Director Applications Development Jobs in California

Description

What if I told you it is possible to find a Company that lived to educate, inspire and empower others while creating a family atmosphere that truly appreciates and respects their team? Would you apply?

What if I threw in strong Company values, outstanding benefits, and the opportunity for you to make a tangible impact and feel appreciated?

See below for a feel of what the Company culture is (REALLY) like. Hint: it's amazing.

At Westcliff, we are constantly striving to be the best while valuing each of our team members as human beings and succeeding together!

Westcliff is a leader in innovative global education. We are respected for our transformative, technologically advanced programs and initiatives with a focus on excellence, social responsibility, and diversity. Our tagline - "Educate. Inspire, Empower." - is a summary of our Mission Statement. As it suggests, the main focus of our University is to strive to enhance the opportunities of our students and employees to enjoy success through empowerment, as a result of their education and hard work.

By joining the Westcliff team, you'll be playing a significant role in our growth, having an opportunity to put your personal touch on Westcliff's progress as we grow and succeed together!

Senior Director, Technology Applications

Westcliff University is seeking a Senior Director of Technology, Applications to lead the strategy, implementation,

and optimization of enterprise applications to support the university's rapid growth and enhance the student

experience.

This role will accelerate the university's technology roadmap, with a focus on establishing an integrated scalable

application platform. The position provides hands-on leadership across enterprise systems such as the Student

Information System (SIS), Instructional Technology (LMS), Slate CRM, and related project management. The goal is to

establish a premier IT organization that implements leading technology and provides innovative technology solutions to

the organization.

The Senior Director reports to the CFO and partners with academic and administrative leadership, and outside vendors

to deliver proactive, high-impact technology solutions aligned with institutional priorities.

Applications Strategy and Delivery

•  Own and execute the enterprise applications roadmap, aligned to institutional growth and student experience goals
• Lead implementation and enhancement of key platforms (e.g., academic/operational systems including SIS, LMS, Academic operations and CRM)
• Drive delivery of SaaS and custom-built applications to support scaling needs
• Leverage AI to accelerate business processes automation and build a robust knowledge base
• Establish governance for application architecture, integrations, and lifecycle management
• Enhance the University's posture and awareness of Application  Information Security
• Able to transform the development organization to new AI development paradigm
• Evaluate and recommend new technology solutions aligned with university needs

Leadership and Team Development

• Provide strong, hands-on leadership across applications, instructional technology, and systems solutions teams
• Build and scale the applications organization, including hiring critical roles and optimizing team structure
• Upskill existing leadership by providing mentorship and guidance

Technology Acceleration and Execution

• Increase speed and quality of application implementations, addressing current resource and execution gaps
• Introduce agile, product-oriented delivery models where appropriate
• Ensure applications are positioned to support rapid institutional growth and scalability 

Vendor and Partner Management

• Develop and manage strategic relationships with key application vendors and consulting partners
• Leverage external partners (e.g., Moodle consultants, offshore resources) to accelerate delivery

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a visible and proactive technology leader across the university
• Partner with academic and administrative leadership to understand needs and translate them into solutions
• Improve IT's reputation as a strategic, solution-oriented partner rather than a reactive function

Data and Business Intelligence

• Develop a formal data and analytics roadmap to improve data availability, reporting/analytics capabilities, including our evolution from reporting to predictive analytics
• Actively incorporate AI into our roadmap, pushing the organization to have focused and insightful analytics as opposed to dashboards and reporting

All other duties as assigned

Job Requirements 

• 10+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, with significant focus on enterprise applications
• Proven track record leading large-scale application implementations and integrations
• Experience building and scaling high-performing technology teams
• Strong experience with vendor management and SaaS platforms
• Demonstrated ability to operate in fast-growth, transformation-oriented environments
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to drive execution, not just strategy
• Experience in higher education or similarly complex environments
• Familiarity with Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Moodle

Preferred

•  Experience balancing in-house development and commercial platforms
•  Exposure to offshore or hybrid delivery models