POSITION IDENTIFICATION
TITLE Assistant Vice President for Information Technology / Networking
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 1560
GRADE 48
CLASSIFICATION Exempt
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Vice President for Information Technology
GENERAL FUNCTION
The Assistant Vice President for Information Technology / Networking provides executive leadership and strategic direction for the University’s enterprise networking and connectivity services across all Missouri State University system campuses and locations. Reporting to the Vice President / Chief Information Officer, this position is responsible for the planning, governance, performance, security, resiliency, and financial stewardship of the University’s network infrastructure in support of academic, research, and administrative missions.
The Assistant Vice President for IT/Networking establishes system‑wide networking strategy, standards, and priorities; oversees delegated operational leadership; manages significant budgets and vendor relationships; and serves as a senior advisor to University leadership on network‑related risks, investments, and capabilities. The role focuses on institutional outcomes and long‑range planning.
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Education: A Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field is required. A Master’s degree is preferred. An equivalent combination of years of experience and education may be considered for substitution of educational requirements.
Experience: A minimum of eight (8) or more years of progressive experience in enterprise networking and infrastructure environments as well as a demonstrated successful experience managing complex network-based departments is required. A minimum of five (5) years of higher-level leadership and comprehensive management experience involving long range planning, preparing department cost estimates, maintaining budget oversight, and programming development is preferred. Work experience in a higher education environment is also preferred.
Skills: Must possess executive leadership and strategic planning skills and the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business and academic impact statements. Strong understanding of modern networking, security principles, and infrastructure trends sufficient for governance and oversight. Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder‑engagement skills. Proven ability to evaluate competing institutional priorities and maintain strong analytical, organizational, and decision‑making capabilities. A thorough understanding of network protocols including TCP/IP and networking equipment including routers, switches, classic firewalls, and next generation firewalls is required. The ability to solve network-related problems by using diagnostic techniques and protocols is required.
Effort: The position requires working at computers for extended periods of time, occasionally lifting, and carrying objects weighing up to fifty pounds and requires sufficient mobility to perform the duties of the position,
Other: The 24-hour scope of university operations requires this position to be available in evenings, nights, and weekends to respond to calls regarding questions or problems with the University’s networks. Occasional travel to remote sites to provide support or engage in professional development opportunities is required.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Provides executive leadership for the University’s enterprise networking services, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities, academic needs, and long range technology strategies ensuring a high-quality program of support in network services.2. Collaborates with academic leadership, administrative units, and shared governance bodies to align networking capabilities with University needs.
3. Develops and maintains a multi-year networking roadmap addressing scalability, resilience, security, and emerging technologies for the department.
4. Develops proposals, presentations, plans, timelines, and budgets for complex projects and establishes enterprise networking standards, policies, and architectural principles to ensure consistency, interoperability, and sustainability across the University system.
5. Leads development and oversight of the networking budget, ensuring responsible stewardship of institutional resources.
6. Oversees major vendor relationships, contracts, and procurement activities related to network infrastructure and services.
7. Evaluates and prioritizes capital investments and major initiatives to maximize institutional value and performance and ensures operational integrity and continuity of the network services by providing leadership in the development of objectives for the Networking Department to support both academic and administrative networking within the University through reliability, responsiveness, documentation, and currency of software/hardware.
8. Maintains awareness of emerging networking technologies and higher education trends to inform strategic decision making and directs the highest level of effectiveness and support in network operations by obtaining and maintaining an in-depth knowledge of any network-related hardware and software utilized within the University.
9. Collaborates with academic leadership, administrative units, and shared governance bodies to align networking capabilities with University needs.
10. Partners with cybersecurity leadership to ensure network architectures and controls support institutional security and risk management objectives.
11. Leads, mentors, and evaluates managers and senior technical leaders responsible for networking services.
12. Promotes a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and service excellence.
13. Supports workforce planning, succession planning, and professional development within the networking organization.
14. Ensures appropriate disaster preparedness, business continuity, and network resilience strategies are in place.
15. Represents networking and infrastructure interests on University committees and task forces as assigned.
16. Contributes to the overall success of the Office of Information Technology Services by establishing goals and standards conducive to the successful development of ongoing and enhanced networking capabilities through strategic planning for both short- and long-term activities.
SUPERVISION
The Assistant Vice President for Information Technology / Networking supervises the networking staff.
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
REVISED APRIL 2026
