Senior Director and IT Strategic Partner, College of Medicine

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POSITION SPECIFICS

Senior Director and IT Strategic Partner, College of Medicine

Penn State Information Technology is seeking an IT leader to serve as the Senior Director and IT Strategic Partner for the College of Medicine. The role reports directly to the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, with a dotted‑line relationship to the Dean of the College of Medicine. The role provides visionary leadership to advance the College of Medicine’s technology enterprise in support of education, research, clinical, and administrative excellence through strategic planning, implementation, and management of technology resources. The Senior Director will ensure that the COM is positioned as a leader in the thoughtful adoption of emerging technologies, including AI, balancing innovation, academic integrity, and operational excellence.

As a member of Penn State IT, the Senior Director serves as the senior technology executive for the Penn State College of Medicine and a strategic partner to the Dean and executive leadership, working in close collaboration with Penn State IT and Penn State Health leadership to drive alignment, interoperability, and shared value across the academic health system.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Technology Leadership

Develop and implement a comprehensive digital and information technology strategy aligned with the College’s strategic plan.

Position technology as a core enabler of academic excellence, research growth, and operational performance.

Advise the Dean and executive team on emerging technologies (e.g., AI/ML, advanced analytics, automation, cloud architectures) and their implications for academic medicine, including identifying opportunities for deployment.

Lead enterprise architecture planning to ensure scalable, interoperable, and future-ready systems including AI/ML deployment.

Academic and Research Enablement

Modernize research computing capabilities, including high-performance and cloud computing, secure data environments, and data governance frameworks.

Partner with Vice Deans and administrative leaders to enhance grants management systems, learning management systems, clinical research platforms, and data infrastructure.

Lead the design, deployment and continuous improvement of innovative educational technologies that enhance teaching, learning, assessment and the student experience.

Health System Coordination

Serve as the primary technology liaison between the College of Medicine and Penn State Health.

Align systems strategy, interoperability standards, cybersecurity protocols, and digital initiatives.

Lead the development on data-sharing agreements, analytics platforms, and enterprise applications that support academic-clinical integration.

IT Operations and Service Delivery

Serve as the primary point of contact between the College of Medicine and PSIT, advocating for college-specific needs while leveraging shared solutions and best practices.

Develop and manage the COM IT budget, ensuring impact and stewardship

Lead an effective IT Team by recruiting, developing, and retaining high-performing IT professionals across the university and health system

Cultivate a culture of service excellence, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement by building and sustaining strong collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, and learners

Ensures that applicable policies, practices, regulatory requirements are addressed and followed within the area of responsibility.

Lead change management initiatives to increase adoption and value realization of new technologies.

Data, Analytics, and AI Advancement

Establish a robust enterprise data strategy, including governance, stewardship, access frameworks, and quality standards.

Be a thought and implementation partner to expand analytics capabilities to support decision-making across finance, HR, clinical, research, space, operations, education, and research.

Lead responsible adoption of artificial intelligence solutions across academic and administrative domains.

Promote ethical, compliant, and secure use of institutional data assets.

Infrastructure and Cybersecurity

Oversee all aspects of COM IT infrastructure, including cloud strategy, networking, storage, identity management, and endpoint security.

Maintain a proactive cybersecurity posture consistent with regulatory and accreditation requirements.

IT Governance and Operational Excellence

Lead IT governance processes that prioritize investments transparently and align with institutional strategy.

Develop service management frameworks that emphasize reliability, responsiveness, and user satisfaction.

Optimize technology through disciplined portfolio management and vendor oversight.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field

10+ years of progressive leadership experience in complex technology organizations, preferably within academic medicine, higher education, healthcare, or similarly regulated environments.

Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives.

Strong understanding of cybersecurity, data governance, enterprise architecture, and cloud strategy.

Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred

Experience within an academic health system.

Experience working across matrix environments and multiple governance structures.

Advanced degree in Information Technology, Computer Science

Location

This position is based in Hershey, Pennsylvania and requires regular on‑site presence. A hybrid work arrangement may be considered after an initial period, with the expectation of four days per week onsite and one day remote, depending on business needs.

Penn State has retained Cordea Consulting to assist in conducting this search. Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. Inquiries, nominations, referrals, and application materials are encouraged to be shared directly with Eryn Muttik at Cordea Consulting- Eryn.Muttik@cordeaconsulting.com.

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. Due to the financial and fiduciary responsibilities of this position, successful completion of a credit history check will be required in addition to standard background checks.

CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here .

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