Chief Administrative Officer

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:LimitedEmployment Type:RegularJob Profile:Business Affairs Director IJob Summary:The inaugural Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for SMPH Information Technology serves as the senior administrative and financial leader for a large, complex, and rapidly evolving enterprise IT organization supporting all missions across the School of Medicine and Public Health’s departments, institutes, and centers. The CAO directs business operations, finance, and administrative functions that currently absorb significant technical‑leadership capacity, enabling IT leaders to focus more fully on strategic and technical priorities.In this role, the CAO delivers critical financial and operational leadership, including the development and oversight of budgeting practices, chargeback modeling, and the implementation of a major annual chargeback center. The position partners closely with SMPH administration and departmental leaders to strengthen administrative infrastructure, streamline workflows, enhance fiscal reporting, and ensure IT services remain aligned with the needs of academic and research units.This position is essential to advancing strong financial stewardship and supporting major organizational transitions—such as the recent migration to Workday and ongoing application conversions—while modernizing service agreements and promoting operational excellence across SMPH IT.The CAO will directly supervise several positions supporting the administration of IT.This position requires most work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location. Key Job Responsibilities:Assesses processes, staffing, and systems to identify opportunities for improvement and streamlining on a regular basisServes as the primary business advisor, liaison, and partner to divisional leadership and key stakeholder groupsServes as a major point of contact and catalyst for problem resolution. Provides insightful and diplomatic communicationsOversees the implementation of all operational and administrative activitiesExercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employeesLeads communication efforts for IT, through partnership with and utilizing the communication tools administered by the Dean’s communications department.  Ensure faculty and staff are aware of IT initiatives, policies and procedures and performance measures and plans to improve and innovateServes as the subject matter expert and oversees "chargeback" operations where IT services and informatics are billed to SMPH departments or extramural funds.Develops the division's financial strategy including planning, forecasts, budgets, and cash management that focus on attaining and sustaining long-term financial equilibrium in collaboration with university leadershipWorks with senior administrative and academic leadership to design, establish, and maintain an administrative organizational structure to effectively and efficiently accomplish goals and objectives while appropriately defining duties and mitigating riskDepartment:School of Medicine and Public Health, Information Technology.Compensation:The starting salary for this position is $125,000 annually, but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. For more information, refer to the campus benefits webpage.SMPH Faculty /Academic Staff Benefits Flyer 2026Required Qualifications:5+ years of progressively responsible experience in administrative leadership, including oversight of business operations, finance, HR, or organizational process improvement.Experience developing and managing financial strategy, budgets, forecasts, and cash management for a complex organization.Experience supervising staff, including hiring, performance management, and workload planning.Demonstrated experience improving, assessing, or streamlining administrative or operational processes.Excellent communication skills, with demonstrated ability to facilitate problem resolution and communicate diplomatically.Preferred Qualifications:Prior experience in higher education, academic medicine, research administration, or large, matrixed organizations.Experience managing or implementing chargeback models, cost centers, or service‑based billing, especially at multimillion‑dollar scale.Experience supporting IT organizations, research computing, or technical service units with complex financial and operational structures.Experience developing or modernizing service agreements, MOUs, or departmental contracts.Education:Bachelor's degree preferred; focus in business administration, public administration, finance, accounting, or a related field is preferredHow to Apply:For the best experience completing your application, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox as your web browser.To apply for this position, select either “I am a current employee” or “I am not a current employee” under Apply Now. You will then be prompted to upload your application materials.Important: The application has only one attachment field. Upload the following documents in that field, either as a single combined file or as multiple files in the same upload area. • Cover letter (required) • Resume Your cover letter should address how your training and experience aligns with the required and preferred qualifications listed above. Application reviewers will rely on these written materials to determine which applicants move forward in the process. Referen