Senior Director, Information Technology
uwaterloo · Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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Job Requisition ID:
2026-03355
Time Type:
Full time
Employee Group:
Staff
Job Category:
IT Infrastructure and Systems
Employment Type:
Permanent
Department:
Faculty of Engineering - Dean of Engineering Office - Faculty Administration
Hiring Range:
$147,688.15 - $184,610.19
Posting Information:
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
The internal posting deadline for this position is October 29, 2026 , 11:59PM.
Job Description:
Primary Purpose
The Senior Director, Information Technology (SDIT) leads the Faculty of Engineering’s information technology strategy and operations and is accountable for the overall results of Engineering IT. The role translates institutional priorities into innovative, reliable, and service-oriented solutions that support excellence in teaching, learning, research, and administration
The SDIT provides strategic leadership and oversight for the Faculty's technology services, infrastructure, and innovation portfolio, including IT support services, enterprise infrastructure and application services, audiovisual and classroom technologies, and research computing. The role ensures technology services are responsive, scalable, and aligned with the Faculty's academic, research, and operational objectives, while fostering strong stakeholder partnerships, operational excellence, and continuous improvement across all technology functions.
Reporting directly to the Executive Officer, the SDIT provides strategic and operational leadership for information technology across the Faculty of Engineering. The SDIT is accountable for translating priorities into coordinated technology strategies, initiatives, and services that advance the Faculty’s mission and core values. As the information technology expert, the SDIT oversees all information technology functions and personnel, ensuring the delivery of reliable, secure, innovative, and client-focused technology solutions. The role is responsible for establishing a service-oriented culture grounded in continuous improvement, operational excellence, collaboration, and accountability while aligning technology investments and resources with the Faculty’s strategic objectives. The SDIT leads a diverse portfolio of IT professionals operating within an academic environment, providing direction for technology governance, infrastructure, enterprise applications, information security, research computing support, digital transformation initiatives, and user services. Through strong operational leadership and strategic partnership with academic and administrative leaders, the SDIT enables the Faculty to maintain and enhance its reputation as a world-class leader in engineering education and research.
The SDIT fosters effective partnerships with academic, administrative, and external stakeholders to advance the Faculty’s strategic objectives. The role is responsible for bringing critical issues, risks, opportunities, and emerging trends to the attention of leadership, providing informed strategic advice, and driving the evolution and execution of the Faculty’s information technology vision to support innovation, operational excellence, and long-term institutional success. The SDIT also serves as Engineering’s senior IT liaison to the Chief Information Officer and IST, ensuring Faculty priorities are represented in institutional IT planning and that Engineering’s technology services align with University IT governance, standards and efficiency through shared services.
Key Accountabilities
Organizational Leadership
- Defines, establishes, and continuously evolves a Faculty-wide information technology operating model that supports the strategic priorities and enables excellence in teaching, learning, research, and administration.
- Provides overall leadership for the Faculty’s information technology organizational structure, ensuring roles, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and service delivery models are clearly defined, strategically aligned, and well positioned to meet current and future business needs.
- Establishes a cohesive and integrated technology organization by bringing together distributed and centralized IT functions under a common vision, governance framework, service standards, and operating principles.
- Creates and aligns strategic, governance, standards-setting, and operational activities across all Faculty information technology functions and personnel to ensure the consistent delivery of reliable, secure, scalable, and innovative technology services.
- Works with Engineering leadership and the Chief Information Officer to align the development and implementation of technology governance structures within Engineering to the institutional IT governance framework, including decision-making processes, policies, and accountability frameworks that support effective prioritization, resource allocation, risk management, and operational excellence.
- Oversees the organizational design and workforce planning of Faculty IT teams, ensuring the appropriate structure, capacity, capabilities, and succession strategies are in place to support evolving academic, research, and administrative requirements.
- Fosters collaboration among technology teams and stakeholders to establish shared goals, common service standards, and integrated approaches to technology planning, implementation, and support.
- Ensures the effective coordination of infrastructure, enterprise applications, information security, research computing support, client services, instructional technologies, and emerging technology initiatives within a unified service delivery framework.
- Establishes performance expectations, service metrics, and operational standards that promote accountability, continuous improvement, service excellence, and the effective stewardship of Faculty information technology resources.
- Leads organizational change initiatives associated with technology transformation, ensuring stakeholders are engaged, informed, and supported throughout the implementation of new processes, systems, and service models.
- Promotes a culture of innovation, collaboration, and client-focused service across all information technology functions, empowering teams to identify opportunities for improvement, modernize service delivery, and enhance the overall user experience.
- Ensures technology services, organizational structures, and operational practices remain aligned with university priorities, best practices, and the long-term strategic direction of the institution.
Strategic Leadership
- Develops and champions the Faculty information technology vision, translating strategic priorities into comprehensive, actionable plans supported by sound business cases, resource strategies, and measurable outcomes. Further seeks to collaboratively align the Engineering IT vision with the University IT Strategic Vision and yearly operating plan.
- Serves as a trusted advisor to the Executive Officer, providing expert counsel on emerging opportunities, risks, challenges, and stakeholder concerns, and recommending effective courses of action to advance objectives.
- Builds alignment and commitment across academic and administrative support groups by fostering engagement, facilitating informed decision-making, and mobilizing teams around shared strategic priorities and goals.
- Communicates and interprets the Faculty’s technology vision, priorities, and objectives to internal and external stakeholders, ensuring a clear understanding of how technology initiatives