Director of Information Technology

School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 102,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work option

Competitive benefits

Job summary

University of Wisconsin–Madison, within the School of Education / WIDA / Operations, seeks an IT Director II to lead the technology ecosystem. The role oversees CRM, LMS, cloud services, data analytics, cybersecurity, and systems integration, partnering with state and internal stakeholders to deliver scalable solutions.

The Director will guide staff, manage a diverse IT team, and ensure compliance with security and policy requirements while enabling data-informed decision making.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years leading IT teams and managing a technology roadmap.
• Experience integrating enterprise data across CRM, LMS, web, analytics and cloud systems.
• Ability to use data analytics to support business decisions.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled efficiencies and emerging tech.
• Experience with identity management and SSO implementations.
• Knowledge of Canvas LMS and common enterprise tools.

Responsibilities

• Directs strategic IT planning and aligns resources with the strategic plan.
• Leads cross-functional technology roadmap development and adoption.
• Represents the division as IT liaison to stakeholders.
• Oversees enterprise architecture, data governance, and integrations.
• Develops modernization strategies including cloud and AI capabilities.
• Manages budget, policies, and staff performance for at least 2 FTE.

Skills

IT leadership

Data analytics

Cloud platforms

Cybersecurity

SSO IAM

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or related field

Tools

Canvas LMS

Salesforce CRM

Drupal CMS

AWS

Google Analytics

Jira

Job description

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Limited

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

IT Director II (B)

Job Summary:

What is WIDA? For over 20 years, WIDA has provided a trusted, comprehensive approach to supporting, teaching, and assessing multilingual learners. We are an educational services organization that advances language development and academic achievement for multilingual children in early childhood and grades K-12. In short, we provide educators around the world with high‑quality language standards, assessments, professional learning, and research. We are proud to be a part of UW‑Madison’s nationally ranked School of Education. Visit https://wida.wisc.edu/about/careers and watch our Introduction to WIDA video to see why WIDA is an incredible place to work! The Director of Information Technology position is located within the Operations department and will report to the Chief Operating Officer (COO). This position will be responsible for leading and overseeing WIDA’s technology ecosystem, including customer relationship management (CRM) systems, learning management systems, cloud technology, data analytics, websites, cybersecurity, technical support, systems integration, and business analysis. We are looking for a forward‑thinking partner who collaborates closely with consortium stakeholders, state partners, and internal leaders. This leader will partner closely with technical leaders across the University, acting as WIDA’s main point of contact when technology is a part of an incident or needed for a solution. The Director will ensure technology solutions meet changing business needs, support data‑informed decision‑making, help staff adapt to new technologies, and position WIDA for long‑term success. They will also consult on data warehouse design; user authentication for WIDA’s consortium of 42 states, territories, and agencies; and compliance with data security requirements. The ideal candidate champions innovation by identifying opportunities to responsibly leverage emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to improve processes and organizational effectiveness while adhering to institutional policies and ethical practices. We are seeking a strong manager with technical expertise who can translate strategy into action by developing talent, assigning ownership, and empowering technical experts to deliver results. The Director of IT manages a team including IT analyst staff, support specialists, administrators and developers, assigning them to projects and operational challenges where they can help improve programs, processes, and services. Remote work is an option for this position on a voluntary basis; however, due to UW policy and travel expectations, this position requires living in Madison, WI, or the surrounding area, as this position may occasionally require on‑site work at our Madison office. UW Travel Policy and Remote Work Policies outline business travel requirements for fully remote employees, and WIDA is committed to supporting employees with their business travel and minimizing or eliminating out‑of‑pocket expenses whenever possible. Please review UW Remote Work Policy UW5087, in particular, Section III, Part G which addresses an employee’s Headquarters Location. We will be happy to support and address questions about remote work or travel during the interview process. WIDA operates in a Windows‑based environment, and a Dell PC laptop will be issued for use in this role.Software and virtual connection tools that are critical to our work dictate that WIDA staff work on a PC.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Directs strategic information technology planning initiatives and establishes divisional objectives to ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative, staffing resources, and alignment with the strategic plan
• Leads cross-functional technology planning and roadmap efforts to identify organizational needs, prioritize investments and drive adoption of technology solutions through strong stakeholder partnership and organizational buy-in
• Serves as the divisional IT liaison representing the division's interests to internal and external stakeholders
• Leads enterprise technology architecture, systems integration, and data governance initiatives to ensure secure, reliable, and scalable technology solutions across the consortium's technology ecosystem
• Develops and implements technology modernization strategies, including cloud services, artificial intelligence capabilities, automation, and emerging technologies, to improve operational effectiveness and support organizational priorities
• Advises institutional or divisional leadership on information technology operations and business models
• Develops operating policies and procedures to comply with regulations, institutional policies, and divisional objectives
• May perform manager functions through subordinate managers
• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
• Develops and audits the budget

Department:

School of Education / WIDA / Operations

Compensation:

Minimum: $113,503.00

Commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax‑advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of five (5) years of IT leadership experience, including responsibility for managing technical experts and managing a technology roadmap aligned with organizational objectives
• Demonstrated expertise designing, implementing, and managing complex enterprise data integrations across multiple platforms and applications, ensuring reliable and secure data exchange across CRM, LMS, web, analytics, and cloud-based systems for a least a decade
• Demonstrated ability to leverage data analytics to support business intelligence
• Understanding of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence enabled efficiencies
• Experience with identity and access management, including authentication and single-sign on (SSO) implementations
• Experience with Canvas’ learning management system
• Knowledge of Salesforce’s CRM, Eloqua’s email marketing platform, Drupal CMS, AWS service architecture, Google Analytics and web analysis, Jira or other agile project management tools
• Experience with web development technologies, including website architecture, content management systems (CMS), user experience (UX) principles, and web security best practices
• Experience collaborating with internal and external vendors and stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading IT initiatives in a higher education setting

Education:

Bachelor’s degree required in field of Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or a related technical field

Note:

• There is one upload area in Workday, but you can upload multiple documents to your application. Incomplete application packages that do not include all of the requested documentation will not be considered.
• Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e., a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. UW-Madison is not an E-Verify employer, and therefore, is not eligible to employ F1 STEM OPT Extension participants.

Contact Information:

Joy Pfeiffer

HR Generalist

[e-mail]

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.