexity through disciplined lifecycle planning, standardization, and retirement of redundant services.
• Prepare infrastructure and architecture for evolving research, data-intensive workloads, and AI-enabled services, including secure integration and operational readiness, in partnership with the leaders accountable for those capabilities.
• Lead reliable, scalable, accessible, and secure delivery of portfolio services. Establish service ownership, service-level objectives, capacity plans, and support models appropriate to critical University needs.
• Direct the full telecommunications portfolio for the University and University of Chicago Medicine, including strategy, service delivery, modernization, carrier relationships, and financial performance. Align service levels, support, and change planning with academic, research, administrative, and clinical requirements.
• Direct service management and end-user support, including the service catalog, incident and problem management, change and release practices, asset and configuration management, and service improvement.
• Set and review measures of availability, performance, recovery, user satisfaction, delivery effectiveness, and cost. Use operational data and campus feedback to improve services and make accountability visible.
• Lead the portfolio’s response to major service disruptions, including coordinated restoration, timely stakeholder communications, and follow-through on lessons learned. Partner with information security on cybersecurity incident response.
• Implement security and privacy requirements in portfolio services in partnership with the Chief Information Security Officer and relevant control owners. Ensure timely remediation of vulnerabilities, secure configurations, effective access controls, and resolution of audit findings.
• Direct operating and capital budgets, workforce planning, and investment prioritization for infrastructure and Operations. Present clear business cases and tradeoffs that balance reliability, modernization, institutional value, and affordability.
• Optimize portfolio costs through lifecycle planning, total cost of ownership analysis, cloud financial management, and transparent service costing. Align investments and resource commitments with agreed institutional priorities.
• Provide executive oversight of major agreements and strategic relationships with Microsoft, Google, Zoom, telecommunications carriers, and other key providers. Align vendor roadmaps and enterprise offerings with institutional needs and coordinate requirements across unit IT and University of Chicago Medicine, as applicable.
• Lead agreement strategy, negotiations, renewals, and sourcing decisions in partnership with procurement, legal counsel, Digital Trust, and service owners. Define service commitments, pricing and licensing terms, data protections, and transition provisions that protect institutional interests.
• Hold vendors accountable through executive relationships, regular performance reviews, service metrics, and timely escalation. Manage licensing and utilization, renewal forecasts, and contract obligations to improve value, reduce duplication, and address supplier and exit risks.
• Build sustained partnerships with unit IT directors across schools, divisions, and administrative units, and with University of Chicago Medicine technology leaders. Establish regular forums to align roadmaps, investment priorities, technical standards, and shared service expectations while respecting local accountability.
• Coordinate service changes, maintenance, major incidents, and escalations with unit IT directors and University of Chicago Medicine. Establish clear responsibilities, communication channels, and decision processes for services that cross organizational boundaries.
• Develop shared service models through collaborative governance, balancing institutional consistency with legitimate local needs. Engage faculty, researchers, students, and administrative leaders to improve services; partner with research computing and academic technology leaders on infrastructure dependencies.
• Lead through a strong management team with clear authority, goals, and accountability. Recruit, coach, develop, and retain talented leaders and technical professionals; build succession plans and skills for emerging technologies.
• Create a respectful, inclusive, service-oriented culture focused on exceptional customer service. Set expectations for responsiveness, clear communication, and ownership of customer needs. Encourage collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement; lead change with attention to employee engagement and sustainable workloads.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Competencies

• Executive judgment that connects technical decisions to institutional priorities, risk, and financial stewardship.
• Influence across organizational boundaries and explain complex issues clearly to executive, academic, and technical audiences.
• Commitment to service quality, measurable outcomes, and practical innovation.
• People leadership that builds trust, develops others, welcomes diverse perspectives, and sustains accountability through change.

Additional Responsibilities

Education, Experience or Certifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical discipline, business administration, or a related field required.
• Master’s degree in a relevant technical discipline, business administration, or a related field preferred.

Experience