Executive Director, It Business Partnership & Innovation

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing approximately 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.
The Office of Information and Technology Services (ITS) works to build the capacity of schools to use information and technology, maintain network infrastructure, security standards, and support other departments to meet district goals. ITS provides innovative technology solutions that improve the quality of education for students, reduce the administrative burden on educators, facilitate parent interaction, increase community engagement, and support CPS' mission of transparency by focusing on the ease and equity of access to information. Job Summary:
The Executive Director (ED) of IT Business Partnership & Innovation will be responsible for shaping technology strategy and demand, serving as the strategic interface to the District's business units, service management, risk management, and relationship management across all of CPS. This position will serve as the business relationship link between the CIO and senior leaders of business units district-wide, providing transformational leadership, tactical execution support, strategic direction, and guidance through key ITS initiatives. The Executive Director of IT Business Partnership will report to the Chief Information Technology Officer (CIO), and will lead a team of Directors responsible for ITS areas including Business Partnerships, Business Operations & Service Management, Change Management & Communication, and Solutions Delivery.
The ED, IT Business Partnership & Innovation will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Proactively share knowledge of technology, risks, and opportunities to build district-wide digital capabilities, support student learning and engagement, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business units
• Act as a key liaison across CPS business units and functional departments within those business units to develop business requirements and roadmaps for Information Systems and Technology in alignment with CPS and Business unit strategy, priorities, and goals
• Communicate priorities, relevant project information, and decisions to appropriate levels of staff regarding requests, projects, and initiatives
• Partner with business leadership in collaboration with the ITS leadership team to identify and prioritize initiatives based on predefined criteria (ie: 5-year CPS Strategic Plan, 3-year CPS Blueprint, operational excellence, productivity, compliance, etc.)
• As the most senior technology advisor, provide support for business units across the CPS portfolio (including the Chief Executive Office, Chief Education Office, and Chief Operating Office), and act as a champion for identifying, leading, and driving information technology transformation
• Support CPS Business unit leadership team with the development of the IT business case and project charter packet
• Lead team members and business leaders within the assigned ITS areas to define business strategy and IT strategy, evaluate proposals, build and determine investments, plan new joint initiatives, and determine how they fit into business capability roadmaps and CPS 5-Year strategic priorities
• Drive continuous improvement efforts within your teams in areas such as value optimization, IT performance, and business processes where applicable, proactively identifying business capability and IT service gaps, and initiating and/or contributing to improvement efforts
• Recruit, onboard, and lead staff to ensure robust learning and career development consistent with the CPS values and mission
• Support ITS directors in managing and professionally developing a team of IT Business Partners, Organizational Change Management professionals, IT Business Operations & Service Management professionals, and Project Management professionals responsible for supporting various offices and departments in the CPS organization
• Oversee the Director, Business Partnerships in supporting IT business partners with defining clear, measurable objectives, ensuring the solution options meet the project goals, and aligning with the District-wide Strategic Initiatives
• Lead strategic planning efforts surrounding the delivery of new technology solutions and capabilities in accordance with the enterprise CPS portfolio roadmap and ensure that they meet established objectives and expectations of business partners
• Advocate for and advance business partners' knowledge of IT processes, frameworks, roles, and capabilities
• Develop and maintain value-added Business Relationship Management (BRM), Organizational Change Management (OCM), IT Business Operations & Service Management (BizOPs), and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) professional maturity, individually and for the entire function
• Consult with business units and review IT portfolio, usage, services, technology, and department-specific projects in order to identify, forecast and develop IT needs. Coordinate the use and delivery of IT services throughout the Business Unit
• Communicate the vision for the system by extracting, analyzing, and prioritizing business requirements, use cases, and user stories from business objectives, documenting those requirements, and user stories, and refining them into technical action items
• Provide high-level oversight of the ITS Office budget and business operations
• Prepare and submit operational and capital budget cost estimates for proposed projects to CIO
• Other duties and workstreams as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the ED, IT Business Partnership & Innovation must possess the following qualifications:
Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field from an accredited college or university
• Master's degree preferred
• Relevant professional certifications/designations such as Project Management Professional (PMP), Professional Scrum certifications, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), and Prosci ADKAR preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional leadership experience in IT Business Relationship Management, IT Change Management, IT Project Management, or IT Service Delivery, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of eight (8) years of experience leading/managing one or more of the above functions, including experience designing, developing and leading a large (ex: 30 or more) team of employees spanning multiple levels, including contractors, and management-level roles
• Experience in Senior-level IT business management, business account management, and business functional ERP experience at a large, public or private sector institution similar in size and complexity to Chicago Public Schools, preferred
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years of the experience above, strongly preferred

Other Requirements:

• Local and Domestic travel (E.g., traveling to different CPS locations, attending conferences with Academic Chiefs, etc.) required up to 10%.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to facilitate presentations to technical and non-technical audiences
• High levels of IT expertise, integrity, honesty, credibility, and the courage to make difficult yet necessary decisions
• Ability to work in collaboration with the ITS leadership team to understand and adhere to CPS ITS strategies, standards, and policies
• Ability to develop deep knowledge of the District's business units and functions, building both horizontal and vertical relationships with business departments and IT leaders that deliver business impact.
• Strong leadership and team building skills, e.g. ability to develop high-performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success
• Expertise in leadership development; ability to coach directors and managers toward excellence and build the capacity of technical teams
• Ability to contribute to the people priorities and objectives regarding people leader effectiveness, employee engagement, and enabling others to perform.
• Ability to articulate a vision, set high standards, and effectively guide teams and stakeholders in the realization of expectations set
• Effective strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish long-term vision and goals, and align/manage activities toward goal fulfillment
• Knowledge of operations, budget/finance, management and organizational development
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with a variety of constituent groups, including external partners, to ensure the entire system operates in the most effective manner possible to support organizational success
• Ability to define problems, analyze data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps
• Capable of following Company policies and practices while representing CPS in an ethical and professional manner in all interactions with employees, governmental agencies, vendors, contractors, suppliers, students, and the Chicago community
• Skilled in the use of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Workspace

Conditions of Employment
As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. "Up-to-date" on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.