Director of Digital Enablement
About the role
Staff - Non Union
Job Category
M&P - AAPS
Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Information Systems and Technology, Level H
Job Title
Director of Digital Enablement
Department
OCIO | Office of the CIO
Compensation Range
$13,899.25 - $21,693.33 CAD Monthly
The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.
Posting End Date
July 30, 2025
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.
Job End Date
This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
Job Summary
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a top-ranked global center for teaching, learning, and research, consistently recognized among the world’s leading public universities. UBC's diverse environment spans numerous industry sectors, including healthcare, education, food services, legal, media, and real estate, serving a community of over 70,000 members. Its digital ecosystem must support a wide array of needs with robust operational capabilities and the agility required to achieve the ambitious goals outlined in its Strategic Plan: Shaping UBC's Next Century.
This role provides overall strategic executive leadership, vision, strategic plans, goals and technical expertise to senior technology staff and managers engaged in the planning, implementation and management of multiple large and complex information systems all in alignment with the CIO's vision within the Digital Enablement portfolio. This portfolio encompasses a broad range of applications, services, and solutions related to teaching and learning, research, and administrative activities.
Additionally, the Director is responsible for cultivating a positive work environment within UBC IT, supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace. To achieve the CIO and UBC's objectives for people leadership and development, the Director will foster a respectful workplace, build cohesive teams, mentor and coach staff to reach their full potential, and establish effective career and succession planning processes.
Organizational Status
Reports directly to the Associate Vice President, Information Technology and CIO (referred to as CIO). Actively contributes as a collaborative member of the UBC IT Senior Leadership Team and participates in UBC committees as directed by the CIO. Works closely with management and staff across UBC IT and the broader UBC community, maintaining interdependencies with other IT groups, UBC Faculties, and Administrative Groups. Additionally, maintains a network of contacts within higher education institutions and large IT operations to stay informed on relevant activities and trends in the academic and research context.
Work Performed
Product Governance, Strategy and Delivery
The Director of Digital Enablement ensures UBC achieves its strategic objectives by collaborating with academic, administrative, and research units, with a strong focus on effective product governance, strategic alignment, and successful delivery.
- Define and implement the strategic vision for digital services, ensuring alignment with the university's academic and operational goals. Oversee the development of function specific strategies, tactical plans and initiatives.
- Seek to understand the strategic drivers of the institution, faculty, and departments, ensuring the application portfolio aligns with and supports these objectives.
- Facilitate IT governance processes to achieve consensus on a prioritized set of measurable outcomes that digital solutions and platforms must support.
- Champion the implementation and enforcement of robust cybersecurity policies and practices across the portfolio, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and systems. Collaborate with Cybersecurity to proactively address potential threats and maintain a secure digital environment.
- Embed risk management into the culture and values of the portfolio by integrating proactive risk assessment and mitigation strategies into all projects and initiatives. Foster a risk-aware mindset to ensure that potential issues are identified early and managed effectively.
- Develop and drive product strategy in collaboration with enterprise architecture to ensure digital solutions align with institutional goals, while staying current with industry trends and technological advancements to adapt and innovate in a rapidly changing environment.
- Define and enhance lifecycle management methodologies, focusing on application rationalization and alignment with industry best practices, while ensuring compliance with privacy, security, and policy standards, and maintaining effective product management functions, including roadmap development and performance metrics.
- Collaborate with portfolio and project management teams to ensure initiatives align with institutional goals, optimize resource allocation, minimize support costs, and achieve timely delivery, while managing risks and coordinating efforts across technical and functional areas.
- Oversee budgeting, financial planning, and administrative functions for the portfolio, ensuring strategic resource allocation, financial efficiency, and compliance with university policies while driving effective administration and cost management.
Leadership and Engagement
The Director, Digital Enablement cultivates high-performing, innovative teams through mentorship, integrity and a supportive work environment essential for achieving the institution’s ambitious strategic goals.
- Lead with passion, energy, and enthusiasm to provide clear vision and direction to the portfolio, ensuring it empowers UBC to achieve its goals.
- Acts as the CIO representative for their functional areas to regional, national and international agencies and organizations
- Promote and ensure the integration of equity, diversity, and accessibility principles into all digital projects and solutions, ensuring that technology supports an inclusive and equitable academic environment.
- Collaborate with the CIO and institutional leaders to ensure IT excels in delivering digital capabilities that effectively align with and support the diverse priorities of the university community.
- Cultivate a collaborative culture within the portfolio, encouraging continuous improvement and the sharing of best practices to enhance digital solutions and services.
- Continuously evolve the portfolio to lead with agility through rapid change and innovation, developing new models and supporting staff to excel in their roles amidst changing contexts, while embracing new opportunities and challenges.
- Develop relationships with vendors, employing a strategic approach in negotiating and managing service-level agreements within the university and with external agencies and organizations.
Consequence of Error/Judgement
UBC's Information Technology portfolio is crucial in advancing the University towards its goal of becoming a global leader. The Director plays a pivotal role in shaping, aligning, and implementing the University's IT strategic plans while overseeing the delivery of essential operational technologies.
If UBC's IT strategies and operations fail to align with the University’s academic goals, or if IT-related services and support do not fully meet the needs of its units, the University's IT resources could hinder its ability to achieve strategic objectives. Misalignment and lack of direction in this role could damage the University's reputation, leading to decreased enrollment, reduced donations, and adverse public relations, while failure of key applications to meet operational requirements could result in significant reputational, financial, and legal repercussions.
Supervision Received
Reports directly to the CIO, with performance evaluated based on the achievement of long-term, multi-year objectives and the realization of associated benefits. The Director is expected to operate autonomously, exercise sound judgment, and take initiative aligning the portfolio, CIO, and UBC objectives, seeking clarification or approvals as necessary.
Supervision Given
Manages staff directly and indirectly through multiple levels of leadership, including contractors and project resources, ensuring all deliverables are effectively executed and aligned with defined goals.
Minimum Qualifications
Post-graduate degree. Minimum of thirteen years of related experience including at least six years of managerial experience plus five years of specialized experience in the administration and operation of centrally managed information technology services, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
-
Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
-
Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Preferred Qualifications
The Incumbent must have in-depth knowledge and experience with the following:
- Implementation and sustainment of comprehensive multi-functional enterprise platforms, including Microsoft 365, ServiceNow, and other market leading solutions.
- Leading diverse functional and technical teams in concert to deliver large-scale enterprise solutions efficiently.
- Collaborating with academic leaders and business stakeholders to create and refine digital solution strategies and roadmaps.
- Developing and implementing risk reduction strategies to enhance organizational resilience.
- Financial accounting and reporting to ensure accurate budget allocation, cost control, and adherence to financial policies.
- Leading negotiations and overseeing vendor relationships and contracts.
- Designing, implementing and managing ITIL processes and policies to enhance IT service management in a complex IT organization.
- Proven ability to coach and mentor employees, developing high-performing, cohesive teams while also fostering organizational change management capabilities and competencies within work teams.
- Demonstrated leadership in building cross-organizational consensus, with extensive experience engaging technology providers and business stakeholders and industry experts.
- Senior-level experience liaising with middle and senior management within large, complex organizations, including multinational and public sector entities.
Behaviors and Competencies
The Director acts in a senior leadership role and must demonstrate the following attributes:
- Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior and executive management, to enhance understanding and drive informed decision-making.
- Ability to build and sustain deeply trusting relationships with other institutional leaders.
- High personal integrity in managing professional affairs and handling sensitive, confidential data related to risks and costs in a public sector organization.
- Openness to rapid changes in business needs, processes, and technologies, while maintaining calmness and clarity of thought under pressure.
- Proficiency in managing conflict and defusing tension to achieve mutually agreeable solutions that effectively resolve disputes and maintain relationships.
- Exceptional organizational skills and ability to thrive under pressure, managing multiple priorities and competing resource demands with precision and foresight.
- Sensitivity to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) with adept communication and interaction skills across diverse communities, effectively managing diverse identities and perspectives while addressing conflict, adapting to change, and navigating ambiguity.
Director of Digital Enablement
About the role
Staff - Non Union
Job Category
M&P - AAPS
Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Information Systems and Technology, Level H
Job Title
Director of Digital Enablement
Department
OCIO | Office of the CIO
Compensation Range
$13,899.25 - $21,693.33 CAD Monthly
The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.
Posting End Date
July 30, 2025
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.
Job End Date
This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
Job Summary
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a top-ranked global center for teaching, learning, and research, consistently recognized among the world’s leading public universities. UBC's diverse environment spans numerous industry sectors, including healthcare, education, food services, legal, media, and real estate, serving a community of over 70,000 members. Its digital ecosystem must support a wide array of needs with robust operational capabilities and the agility required to achieve the ambitious goals outlined in its Strategic Plan: Shaping UBC's Next Century.
This role provides overall strategic executive leadership, vision, strategic plans, goals and technical expertise to senior technology staff and managers engaged in the planning, implementation and management of multiple large and complex information systems all in alignment with the CIO's vision within the Digital Enablement portfolio. This portfolio encompasses a broad range of applications, services, and solutions related to teaching and learning, research, and administrative activities.
Additionally, the Director is responsible for cultivating a positive work environment within UBC IT, supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace. To achieve the CIO and UBC's objectives for people leadership and development, the Director will foster a respectful workplace, build cohesive teams, mentor and coach staff to reach their full potential, and establish effective career and succession planning processes.
Organizational Status
Reports directly to the Associate Vice President, Information Technology and CIO (referred to as CIO). Actively contributes as a collaborative member of the UBC IT Senior Leadership Team and participates in UBC committees as directed by the CIO. Works closely with management and staff across UBC IT and the broader UBC community, maintaining interdependencies with other IT groups, UBC Faculties, and Administrative Groups. Additionally, maintains a network of contacts within higher education institutions and large IT operations to stay informed on relevant activities and trends in the academic and research context.
Work Performed
Product Governance, Strategy and Delivery
The Director of Digital Enablement ensures UBC achieves its strategic objectives by collaborating with academic, administrative, and research units, with a strong focus on effective product governance, strategic alignment, and successful delivery.
- Define and implement the strategic vision for digital services, ensuring alignment with the university's academic and operational goals. Oversee the development of function specific strategies, tactical plans and initiatives.
- Seek to understand the strategic drivers of the institution, faculty, and departments, ensuring the application portfolio aligns with and supports these objectives.
- Facilitate IT governance processes to achieve consensus on a prioritized set of measurable outcomes that digital solutions and platforms must support.
- Champion the implementation and enforcement of robust cybersecurity policies and practices across the portfolio, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and systems. Collaborate with Cybersecurity to proactively address potential threats and maintain a secure digital environment.
- Embed risk management into the culture and values of the portfolio by integrating proactive risk assessment and mitigation strategies into all projects and initiatives. Foster a risk-aware mindset to ensure that potential issues are identified early and managed effectively.
- Develop and drive product strategy in collaboration with enterprise architecture to ensure digital solutions align with institutional goals, while staying current with industry trends and technological advancements to adapt and innovate in a rapidly changing environment.
- Define and enhance lifecycle management methodologies, focusing on application rationalization and alignment with industry best practices, while ensuring compliance with privacy, security, and policy standards, and maintaining effective product management functions, including roadmap development and performance metrics.
- Collaborate with portfolio and project management teams to ensure initiatives align with institutional goals, optimize resource allocation, minimize support costs, and achieve timely delivery, while managing risks and coordinating efforts across technical and functional areas.
- Oversee budgeting, financial planning, and administrative functions for the portfolio, ensuring strategic resource allocation, financial efficiency, and compliance with university policies while driving effective administration and cost management.
Leadership and Engagement
The Director, Digital Enablement cultivates high-performing, innovative teams through mentorship, integrity and a supportive work environment essential for achieving the institution’s ambitious strategic goals.
- Lead with passion, energy, and enthusiasm to provide clear vision and direction to the portfolio, ensuring it empowers UBC to achieve its goals.
- Acts as the CIO representative for their functional areas to regional, national and international agencies and organizations
- Promote and ensure the integration of equity, diversity, and accessibility principles into all digital projects and solutions, ensuring that technology supports an inclusive and equitable academic environment.
- Collaborate with the CIO and institutional leaders to ensure IT excels in delivering digital capabilities that effectively align with and support the diverse priorities of the university community.
- Cultivate a collaborative culture within the portfolio, encouraging continuous improvement and the sharing of best practices to enhance digital solutions and services.
- Continuously evolve the portfolio to lead with agility through rapid change and innovation, developing new models and supporting staff to excel in their roles amidst changing contexts, while embracing new opportunities and challenges.
- Develop relationships with vendors, employing a strategic approach in negotiating and managing service-level agreements within the university and with external agencies and organizations.
Consequence of Error/Judgement
UBC's Information Technology portfolio is crucial in advancing the University towards its goal of becoming a global leader. The Director plays a pivotal role in shaping, aligning, and implementing the University's IT strategic plans while overseeing the delivery of essential operational technologies.
If UBC's IT strategies and operations fail to align with the University’s academic goals, or if IT-related services and support do not fully meet the needs of its units, the University's IT resources could hinder its ability to achieve strategic objectives. Misalignment and lack of direction in this role could damage the University's reputation, leading to decreased enrollment, reduced donations, and adverse public relations, while failure of key applications to meet operational requirements could result in significant reputational, financial, and legal repercussions.
Supervision Received
Reports directly to the CIO, with performance evaluated based on the achievement of long-term, multi-year objectives and the realization of associated benefits. The Director is expected to operate autonomously, exercise sound judgment, and take initiative aligning the portfolio, CIO, and UBC objectives, seeking clarification or approvals as necessary.
Supervision Given
Manages staff directly and indirectly through multiple levels of leadership, including contractors and project resources, ensuring all deliverables are effectively executed and aligned with defined goals.
Minimum Qualifications
Post-graduate degree. Minimum of thirteen years of related experience including at least six years of managerial experience plus five years of specialized experience in the administration and operation of centrally managed information technology services, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
-
Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
-
Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Preferred Qualifications
The Incumbent must have in-depth knowledge and experience with the following:
- Implementation and sustainment of comprehensive multi-functional enterprise platforms, including Microsoft 365, ServiceNow, and other market leading solutions.
- Leading diverse functional and technical teams in concert to deliver large-scale enterprise solutions efficiently.
- Collaborating with academic leaders and business stakeholders to create and refine digital solution strategies and roadmaps.
- Developing and implementing risk reduction strategies to enhance organizational resilience.
- Financial accounting and reporting to ensure accurate budget allocation, cost control, and adherence to financial policies.
- Leading negotiations and overseeing vendor relationships and contracts.
- Designing, implementing and managing ITIL processes and policies to enhance IT service management in a complex IT organization.
- Proven ability to coach and mentor employees, developing high-performing, cohesive teams while also fostering organizational change management capabilities and competencies within work teams.
- Demonstrated leadership in building cross-organizational consensus, with extensive experience engaging technology providers and business stakeholders and industry experts.
- Senior-level experience liaising with middle and senior management within large, complex organizations, including multinational and public sector entities.
Behaviors and Competencies
The Director acts in a senior leadership role and must demonstrate the following attributes:
- Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior and executive management, to enhance understanding and drive informed decision-making.
- Ability to build and sustain deeply trusting relationships with other institutional leaders.
- High personal integrity in managing professional affairs and handling sensitive, confidential data related to risks and costs in a public sector organization.
- Openness to rapid changes in business needs, processes, and technologies, while maintaining calmness and clarity of thought under pressure.
- Proficiency in managing conflict and defusing tension to achieve mutually agreeable solutions that effectively resolve disputes and maintain relationships.
- Exceptional organizational skills and ability to thrive under pressure, managing multiple priorities and competing resource demands with precision and foresight.
- Sensitivity to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) with adept communication and interaction skills across diverse communities, effectively managing diverse identities and perspectives while addressing conflict, adapting to change, and navigating ambiguity.