At Frederick Community College (FCC), our aim is transformation through education. The skills, training, competencies, and education we provide ensure that our graduates are able to equitably participate in our society, our economy, and our democracy. The BIG goal is to help students live the lives they want to lead. The impact we make is profound and extends beyond the individuals we serve, reaching families, the larger community, the state, and the world. It all starts with having the right people, in the right positions, with the right skills and abilities, doing the right things right. 

The Chief Information Officer / Vice President for Information Technology (CIO/VPIT), reporting directly to the College President, leads the technology division and manages an an annual operating budget of approximately $3.8M. This executive will support FCC in advancing its mission and achieving its objectives by ensuring smooth, frictionless experiences for employees, students, and their families, while fostering innovative solutions. 

The CIO/VPIT is the senior leader of the Information Technology Division and provides strategic leadership, vision, and direct oversight of all college information technology (IT) and technology infrastructure. 

The CIO/VPIT will provide guidance and leadership related to these areas:

• Leading innovation and digital transformation while continuing to strengthen the technology footprint, evolving the enablement of digital capabilities, and technology operations of the College. 
• Developing technologically specific roadmaps and plans to transform and grow the College’s operations and student support services, ensuring alignment with College-wide strategic plans. 
• Working collaboratively with stakeholders and external partners to provide the best internal and customer-facing solutions for our students, faculty, and staff. 
• Effectively manage the College’s technology budget, resource allocation, and vendor relationships to ensure optimal deployment of financial resources to drive innovation, efficiency, effectiveness, and continuous improvement. 
• Ensuring the security, integrity, and confidentiality of the College’s digital assets by leading cybersecurity initiatives, implementing robust risk management strategies, and maintaining compliance with industry standards to protect against evolving threats. 

REQUIRED MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

1. Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology (IT), or related field or equivalent experience. Advanced degree is highly preferred.
2. At least 10+ years of progressive leadership in IT, business unit, or other functional leadership experience.
3. Higher education experience as an IT leader
4. Deep technical knowledge of maintaining infrastructure and technical footprint for multiple sites and remote use.
5. Expert knowledge of current issues and opportunities associated with information technology and cyber-security related to complex organizations.
6. Experience overseeing IT risk management in an organization.
7. Experience leading IT planning in determining resource needs, budgeting, and procurement.

 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

1. Master’s degree in computer science, IT, or related field.
2. Portfolio responsibilities in IT Management or IT Administration.
3. Experience overseeing the IT security plan of an organization.

 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE

1. The successful candidate will have the leadership abilities to strengthen partnerships throughout the College and become a strategic partner in problem resolution and process improvement by assessing technology platforms to ensure they are optimally utilized, optimally delivered, and produce a “return on investment.”
2. Demonstrating a strong executive presence and influencing skills with the ability to clearly and succinctly articulate sophisticated concepts to key stakeholders, external parties, college leadership and the Board of Trustees, the successful candidate will engage as a transformational and innovative member of a high-performing executive team that fosters high aspirations within a campus culture where disciplined thought regarding external (and sometimes harsh) realities facing the College is routine and standard.
3. The successful candidate will develop and maintain business continuity and disaster recovery plans to deliver uninterrupted critical College operations as well as establish technology governance and review to ensure that new software and hardware implementations and continued use of existing technology applications and platforms have measurable outcomes.
4. The successful candidate will possess a strong ability to build, develop, and lead high-performing teams, fostering a culture of open communication, transparency, and collaboration. They will actively support the professional growth and development of team members, creating an environment that encourages continuous learning, skill enhancement, and talent retention

OPTIMIZE SOFT WARE UTILIZATION

The College transitioned from a homegrown ERP to PeopleSoft 1999. Normal levels of employee attrition and changes in the College’s internal and external environment require new modules to be enabled and that employees receive quality training/retraining current and new modules. The new CIO will have the opportunity to establish a College-wide strategy to optimize the PeopleSoft end-user experience and ensure the College’s utilization of the software package is both efficient and effective from both a technical and employee talent perspective.
 

DATA SECURITY

FCC is committed to safeguarding the security of student and employee data at all levels, now more than ever. Increasing support for flexible work environments and cloud services have altered how and where FCC employees can connect. The new CIO will have the opportunity to support and enhance an effective college-wide data security strategy.
 

THIRD-PART Y SOFTWARE

Many campus departments have implemented software programs that meet the unique needs of their operating unit. While this has allowed the College to remain nimble and adaptive in addressing current and emerging technology needs, it has also created challenges related to the successful evaluation, adoption, integration, alignment and maintenance of third-party party software. The new CIO will have the opportunity to develop a College-wide strategy for third-party software integration and optimization to support College operations.
 

TALENT SUPPORT

Talent management is the full scope of human resources processes to attract, onboard, develop, motivate, and retain high-performing employees, is the driving force behind organizational performance and is aimed at implementing practices that make employees (our talent) more productive. Not only will the new CIO have the opportunity to collaborate with our VP for Talent and Culture to ensure the College has an effective talent management strategy for IT talent, but also to ensure that our HR software systems are being effectively deployed to streamline core operations, automate manual processes, and collect and analyze data to support decision-making.
 

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Like most institutions of higher education, FCC has found itself squarely within a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment. The world is changing at a more rapid pace and we cannot afford to fall behind in any arena. To address the current and future technology conditions at FCC, the IT division will need to embark on a process of assessment and planning. The new CIO will have the opportunity to lead the development of a Strategic Technology Planning Process to establish an informed framework for ongoing decision making that guides and supports the effective use of technology College-wide.
 

DATA GOVERNANCE AND INTEGRITY

The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring the College has a comprehensive data governance strategy that promotes the integrity, accuracy, and consistency of data across all systems. This will involve establishing clear data ownership, quality standards, and data stewardship practices to ensure that data is properly managed, accessible, and leveraged for decision-making, while complying with applicable regulations and institutional policies. The CIO will oversee the implementation of data governance frameworks that support transparency, accountability, and trust in the College’s data assets.

The anticipated start date for this position is July 2025. Applications should be submitted as PDF documents and should consist of a substantive cover letter, a CV, and a list of five professional references with full contact information. No references will be contacted without the explicit permission of the candidate.

Applications, nominations, and expressions of interest can be submitted electronically, and in confidence, by completing the CIO/VPIT Candidate Application Form at FCC-CIO/VPIT Application.

The position will remain open until filled but only applications received by May 15, 2025, will be guaranteed full consideration. Confidential discussions about this opportunity may be arranged by contacting Dr. Bridgette N. Cofield, Vice President for Talent and Culture, Frederick Community College, at [email protected]. Further information about Frederick Community College is available at frederick.edu.