Director of Advancement Technology Services

University of Southern Mississippi, United States

Updated: about 2 months ago
Location: Hattiesburg, MISSISSIPPI
Job Type: FullTime

Director of Advancement Technology Services

The University of Southern Mississippi is currently accepting applications for the position of Director of Advancement Technology Services.


Position Details
Location Hattiesburg

118 College Drive
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 39406-0001
United States
Division Development Office
Position Type Staff
Employment Status Full Time
Grant Funded No
Pay Grade

E15

Posting Close Date Open Until Filled

Special Instructions to Applicants
When applying for this position, please submit a cover letter, resume and contact information for three (3) references. 
 
Job Summary
The Director of Advancement Technology Services will provide strategic leadership and vision for the day-to-day operations of the Advancement technology ecosystem, including operations, technology, data initiatives, and database management. In addition to overseeing the various roles that support the Advancement technology ecosystem, this position provides expertise and data-driven leadership to support the implementation and continued evolution of CRM platform and related systems across The University of Southern Mississippi advancement community.

The Director of Advancement Technology Services will lead the strategic direction for the CRM platform, including providing ownership for continued projects that are executed to enhance the CRM platform and the related experience for end users. This position will develop and lead the University Advancement central governing body responsible for setting standards and priorities for CRM platform-related projects, use cases, or feature enhancements. The candidate will be a subject matter expert on CRM solutions, providing suggestions on innovative technology capabilities to meet customer needs. This Director will hold responsibility for streamlining the CRM experience through effective CRM strategies, supporting change management efforts, evaluating current strategies and partnerships, and ensuring that technology aligns with business goals.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

  •   Develops cohesive long-term vision and roadmap to enable the Advancement technology ecosystem to meet prioritized business needs. In partnership with Advancement leaders, develops and refines the evolving strategic vision, action plan, and fiscal oversight required to successfully deploy technology solutions. Delivers project proposals to executive leadership and ensures execution of projects upon approval. Develops and maintains strong partnerships with cross divisional stakeholders to drive integration of CRM programs throughout all of University of Southern Mississippi Advancement.
  •  Provides technical leadership, setting best practices including integration and application development, deployment, testing (unit and systems), and iterative refinement. Oversees the management of CRM platform data feeds and other integrations. Manages the development of analytical reports that track all project performance.
  • Oversees decisions related to front and back-end solution architecture, development, release management strategies, and change management. Ensures all development work, such as design implementation, whether managed internally or by a service provider, follows established standards, processes, application guidelines and technical architecture (for the CRM platform and in compliance with iTech protocols). Updates, improves, and maintains CRM products in line with the roadmap, including management of USM Advancement’s vendor relationships and coordination with internal technology, data, and digital teammates.
  • Leads a team of CRM professionals to execute projects that align with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Advancement’s strategic vision and roadmap. Responsible for hiring, orientation, on-going training and professional development, and performance planning and evaluation. Actively contributes to the results of a team and works towards achieving team goals and objectives.
  • Ensures utilization of CRM best practices and stays current on the latest tools, trends, and techniques.
  • Ensure compliance with applicable privacy and data management laws.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.


    • Minimum Qualifications 
          A Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, Computer Sciences, or related field, from an accredited college or university, a minimum of five years of experience with CRM platform administration, data management, and enterprise management systems, and a minimum of three years of managerial, supervisory, and/ or demonstrated leadership experience.
     
    Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
    • Employees of this position are prohibited from disclosing confidential and proprietary information of donors and prospects, the Foundation, the University and its employees or students. This confidentiality obligation is effective while employed in this position and continues after termination of employment.
    •  Excellent project management skills. Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, handle and prioritize simultaneous requests, and manage laterally and upwards
    • Extensive analytics experience in the development of CRM reporting and analytical techniques (e.g., statistical modeling, segmentation) to enable optimization of CRM programs
    • Strong understanding of CRM technology solutions. Candidates will be considered for depth on other CRM packages (Blackbaud, Slate, Salesforce, Ellucian, and the like)
    • Ability to manage multiple projects at once with a sense of urgency required to work in a deadline driven environment
    • Experience with CRM platform configuration and custom development desired (integrations, data migrations, executing deployments, and the like)
    • Knowledge of front-end and server-side web technologies, programming platforms, and web-server environments/frameworks
    • Strong history of technical project management experience (PMP standards)
    • Ability to assess the impact of new requirements on CRM platform and all upstream and downstream applications, systems, and processes
    • Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and accountable for results
    • Reliable and punctual
    • Honest and cooperative
    • Professional and respectful
    • Organized and able to multitask; skill in managing one’s own time
    • Results-driven to accomplish individual and team goals and meet deadlines
    • Ability to work collaboratively across multiple university units
    • Innovative, entrepreneurial, and creative
    • Ability to analyze and prepare documents, reports and correspondence to specifications
    • Ability to understand, contextualize and organize complex information
    • Excellent attention to detail
    • Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate and interact effectively with a diverse group of people in both oral and written forms
    • Ability to clearly and persuasively communicate concepts, respond to questions,  build support, and inspire confidence of all audiences and stakeholders
    • Ability to articulate alignment between university initiatives and organizational strategy
    • Ability to remain agile in a dynamic workflow
    • Ability to respond to inquiries or complaints from constituents
    • Ability and willingness to work before and after normal business hours, including weekends
    • Seeks opportunities for professional development
    • Effectively engages and interacts with others to collaborate and provide value-added support that enhances results and team effectiveness
    • Sets clear expectations for performance, provides meaningful feedback, holds employees accountable and recognizes successes
    • Ability to process and handle confidential information with discretion
    • Proven ability to train and develop others

       
    Preferred Qualifications  
          Advanced degree preferred. Knowledge of distributed system architecture, middleware, or object-oriented analysis and design, strong understanding of Advancement and CRM platform product, and strong understanding of relational databases, query language, and development competency.


    About The University of Southern Mississippi
    The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) is a comprehensive public research institution delivering transformative programs on campuses in Hattiesburg and Long Beach, at teaching and research sites across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, as well as online. Founded in 1910, USM is one of only 146 universities in the nation to earn the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education's "R1: Doctoral Universities - Very high research activity" designation, and its robust research enterprise includes experts in ocean science and engineering, polymer science and engineering, and large event venue safety and security, among others.  USM is also one of only 37 institutions in the nation accredited in theatre, art and design, dance and music. As an economic driver, USM generates an annual economic impact of more than $600 million across the state. USM welcomes a diverse student body of more than 14,000, representing 71 countries, all 50 states, and every county in Mississippi. USM students have collected four Truman Scholarships and 37 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, while also leading Mississippi with 27 Goldwater Scholarships, an honor that recognizes the next generation of great research scientists. Home to the Golden Eagles, USM competes in 17 Division I sports sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). For more information, visit www.usm.edu .

    As an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity employer/Americans with Disabilities Act institution, The University of Southern Mississippi encourages minorities, women, veterans and persons with disabilities to apply.


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