Assistant Director of Academic and Clinical Information Systems
As you take your first step onto a Western University of Health Sciences campus, each path, each person, each structure comes with a transformative story. WesternU is more than the practice of medicine. We are defined by character and culture.
At WesternU, you will discover humanism at the heart of every interaction: a warm welcome, a sincere smile, a positive word, a kind deed, a thoughtful gesture. You will see students work together on case studies; a parade of pets in campus parks; student clubs offering opportunities for career growth and community involvement; and faculty, staff and students designing their future and the future of WesternU. We display a collaborative mindset in how we operate, educate, and serve others.
Although, geographically, we are two campuses - as humanists, we are one: to enhance and extend the quality of life in our communities and achieve excellence in everything we do. We attract diverse, professional faculty, staff and students that thrive in an environment of humanistic health care education. Join our team of faculty and staff and make a difference.
Position Title
Position Title Assistant Director of Academic and Clinical Information Systems
Position Control Number
Position Control Number A04171
Type of Position
Type of Position Administration
Position Status
Position Status Full-time
Department
Department 1950-CDM-Medical Instrument Program
Campus
Campus Western University Campus-Pomona, CA
Position Location
Position Location California
Job Summary
The Assistant Director of Academic and Clinical Information Systems provides operational, technical, and project leadership for the College of Dental Medicine’s information systems, academic technology platforms, databases, internal applications, reporting tools, and technology support services. Reporting to the Director of Information Systems, this position serves as a technical lead and service coordinator for college-level systems used by faculty, staff, students, and administrators.
This role combines application administration, systems analysis, database and reporting support, software development, academic technology support, and IT service management. The Assistant Director participates in requirements gathering, solution design, development, testing, implementation, documentation, training, support, and continuous improvement of college information systems.
The position works collaboratively with college leadership, faculty, staff, students, WesternU IT, academic affairs, clinical operations, vendors, and other university departments to ensure that systems are reliable, secure, user-centered, accessible, and aligned with college and university priorities.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge:
- Knowledge of Windows, macOS, Microsoft 365, hardware, peripherals, productivity tools, and academic platforms such as Canvas, ExamSoft, Zoom, Teams, SharePoint, and related systems.
- Strong working knowledge of SQL , relational databases, reporting, data extraction, validation, integrations, APIs, automation tools, and Microsoft Power Platform.
- Ability to troubleshoot, document, and resolve hardware, software, application, access, workflow, and data-related issues.
- Understanding of information security, data privacy, role-based access, secure development, and appropriate handling of institutional data.
Skills:Software Development, Systems Analysis, and Project Management:
- Ability to gather requirements, document workflows, translate needs into technical solutions, and support systems through the full software development life cycle.
- Ability to design, build, test, deploy, document, and maintain applications, reports, dashboards, automations, integrations, and low-code/no-code solutions.
- Ability to coordinate projects, manage priorities, track deliverables, communicate status, and support successful implementation.
- Ability to create technical documentation, user guides, SOPs, training materials, and knowledge-based content.
- Ability to evaluate processes and recommend technology improvements that increase efficiency, reliability, usability, and service quality.
Service Management and Operational Support:
- Knowledge of IT service management, ticketing systems, incident tracking, escalation, documentation, and support metrics.
- Ability to prioritize and resolve support requests based on urgency, impact, academic needs, operational requirements, and service expectations.
- Ability to provide in-person and remote support using diagnostic and remote assistance tools.
- Ability to identify recurring issues, analyze trends, and recommend service improvements.
Abilities:Communication, Collaboration, and Leadership:
- Strong communication, interpersonal, customer service, and organizational skills.
- Ability to explain technical concepts to nontechnical users and work effectively with faculty, staff, students, administrators, vendors, central IT, and university partners.
- Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, maintain confidentiality, exercise sound judgment, and keep leadership informed.
- Ability to support WesternU’s commitment to Humanism.
Required Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, informatics, data systems, educational technology, management information systems, or related field; or an equivalent combination of education, training, certification, and experience.
Required Experience:
- Three or more years of progressively responsible experience in IT, information systems, application support, academic technology, systems analysis, database/reporting support, software development, or IT service delivery.
- Experience supporting users in a professional, academic, health sciences, or similarly complex environment.
- Experience troubleshooting Windows, macOS, Microsoft 365, hardware, software, cloud platforms, and/or academic systems.
- Experience using a ticketing system or structured process to track, document, prioritize, and resolve requests.
- Experience gathering requirements, documenting workflows, communicating with nontechnical users, and supporting technology projects.
- Working experience with SQL , relational databases, reporting tools, workflow automation, or data extraction.
Preferred QualificationsKey Responsibilities
Information Systems and Application Support:
- Administer, maintain, troubleshoot, and improve college-supported systems, databases, curricular platforms, applications, reports, dashboards, forms, automations, and workflows.
- Support academic and operational platforms including Canvas, ExamSoft, Microsoft 365, Zoom, SharePoint, Power Platform, and other approved systems.
- Monitor performance, data quality, access issues, recurring problems, and improvement opportunities.
- Coordinate with central IT and vendors to resolve issues, support upgrades, manage access, and ensure reliability.
- Maintain documentation for systems, configurations, workflows, access procedures, known issues, and support processes.
Software Development, Automation, Reporting, and Data Support:
- Gather requirements and translate business needs into functional and technical specifications.
- Design, develop, test, deploy, document, and support applications, scripts, reports, dashboards, automations, integrations, and data workflows.
- Use approved tools such as SQL , Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, APIs, and related technologies.
- Manage solutions through planning, testing, implementation, training, maintenance, and support.
- Develop secure, efficient, maintainable, and well-documented code or low-code/no-code solutions.
- Create and validate reports, dashboards, queries, and data extracts to support academic, administrative, operational, and decision-making needs.
IT Service Management and User Support:
- Oversee and participate in support request intake, triage, prioritization, escalation, resolution, follow-up, and documentation.
- Manage college-supported tickets, including review, scheduling, resolution documentation, and trend identification.
- Provide timely in-person and remote support to faculty, staff, and students for hardware, software, curricular applications, Microsoft 365 tools, and college systems.
- Escalate issues to central IT, vendors, or university departments and coordinate follow-up through resolution.
- Develop support documentation and analyze ticket trends, feedback, service gaps, and recurring issues to recommend improvements.
Academic and Curricular Technology Support:
- Support technology used in curriculum delivery, assessment, communication, academic operations, and student learning.
- Work with faculty, staff, and academic leadership to identify and support technology needs for courses, exams, workflows, student support, and operations.
- Assist with configuration, testing, troubleshooting, training, and support of curricular platforms, assessment tools, learning management systems, and related technologies.
- Collaborate with university departments to support academic quality, accessibility, reliability, and student success.
Project Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement:
- Coordinate assigned technology projects from planning through implementation, including scoping, requirements, timelines, communication, testing, training, deployment, and support.
- Collaborate with college administration, faculty, staff, students, central IT, vendors, and university departments to implement technology solutions.
- Assist the Director of Information Systems with prioritization, technology evaluation, project communication, and alignment with college and university goals.
- Participate in planning, system evaluations, workflow analysis, vendor discussions, procurement planning, and process improvement.
- Serve as a technical liaison for assigned systems, projects, and support needs.
Security, Compliance, Data Governance, and Continuous Improvement: