Executive Director, Enterprise Application Services

Job Title : Executive Director, Enterprise Application Services

Location : Kennesaw, Georgia

Regular / Temporary : Regular

Full / Part Time : Full-Time

Job ID : 292228

About Us

Are you ready to transform lives through academic excellence, innovative research, strong community partnerships and economic opportunity? Kennesaw State University is one of the 50 largest public institutions in the country. With growing enrollment and global reach, we continue to expand our institutional influence and prominence beyond the state of Georgia. We offer more than 190 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to empower our 47,000 students to become thought leaders, lifelong learners, and informed global citizens. Our entrepreneurial spirit, high-impact research, and Division I athletics draw students from throughout the region and from more than 100 countries across the globe. Our university's vibrant culture, career opportunities, rich benefits, and values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity, and accountability make us an employer of choice. We are part of the University System of Georgia . We are searching for talented people to join Kennesaw State University in our vision . Come Take Flight at KSU!

Location

Our Kennesaw campus is located at 1000 Chastain Road NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144. Our Marietta campus is located at 1100 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060.

Job Summary

Provides strategic leadership, operational oversight, and sets the technological vision for both home grown and off-the-shelf enterprise software solutions that support the academic and business functions of the institution. Collaborates closely with senior leadership, academic units, and administrative departments to understand technology needs and deliver scalable, reliable, recoverable, compliant, and secure solutions that align with institutional priorities.

Responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES :

1. Sets the strategic vision and direction for units delivering enterprise applications in alignment with institutional priorities and IT strategy

2. Partners with university leaders to understand academic and business needs and translate them into actionable technical strategies

3. Responsible for the full lifecycle of off-the-shelf and home-grown applications and related technologies, ensuring that academic and administrative units have scalable, reliable, recoverable, compliant, and secure solutions that align with institutional priorities

4. Identifies opportunities for innovation and process improvement using software and related technologies

5. Manages vendor relationships and contract negotiations to ensure alignment with institutional priorities, cost-effectiveness, service quality, compliance, and long-term value

6. Responsible for developing multi-year budgetary plans and strategies to ensure appropriate technological investments, prioritization, and resource allocation

7. Develops, tracks, and analyzes key performance metrics to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services provided

8. Ensures that appropriate and effective governance frameworks, policies, procedures, and accountability are in place to ensure the most effective and efficient delivery of services

9. Ensures compliance with applicable laws, policy, and governance

10. Works in partnership with infrastructure and cybersecurity leadership to develop strategies for ensuring the quality and security of the data and services provided

11. Promotes a culture of transparency, collaboration, customer service, continuous improvement, and professional growth

Required Qualifications

Educational Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a technology or business field of study from an accredited institution of higher education.

Other Required Qualifications

Current, valid, and unrestricted driver's license

Required Experience

Ten (10) years of related IT experience demonstrating a progression of increasing responsibility including at least five (5) years of related management and / or supervisory skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Preferred Educational Qualifications

An advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education in technology or business or related field

Preferred Experience

Previous experience in a higher education setting

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

ABILITIES

Able to build relationships, elicit and understand customer needs, analyze, understand, and document business processes

Able to translate between technical and functional teams

Able to function with autonomy, making sound and timely decisions as appropriate, and using good judgement to determine which decisions should be escalated

Able to anticipate problems and proactively develop appropriate solutions

Able to appropriately assess and communicate risks, benefits, and alternatives

Able to work well within a team environment

Able to prioritize, attention to detail, time management, and organizational skills

Able to handle multiple tasks or projects at one time meeting assigned deadlines

KNOWLEDGE

Extensive knowledge of IT applications, planning, operations, and lifecycle management

Must be well versed in current and emerging technologies, technological trends, and industry best practices for their areas of responsibility, including but not limited to ITIL, Agile, software engineering, low-code / no-code platforms, cloud platforms, software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), integration tools, and enterprise data platforms

Experience overseeing large-scale and complex software implementation projects, such as ERP systems and CRM platforms

Experience with governance and portfolio management practices in IT

Must be capable of leveraging enterprise data to inform strategic decisions, optimize application strategy, and build persuasive narratives that influence executive stakeholders and align technology initiatives with business goals

Knowledgeable of relevant compliance obligations (e.g., FERPA, GDPR) and cybersecurity best practices for their areas of responsibility

Experience analyzing business processes and supporting implementations from a technical perspective based on the business requirements

SKILLS

Strong leadership and technical background, with extensive experience executing IT strategy, and coordinating and providing support for large-scale, distributed enterprise technologies, solutions, and services

Strong communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills with a focus on customer service and the ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technology staff

Excellent initiative, teamwork, problem solving, independent judgment, organization, project management, and presentation skills

Proficient with computer applications and programs associated with the position (i.e., Microsoft Office suite)

Strong phone and e-mail etiquette

USG Core Values

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 26 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https : / / www.usg.edu / policymanual / section8 / C224 / #p8.2.18_personnel_conduct .

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https : / / www.usg.edu / policymanual / section6 / C2653 .

Equal Employment Opportunity

Kennesaw State University is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for living, work and study. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and University policy, the University prohibits harassment of or discrimination against any person because of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment, pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity or national origin, religion, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran or military status by any member of the KSU Community on campus, in connection with a University program or activity, or in a manner that creates a hostile environment for members of the KSU community.

For additional information or to file a complaint under the provisions of this policy, students, employees, applicants for employment or admission or other third parties should contact the Office of Institutional Equity at English Building, Suite 225, eeo@kennesaw.edu.

Other Information

This is a supervisory position.

This position does not have any financial responsibilities.

This position will not be required to drive.

This role is considered a position of trust.

This position does not require a purchasing card (P-Card).

This position may travel 1% - 24% of the time.

Background Check

• Standard Enhanced + Education & DMV

Per the University System of Georgia background check policy, all final candidates will be required to consent to a criminal background investigation. Final candidates may be asked to disclose criminal record history during the initial screening process and prior to a conditional offer of employment. Applicants for positions of trust with screening results which confirm a disqualifying criminal history will be immediately disqualified from employment eligibility.

All applicants are required to include professional references as part of their application process. Some positions may require additional job-based screenings such as motor vehicle report, credit check, pre-employment drug screening and / or verification of academic credentials.

https : / / www.usg.edu / hr / assets / hr / hrap_manual / HRAP_Background_Investigation_Employment.pdf