Job No. 156826
- Job Title:
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
- Employer:
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George Mason University
- Location:
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Fairfax , VA
- Posting Date:
- 23-Oct-2025
- Description:
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About the Department:
Mason's Information Technology Services (ITS) organization provides information technology resources, systems, services, tools, and training to the university community. ITS's mission is to advance Mason’s strategic goals, support learning, enable scholarly endeavors, and improve institutional management by effectively leveraging the resources of ITS's supporting groups.
About the Position:
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) plays a central role in George Mason University’s transformation toward a more agile, secure, and student-centered digital environment. The CTO will guide the modernization of systems, champion emerging technologies (including AI and cloud platforms), and ensure operational excellence across all technology domains.
Responsibilities:
Supervision & Oversight
Applies the strategies set forth by the Vice President and define and execute the tactics for the functional units with guidance from the Vice President and other senior administrators. Oversees, guides, and delegates work to functional unit leaders;
Serves, mentors, trains, and develops functional leads and the entire CTO team;
Oversees development, mentoring, and training of fiscal administrators and other leaders within the divisions on fiscal, operational, and administrative processes and procedures;
Fosters a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement;
Promotes professional development and succession planning;
Defines and monitors KPIs for enterprise systems, architecture, and infrastructure;
Leads continuous improvement initiatives to enhance system performance, user experience, and operational efficiency; and
In conjunction with key stakeholders, oversees staffing levels, competency, consistency, and performance of each functional unit. Ensures that staff are adequately trained, developed, and evaluated, and that all units are high-performing and meeting the needs of faculty and students.
The CTO has ultimate accountability for the following departments within the unit:
Enterprise Research and Infrastructure Services
Provides strategic leadership and operational oversight of research computing infrastructure, including high-performance computing (HPC), data storage, and cloud-based research platforms;
Collaborates with OREI, faculty and research centers to support grant-funded initiatives and data-intensive research;
Ensures infrastructure supports secure, scalable, and high-performance environments for research and innovation;
Oversees strategic vendor relationships, licensing, and contract negotiations for enterprise infrastructure and clouds services;
Leads campus-wide technology modernization effort; and
Defines and monitors KPIs for enterprise infrastructure.
Enterprise Architecture and Integrations Services
Provides executive leadership over IT programs and operations, creating an IT roadmap and coordinating hardware, software, and data needs;
Oversees development and implementation of IT strategy, including system integration, collaboration, and operational enhancements;
Guides procurement of IT assets and implementation of IT policies, standards, and procedures;
Leads the development and governance of enterprise architecture standards, ensuring consistency, scalability, and alignment with institutional goals;
Oversees integration services to ensure seamless data flow and interoperability across systems and platforms;
Champions API-first and modular architecture approaches to support agility and innovation;
Ensures architecture decisions support cybersecurity, data governance, and compliance requirements; and
Defines and monitor KPIs for enterprise architecture, and integration services.
Enterprise Applications
Provides full accountability for the lifecycle management of enterprise applications, including student information systems (SIS), learning management systems (LMS), HR, finance, and CRM platforms;
Leads application modernization efforts, ensuring systems are secure, interoperable, and user-centric;
Collaborates with CXO and functional units to ensure applications meet evolving business and academic needs;
Oversees vendor relationships, licensing, and contract negotiations for enterprise platforms; and
Defines and monitors KPIs for enterprise systems and application services.
Strategic Analysis & Planning
Drives creative methods to manage and enhance technical resources, enabling opportunities to advance the ITS strategic plan;
Develops and manages budgets for enterprise systems and infrastructure;
Evaluates and optimizes vendor contracts and technology investments;
Develops and executes a forward-looking technology strategy that supports the university’s academic, research, and operational missions;
Serves as a thought leader in digital transformation, innovation, and modernization of IT services;
Aligns enterprise technology initiatives with institutional priorities and strategic plans;
Leads modernization of processes and procedures, ensuring efficient use of support technologies. Collaborates with unit leadership to develop and maintain flexible dashboards that guide business decisions;
Ensures infrastructure and business processes foster a culture of excellence and innovation among faculty and staff, while pursuing efficiencies and reducing administrative burden;
Serves as a key liaison between IT and academic, research, and administrative units;
Communicates technology strategies and decisions clearly to diverse audiences;
Engages with faculty, staff, and students to understand needs and improve service delivery; and
Ensures all technology solutions meet accessibility standards and support inclusive environments (i.e 508, etc).
- Contact information:
- George Mason University
- Fairfax, VA 22030
- United States
- Employer's Website:
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