Description
Assistant Vice President, Infrastructure
The University at Buffalo (UB) invites nominations and applications for the position of Assistant Vice President of Infrastructure (AVP). Reporting to the Vice President and Chief Information Officer, the AVP will provide strategic leadership for UB's Enterprise Infrastructure Services and Network and Communication Services units – uniting two established teams into a single, forward-looking infrastructure organization serving UB's three campuses.
As one of the nation's leading public research universities and a flagship of the State University of New York system, UB enrolls more than 32,000 students across 12 decanal units and sustains annual research expenditures exceeding $425 million. Founded in 1846 and an AAU member since 1989, UB generates an estimated $2.1 billion in annual economic impact and employs more than 9,000 full-time-equivalent staff across its North, South, and Downtown Buffalo campuses.
This newly created role offers the opportunity to shape how two units – each with its own history and operating rhythm – come together as one. The AVP will reassess UB's data center footprint, advance a deliberate cloud and colocation strategy, and position university infrastructure to support an ambitious research and AI agenda, all while ensuring the secure, reliable operation of mission-critical systems that support UB's academic, research, and administrative mission.
Key responsibilities include:
- Provide strategic direction and oversight for enterprise infrastructure, networking, and communication services across three campuses, including workforce, succession, and budget planning
- Lead the evaluation and evolution of UB's data center strategy, including colocation and consolidation of aging, decentralized infrastructure, and advance UB's cloud and hybrid-cloud adoption
- Partner across UBIT and with academic and research leaders to ensure infrastructure supports UB's growing AI and research computing needs
- Champion a customer-centered culture, strengthening partnerships with academic and administrative units
- Build a unified, collaborative infrastructure organization and help strengthen the VPCIO's senior leadership team
Qualifications include:
- Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of progressive, results-driven leadership experience in IT infrastructure (equivalent combination of education and experience considered)
- Proven experience leading large-scale infrastructure transformation in higher education or similarly complex environments
- Demonstrated success integrating, restructuring, or unifying distinct teams, with the leadership and cultural fluency to build trust among diverse technical professionals
- Strong budget management, compliance, and public-sector procurement experience; experience with unionized or public-sector environments a plus
- Advanced degree; experience with data center strategy, cloud computing, and AI or research computing platforms preferred
For a full list of responsibilities and qualifications, please view the full position description.
To Apply
The University at Buffalo has engaged Opus Partners to support the recruitment of this position. Katie Dean, Senior Partner, and Thomas Lapierre, Senior Associate, are leading the search. Please direct all inquiries, nominations, and applications (resumes and letters of interest) electronically and in confidence to Thomas Lapierre at thomas.lapierre@opuspartners.net.
The expected hiring range for this position is $210,000-$225,000. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.
This is a campus-based position.
The University at Buffalo is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic university community committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. Potential applicants who share this goal, including veterans and individuals with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.