AVP, Information Technology (Remote - Option for Hybrid in MN)

The Assistant Vice President (AVP), Information Technology leads a team of technical professionals and partnership management, in the development and delivery of critical Scholarship America enterprise platform solutions, software application, quality assurance (QA), application support and vendor management. This position drives accountability, efficiency, effectiveness and relentless execution to the overall application development, QA and support strategy through day to day tactics that delivers on the divisional and organizational goals. The AVP works very closely and collaboratively with the Product and R&D, Project Management, Infrastructure units with the division, external partners and all functions within the organization in designing, developing, and delivering innovative student-centric business solutions.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Lead multiple teams of internal staff and contract developers to design, implement and manage software developed internally and through vendors that aligns with Scholarship America goals, prioritized roadmaps and execution plans
• Lead and manage strategic partnerships that supports complex, high demand and organizationally visible prioritized projects, initiatives and expectations that delivers on our goals
• Provides a technical and quality assurance vision, direction, standards and leadership for the organization
• Develops and owns the application roadmap to ensure the technical solutions are maintained in alignment with divisional and organizational SLAs, while continuously striving for innovative strategies and tactics that enhances and delivers a satisfactory internal and external user experience
• Develops, implements, and enforces the proper Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), rigorous release schedules, prioritized roadmap and other processes to drive efficiency and effectiveness within IT, division and organization
• Build and implement appropriate stakeholder feedback loops to gain insights into what sponsors, staff and students want and need from a technical solution, how well a solution is performing, the results it is delivering and how it can be improved
• Develops key performance metrics and plans for improvement
• Establishes and maintains development standards to include code reviews, development patterns and practices
• Maintains expertise in chosen technologies and methods, with a continued focus on the latest application development technologies
• Collaborate and support the Infrastructure team in the execution of the organization’s security strategy, inclusive of ensuring storage and data backup environments are scalable, secure, available, and reliable. Ensure business continuity/disaster recovery policies and processes are in place, have been tested, and can be executed
• Works side by side the Product/R&D and Project Management staff to ensure divisional collaboration, responsiveness to Product Council prioritized roadmaps and execution plans run on time, on budget and in scope

IT Team Performance

• Provides input to the creation of department strategies and is accountable for execution within the technical groups and across the Product/IT division
• Perform and ensure managerial functions, including developing and managing budgets, setting department and individual team goals, providing ongoing performance feedback, and developing/executing employee engagement strategies in a timely and competent fashion
• Lead and coach team members’ growth and ability to innovate within their respective areas of responsibility
• Prioritize and execute an effective change leadership strategy throughout the Product/IT division and strategy initiatives to ensure all stakeholders are informed, brought along and engaged in ensuring effective implementation
• Effectively gather and document clear technical requirements to define, build and launch well-designed, stable solutions and features, with the product and R&D groups
• Evaluate user acceptance testing (UAT) and quality assurance (QA) results and translate findings into presentations that can be shared with internal and external audiences
• Oversees the technical backlog and business value of future technical features
• Build technical operations capabilities and ways of working (w.o.w.) that allows for a repeatable internal process and change management approach across the organization
• Staying abreast of emerging trends, technologies, and methodologies through continuous education and professional development
• Model and uphold the organization’s core values

Divisional Culture, Strategy, & Execution

• Partner with Product and R&D to define and socialize the technical roadmap and support the prioritization process, ensuring all solutions are in alignment with the organizational mission and goals, strategy and execution plans
• Implementation of best practices around change leadership and communication to ensure the proper resources are consulted and perspectives included in the planning. Also, sufficient information is communicated to explain decisions around prioritization and implementation, bringing people along and ensuring ongoing engagement
• Focus on iteratively and measurably improving technical efficiency, balancing the value of new features against sponsor requests, student outcomes, positive margins, staff efficiency, compliance risk, revenue generations and available development resources
• Responsible for partnership with the Product and R&D group in support of the product and technical life cycle including introduction, growth, maturity, and decline, all while maintaining appropriate P&L performance
• Support the execution and delivery of solid go-to market strategies that may include pilot initiatives that explore promising new products and technical solutions

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10 years of demonstrated experience leading application development teams in the education technology sector.
• Proven track record of defining and delivering successful technical solutions, in partnership with product and business stakeholders across the organization
• Comprehensive understanding of the software development life cycle with a broad knowledge of current programming technologies and practices with willingness to continue learning new technologies
• Proven, consistent track record of delivering business value through IT enabled change
• Successful track record of managing partners and vendors, relationship development and management
• Strong passion, high energy and enthusiasm for solving business challenges through the use of technology
• Proven track working directly with Product organizations
• Proven experience with ALM tools such as Jira or Microsoft TFS/ADO
• Ability to translate organizational strategic goals into actionable goals related to prioritized roadmaps, technical solutions and execution
• Proficient in leading and engaging high performance teams
• Effective change leadership expertise and experience
• Ability to communicate effectively across a broad spectrum of staff, both orally and in writing
• Ability to travel for business meetings and customer facing engagements

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Ability to provide technical solution consultation and counsel in the design of solutions that support students with the greatest need
• Cultural awareness to appreciate varied lived experiences and the potential impact on educational achievement
• Ability to build business intelligence dashboards and executive dashboards that show statuses of functional works as well as build a culture of date-driven decisions.

Full Pay range: Exempt ($125,700 - $157,100 - $188,500)

This is the pay range for our staff in this position, from entry to fully independent and proficient in the role utilizing our propriety systems and processes. The candidate selected for this position will be offered a wage applicable to their background and skill set as aligned to our business.

Reports to: Chief Product and Technology Officer

Department: Product/IT

Application deadline: Wednesday, March 19th (by 11:00 pm CT) or until filled

At Scholarship America, our team members are motivated by our core values: Student Impact, Teamwork, Inclusion and Curiosity. Our vision is to empower an America where those with the most need have the opportunity to thrive through equitable pathways to education and training, and we are seeking fantastic team members to make that happen.

We know the best person for the job could be anywhere, and that’s why this position can work remotely within the continental United States or in a hybrid manner from either our office in Bloomington or Saint Peter, MN. Our employees enjoy a team-based, flexible work schedule, allowing them to flex around our core hours of Monday-Friday from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm Central Time. Scholarship America is committed to our team’s work/life balance, and our strong learning and development culture supports knowledge growth and professional development for all employees across foundational and job-specific skills.

Scholarship America offers employees a robust total rewards package, focused on supporting their health and well-being now and in the future. We offer comprehensive choices for the following:

• Insurance (medical, dental, vision, basic life)
• Disability (short-term & long-term)
• Flexible spending accounts (medical & dependent care)
• 403(b) retirement fund with a 3% company match

In addition to schedule flexibility, we also provide paid time away from work (vacation, sick, personal, up to fifteen paid holidays annually), plus employee & dependent educational reimbursement programs which support our overall mission.

Details on our company mission, vision, values and goals can be found at www.scholarshipamerica.org.

We are an equal opportunity employer and believe in the power of a diverse workplace to better serve a broad range of student needs. All qualified candidates who meet the minimum requirements are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, parental or marital status.