Chief Information Security Officer

Are you passionate about IT security and looking for a leadership role in a dynamic academic environment? Want to support access to higher education in Alaska? If so, you might be the perfect candidate for the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) position at the University of Alaska.

As the CISO, you will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of IT security across the university system, overseeing the implementation of security policies and standards, managing security risks and incidents, supporting research initiatives, and ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations.

You will also lead a team of security professionals and collaborate with other IT leaders, faculty, staff, and students from the three universities to promote a culture of security awareness and best practices. You will have the opportunity to work on diverse and challenging projects that support the university's mission of teaching, research, and public service.

This is an ideal position for someone passionate about cyber security in higher education, is adept at balancing risk with impacts on services, and leverages collaborative approaches first in support of three institutions with diverse missions, programs, and constituencies.

The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the University of Alaska is a critical leadership role that offers a great work environment and the unique opportunity to work in Fairbanks, one of Alaska’s most picturesque towns.

As the CISO, you will be entrusted with the important challenge of maintaining a secure environment for the University of Alaska. This includes developing and implementing strategic security measures, managing risks, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations in support of three universities and their unique missions, programs, and constituencies.

We pride ourselves on being an innovative workplace that emphasizes teamwork. As the CISO, you will collaborate with various teams to define and drive the business initiatives of the Office of Information Technology that support the priorities of the system and three universities.

In alignment with the University’s goals, as the CISO, you will:

Join us at the University of Alaska and contribute to shaping the future of Information Security in higher education.

In support of a broad suite of academic and research programs across three institutions, this role has the opportunity to work on almost every kind of Information Security and compliance regime.
To thrive in this role, the successful applicant must have a broad understanding of cyber security operations and compliance frameworks and how they apply in an enterprise environment. They must understand a risk based approach that considers the risk against the impact to the business function when increasing security controls. This position is ideal for someone who is a strong team player and collaborator adept at working across multiple organizations with diverse needs and missions relying on persuasion and collaboration over functional authority. They must value the synergies that can be achieved in leveraging the unique strengths of their team and peers in the organization. To be successful in this role, the individual should be able to balance a drive towards strategic security framework implementation with team development and empowerment and strong partnerships with leadership and stakeholders at the three universities.

This position is a member of the senior leadership team of the Office of Information Technology, part of the UA System Office. This position reports to the Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO). This team has a solid mix of long-term and relatively new leaders who are actively engaged in developing a vision and plan for enterprise IT and security for the next several years. The OIT leadership team is building a culture around our values of Build Trust, Speak Up, Reach Out, Innovate Now, Prioritize Work, and Go Team. By adhering to these values, we aim to create an environment where trust is built through actions, communication is open and inclusive, customer needs are proactively addressed, innovation is encouraged, work is prioritized in line with key initiatives, and collaboration is at the heart of all we do. This is the culture we are cultivating at the Office of Information Technology, and we believe it will drive us toward our vision for the future of enterprise IT and security.

Minimum Qualifications:

The CISSP certification is required to ensure broad awareness and expertise in how to design, implement, and manage a cybersecurity program at the enterprise level. If the successful applicant does not have this certification, it must be completed within the first year of employment.
Five years of supervisory experience in an IT organization is required.
Bachelor’s degree is required, or 5 years of experience in IT security.

Preferred Experience &/or Education:

Seven years of experience demonstrating expertise in IT security and relevant experience in a focused range of computer-oriented disciplines: technical analysis, technical documentation, and system administration of various operating systems.
Information resource security skills combined with familiarity with IT language and issues; IT security background, experience in business management and professional expertise in information resource security and law. Broad expertise in using public key infrastructure, firewalls, encryption techniques, virus detection and intrusion detection systems. Experience that demonstrates the incumbent is proficient in system design, installation, testing the life cycle of a computer system in a broad scale environment.
Experience implementing a standard security framework in a complex organizational environment.
Experience in developing system security plans, performing risk analyses, conducting security tests and evaluations, and developing and testing contingency plans.
A bachelor’s degree in a computer discipline or an advanced degree is preferred.

Position Details:

This position is located in Fairbanks, Alaska, with some flexibility regarding hybrid and remote working opportunities. The position oversees a team located primarily in Fairbanks with a few individuals who work elsewhere 100% remotely. This is a full-time, exempt staff position complete with both a competitive salary and a full employee benefits package. UA provides a generous compensation package that includes retirement options, annual leave, 12 paid holidays per year, tuition waivers for employees and family members, and affordable medical, dental, and vision care coverage. Salary is commensurate based on education and experience.

Please attach a resume, cover letter, and the names and contact information of three (3) professional references with your application.

Applications will be accepted for review on 03/20/2024, to ensure consideration, please apply by 11:55 pm, Alaska Standard Time on 03/19/2024. Review of application materials will begin after 3/20/2024. Search and selection procedures will be closed when a sufficient and viable number of qualified candidates have been identified.

• To be eligible for this position, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without restriction. Applicants who now or may in the future require visa sponsorship to work in the United States are not eligible.

The University of Alaska (UA) is responsible for providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities throughout the applicant screening process. If you need assistance in completing this application or during any phase of the interview process, please contact UA Human Resources by phone at 907-450-8200.

UA is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, educational institution and provider and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination.

The successful applicant is required to complete a background check. Any offer of employment is contingent on the background check.

Your application for employment with the University of Alaska is subject to public disclosure under the Alaska Public Records Act.

If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact Terra Preslan, UA System Office HR Coordinator, at ua-so-hr@alaska.edu or 907-450-8261.