Executive Director, Advanced and Emerging Technology Services (AI and Digital Innovation) in La Plata, Maryland at College of Southern Maryland

Located 45 minutes from the Nation’s Capital, nestled in a history-rich community of southern Maryland, The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is a two-time Aspen Award-winning institution (top 15% of Community Colleges) with academic programs in over 100 disciplines. CSM is among America’s top 100 producers of Minority Associate Degrees in twenty categories, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education. CSM offers excellent health insurance benefits; State Retirement Pension plan; wellness programs; Code Green early closure Fridays in the summer; college closure for spring break and several major holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year; and for several days in March for Spring Break. We are an innovative institution committed to student success and well known for our flexibility to meet student and community needs.

The Executive Director of Advanced and Emerging Technology Services provides visionary leadership for the development, launch, and ongoing management of the institution’s emerging IT technologies and hub for artificial intelligence strategy, innovation, and community engagement. The Executive Director will guide institution-wide AI adoption and governance across teaching, learning, student success, administrative operations, and workforce development. This role will ensure that AI initiatives align with institutional priorities, maintain ethical and responsible AI practices, and strengthen partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. The incumbent will explore, assess, and launch emerging technologies to support improvements in digital innovation, data reporting and analytics (data lakes/data warehouses), and academic, operational and workforce process improvements. This position collaborates closely with our academic, administrative, enterprise applications, and IT operations teams. Additionally, this position has the potential to provide supervision and guidance to student workers, interns, and an Instructional Specialist position in the future, based on programmatic and organizational needs.

Reports to: VP and Chief Information Officer (CIO)

The hiring salary for this position will be from the min to mid-point of the salary range advertised. This position is open until filled.

20% Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as the primary champion for responsible AI adoption/use and the integration of emerging IT technologies across the institution.
• Provide budget management support for the development and oversight of funding supporting the AI Center.
• Provide leadership/oversight for support positions supporting the AI Center.
• Collaborate/Maintain effective communications with key stakeholders including Division of Learning, IT, Planning, Institutional Effectiveness, and Research, Operations and Planning, Human Resources, Student Excellence and Success, Workforce Development, students, and community partners to identify, review, and implement AI and emerging technology solutions.
• Lead a cross-functional team of instructional designers, data analysts, technologists, and program managers supporting AI and emerging technology initiatives.
• Cultivate an environment of ethical innovation, continuous learning, and inclusive institution-wide participation.
• Maintain awareness of the environmental impact of new and emerging technologies and develop/implement strategies to proactively address these findings.

20% Training & Development Programs

Students

Faculty

Staff & Administrators

Delivery

15% AI Strategic Roadmap Execution

• Lead execution of the institution’s AI strategic roadmap including planning and launch of related AI or Technology Centers.
• Align AI Center initiatives with institutional AI goals, academic priorities, and technology strategies.
• Prioritize projects based on desirability, impact, feasibility, viability, compliance, and resource needs.
• Develop KPIs, dashboards, and progress-tracking mechanisms for the AI Strategic Roadmap.
• Provide executive leadership with regular reports on progress, risks, and outcomes.

15% AI Advisory Board Leadership

• Establish and facilitate an institution-wide AI Advisory Board composed of faculty, IT leaders, student representatives, legal/ethics experts, and external community partners.
• Manage the Board’s role in strategic direction-setting, policy review and development, risk assessment, and oversight of AI governance.
• Coordinate review and approval processes for major AI initiatives, pilots, community partnerships, and vendor engagements.
• Ensure transparent governance and inclusive representation across academic and administrative units.

10% Operational Efficiency & Automation Initiatives

• Partner with administrative units to identify automation opportunities (e.g., admissions triage, scheduling optimization, HR onboarding, document processing).
• Support implementation of AI-driven predictive analytics (enrollment forecasting, retention modeling, course demand).
• Collaborate with IT to enhance service desk, cybersecurity, and infrastructure monitoring using AI-enabled tools.
• Promote institution-wide adoption of AI for workflow optimization and continuous improvement.

10% AI and Emerging Technology Integration Across Campus Functions

Academic Innovation

Program Enablement

Student Services & Success

Campus Operations & Facilities

5% AI Technology Tools & Governance

• Curate, evaluate, and administer institution-approved AI tools.
• Support the establishment of an ethical and secure usage framework aligned with privacy, cybersecurity, accessibility, and academic integrity standards.
• Oversee creation of sandbox environments and innovation labs that allow experimentation with AI technologies.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations governing data, accessibility, and student protections.

5% AI Conferences, Convenings & External Partnerships

• Represent the institution at regional, national, and global AI conferences, summits, and higher-ed innovation forums.
• Organize institutional AI and emerging technology convenings, symposiums, advisory summits, and community events.
• Strengthen partnerships with industry, community organizations, government, and technology providers.
• Seek grant funding, philanthropic partnerships, and collaborative technology-related opportunities.

Additional Duties:

Preferred Education and Experience:

Licenses, Certifications, or Additional Requirements:

• ITIL Foundations or PMP for program/process management is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work is medium work which requires exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

General Employment Information

The College of Southern Maryland is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Background Checks

The College of Southern Maryland conducts background checks in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the College's staff and students. The final candidate for this position will be subject to the following background checks: Criminal History Check and Sex Offender Registry Check.

Conflict of Interest policy

No College of Southern Maryland employee shall engage in or have a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in any activity that conflicts or raises a reasonable question of conflict with his or her duties and responsibilities. CSM Employees shall not at any time engage in any outside employment or independent consulting that would adversely affect their employment status or performance as employees at the college, create a conflict of interest, or, with the exception of constitutionally protected activities, would compromise or embarrass the college, or adversely affect professional standing. Any full-time college employee who also holds a full-time position or its equivalent in consulting elsewhere (whether permanent or seasonal) will be deemed to have a conflict of interest and will be asked to resign from one of the full-time positions. Full-time employees must promptly disclose in writing, on a form available from the Human Resources Office, to the college all other full-time employment or its equivalent in independent consulting.

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