Director, TS&S Business Operations & Governance

About This Role

Special Instructions to Applicants

All interested applicants should attach a résumé and cover letter in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice

Boasting a 300\-acre, tree\-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News \& World Report . Rice has a 6\-to\-1 undergraduate student\-to\-faculty ratio and a residential college system that supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close\-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. These values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence.

Technology Solutions \& Services (TS\&S)

Rice University Office of Information Technology – TS\&S provides excellent constituent service, acting as a strategic partner to advance Rice University’s priorities and mission of “pathbreaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contribution to the betterment of our world.” We fuel innovation at speed across the university by building a culture of trust, using an effective operating model, driving seamless experiences, and providing core IT capabilities.

TSS is service\-oriented and team\-enabling. We seek applicants who will contribute to our mission.

Trust Building and Stakeholder Engagement – Foster trust across the campus by being transparent, reliable, consistent, and solution\-oriented in communication and execution. Ensure clear, consistent, and timely communication with all constituents, maintaining a service\-oriented mindset and addressing challenges with integrity.

Collaboration and Cross\-functional Commitment – Work effectively with colleagues across teams, departments, and roles to support shared goals and a positive work environment. Communicate clearly and professionally with team members throughout TS\&S and across campus to ensure smooth coordination of tasks and projects. Build and maintain positive relationships by being approachable, reliable, and responsive. Proactively share relevant information and follow up to ensure alignment and efficiency in team efforts.

Agility and Responsiveness – Adapt quickly to evolving needs, technologies, and priorities, ensuring efficiency and relevance. Identify potential challenges in advance and take proactive steps to minimize disruption to end users. Approach unexpected changes with a problem\-solving mindset, balancing speed with thoughtful engagement. Prioritize user experience by delivering seamless, timely, and effective support and solutions. Maintain a culture of continuous learning—asking questions from a place of curiosity and possibility to enhance agility and service outcomes.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement – Maintain a culture of continuous improvement in all IT operations to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. Regularly assess and optimize processes, systems, and technologies to enhance performance, scalability, and user satisfaction.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO), the Director, TS\&S Business Operations \& Governance is responsible for ensuring the CIO organization operates as a high\-reliability, precision\-managed function. This role oversees the operational, financial, compliance, and governance functions necessary for the effective execution of the CIO’s vision. The Director provides operational discipline, performance tracking, and risk oversight that enable the CIO and Deputy CIO to focus on strategy, innovation, and service delivery.

Ideal Candidate Statement

The ideal candidate will be an operational leader with strong governance acumen, capable of managing complex financial, compliance, and process portfolios. They must possess the ability to collaborate across finance, HR, legal, and technology functions and bring a mindset of continuous improvement to the CIO organization.

On\-campus position: This position is exclusively on\-site, necessitating all duties to be performed in person. Per Rice policy 440 , work arrangements may be subject to change.

Hiring Range: $127,100 to $153,000 annual salary, depending on experience and qualifications

• \Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
• 6\+ years of experience in operational leadership, preferably within higher education or complex organizations

Skills

• Demonstrated expertise in financial stewardship, compliance oversight, and process management
• Ability to design and implement governance frameworks that balance agility with control
• Strong analytical skills and ability to develop and interpret operational performance metrics
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; able to influence at all organizational levels
• Experience working effectively with the CIO, Deputy CIO, CFO, CHRO, CISO, and General Counsel offices
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and serving the needs of a diverse university community

Preferred Skills/Experience

• 7 years of experience in operational leadership, preferably within higher education or complex organizations

Essential Functions

• Lead operational planning and execution for the CIO organization, ensuring reliability, consistency, and accountability
• Oversee the CIO organization’s budgeting, forecasting, and financial management processes
• Maintain compliance with applicable regulations, policies, and contractual requirements
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators for organizational health
• Coordinate operational risk assessment and assurance activities
• Standardize and improve administrative and operational processes
• Partner with HR to manage workforce operations, including onboarding, offboarding, and role control
• Serve as a liaison to Internal Audit, the CISO, and the General Counsel on operational and vendor risk matters
• Promote a culture of operational excellence, transparency, and continuous improvement

Rice University HR \| Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values \| Rice University

• Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please get in touch with Rice University’s Human Resources Office via email at facstaffada@rice.edu for support.*

• If you have any additional questions, please email us at jobs@rice.edu. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.*