Chief Information Officer

UAE Nationals are encouraged to apply

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) seeks to appoint a Chief Information Officer (CIO).

The NYUAD CIO is a mission oriented senior leader of NYUAD focused on working collaboratively with diverse University constituencies to ensure that NYUAD’s Information Technology strategy, resources, processes, and infrastructure, support the enablement, acceleration and stimulation of NYUAD’s academic and research programs and administrative services.  

Reporting to NYUAD’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) and working in close coordination with NYU’s Vice President for Information Technology and Global University CIO and the NYU IT Leadership Team, the NYUAD CIO is responsible for the development and execution of NYUAD’s technology strategy and enterprise architecture, ensuring its alignment with NYUAD’s academic mission and the agile delivery of capabilities required to achieve academic and research success while maintaining strong, flexible and scalable administrative controls and support.

The NYUAD CIO extends the NYU IT vision, mission and strategy to NYUAD by driving a people-centric culture, reducing complexity and promoting simplicity, maintaining effective stewardship of NYU and NYUAD resources, aligning with partners to serve the NYUAD community and operating a unified risk-based information and cyber security program.  Additionally, through meticulous understanding of the NYUAD constituent needs, the NYUAD CIO will blend and balance a combination of NYU and NYUAD services, both internal and managed services, that fully meet the needs and experiences of the NYUAD community at the NYUAD campus.  

Partnering with NYUAD’s academic and research technology leaders, the NYUAD CIO will manage the foundational layers of technology and will employ as best as possible, leading technology frameworks, systems, infrastructure, and other related tools and resources in order to provide as much flexibility for teaching, learning and research to be delivered at the highest standards.  Additionally, the NYUAD CIO will drive administrative end to end business process design principles to ensure technology use is maximized to drive organizational effectiveness.

The NYUAD CIO, will act as the primary liaison with NYUAD’s government partner ensuring holistic technology governance between all technology units at NYUAD and alignment and transparency with technology funding requests, allocation and investment decisions. 

Key Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership for NYUAD Information Technology:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive IT strategy aligned with the university's mission, values, and strategic plan
• Collaborate with University stakeholders to ensure that technology initiatives support academic, research, and administrative objectives
• Anticipate future technology needs and trends in and proactively plan for advancements that enhance competitiveness

Execute Operational Excellence:

• Oversee the operations of IT functions, ensuring high performance, availability, and security of university systems and processes
• Manage IT infrastructure, data centers/cloud services, networking, and systems to ensure they meet the needs of a growing and evolving campus
• Implement efficient, cost-effective yet flexible, IT processes, policies, and standards across the institution

Ensure Robust Information Security, Cybersecurity and Risk Management Frameworks:

• Extend the NYU Global Office of Information Security’s (GOIS) unified, risk-based information security program strategy to protect data and technology assets
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations, standards, and best practices related to data privacy and information security
• Foster a culture of security awareness and proactive risk management throughout the university community

Promote Innovation and Emerging Technologies:

• Identify and implement emerging technologies that can enhance the learning experience, research capabilities, and operational efficiency
• Champion the use of data analytics, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and other modern technologies to foster digital transformation
• Promote collaboration with academic and research leaders/collaborators to support technology-driven research and innovation initiatives

Maintain Stakeholder Engagement and Support:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with faculty, students, and staff and their respective committees and organizations to understand unique technology needs and ensure satisfaction with IT services and to keep effective and active communication channels
• Serve as key liaison between NYUAD and NYUAD’s government partner to articulate NYUAD’s stewardship of funding support, resource utilization and shared strategic objectives
• Steer continuous alignment with NYU IT leadership and broader NYU stakeholders to ensure cross campus shared experiences and expectations

Steer IT Governance and Policy Development:

• Establish and enforce IT governance structures and policies that prioritize projects, allocate resources, and manage IT investments
• Develop and implement policies that ensure ethical, responsible, and transparent use of technology across the university
• Coordinate with legal and compliance teams to ensure that all technology practices align with regulatory and university policies

Manage and Control IT Budget and Resources:

• Develop, manage, and optimize IT operating and capital budgets, ensuring effective use of resources to meet technology goals
• Optimize resources to effectively manage IT functions that scale with University needs
• Oversee contracts and vendor relationships to ensure the university receives optimal value and service

Required Education:

• Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration or related field, or equivalent work experience

Preferred Education:

• Doctoral Degree providing exposure to research and academic settings
• PMO (P3O or other related certification)
• Governance Framework (COBIT or other related certification)
• Service Management (such as ITIL)

Required Experience:

• 15+ years of experience in Information Technology
• 5+ years of leadership responsibilities
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, organization design and development
• Exceptional leadership skills and ability to communicate effectively throughout an organization
• Collaborative and inspiring leader that motivates organizations through positive examples and mission focused thinking
• Ability to instill confidence in the NYUAD community and apply technology solutions valued by the NYUAD community
• Excellent analytical, strategic conceptual thinking, strategic planning and execution skills
• Strong business acumen, including industry, domain-specific knowledge of NYUAD
• Expertise in budget planning and financial management
• Deep understanding of current and emerging technologies and how other universities are employing them to drive academic excellence and how they may be applied to the NYUAD given its leading position in the development of higher education
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute a strategic people plan that ensures that the right people are in the right roles at the right time and that employees are highly engaged and satisfied
• Ability to identify and leverage resources internally and externally to enhance capabilities that support NYUAD’s excellence
• Ability to drive organizational change and build capabilities that effectively balance the needs between continuously exploiting capabilities to optimize operational efficiency and delivering innovative and agile IT solutions
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain digital concepts and technologies to academic leaders, and academic concepts to the IT workforce

Preferred Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in related, industry-leading, large, cross-functional teams and/or enterprise wide programs, influencing senior-level management and key stakeholders effectively across the organization and within complex contexts
• Proven experience or demonstrated capability in leading transformational initiatives in complex and dynamic environments by taking advantage of digital opportunities to innovate business models and enable the digitalization of the business

• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence in a complex organizational environment

• Advanced financial management and resource optimization skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities

• Proficiency in project and portfolio management software and tools

• Proven track record of successfully implementing and managing large-scale strategic initiatives

• Expertise in change management and organizational development

• Experience in developing and maintaining high-performing teams within a matrix environment

• Strong ability to make data-driven decisions and recommendations that align with organizational priorities

• Knowledge of emerging trends and technologies in project and portfolio management to drive innovation and efficiency

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYU’s global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.