JASONSHAFFNER.com

Leadership in #highered IT (among other things)
 

For more than twenty years I have led large, complex, and high-impact teams and projects in higher education information systems.

WORK HISTORY

With more than two decades of experience leading information tecnology and business transformation initiatives in higher education, I specialize in helping business leaders align their strategies to information technology initiatives.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Associate Vice President, Administrative Technology Services (Sept 2016 - Present)
Harvard University Information Technology

As a member of the University CIO's senior leadership team and the Harvard CIO Council, supervise a team of 240+ people responsible for the administrative systems portfolio for finance, human resources, research administration, alumni affairs, building operations, health services, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and several other business units. My team also provides business intelligence, customer relationship management, and process automation services to the university. In this role, I engage with senior leaders across central administration and the schools to ensure that information technology investments and improvements align to evolving business needs.

Managing Director, Student Information Systems Program (May 2013 - Sept 2016)
Harvard University Information Technology

Managed Harvard's implementation of a common student information system to replace several dozen local systems and create a modern online experience for students, faculty, and advisors across multiple schools across Harvard. Completed the project on-time and on-budget while adopting an agile software development methodology for the first time in an enterprise application at Harvard.

Director, Financial Systems Solutions (May 2010 - May 2013)
Harvard University Financial Administration

As a member of the University Chief Financial Officer's leadership team, managed the team responsible for business analysis and project management in support of Harvard's financial management systems portfolio, including Oracle E-Business Suite Financials, PeopleSoft HCM, Hyperion Planning, Harvard's Grants Management Application Suite, among others. Served as project director for several large capital projects and established a robust multi-year strategic planning process to align business objectives to IT projects.

Program Director, Financial Systems Solutions (June 2008 - May 2010)
Harvard University Financial Administration

Led the implementation of Harvard's first-ever university-wide financial planning system, to support enhanced local planning and the launch of institution-wide multi-year financial planning, and the University's first procure-to-pay system including online catalogs, electronic invoicing, and pre-commitment approval. Developed planning processes and tools that were adopted throughout the organization.

Consultant (January 2000 - June 2008)
The Exeter Group (Cambridge, MA)

Served in lead roles on an array of information technology projects in higher education, including Functional Lead, Development Lead, Applications Developer, Project Manager, and Senior Project Manager. Primarily focused on student information systems and enterprise resource planning suites. Clients included University of Arizona, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, University of Iowa, and the Universidad de Puerto Rico.

 

EDUCATION

Harvard College, Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) magna cum laude in Social Studies

Thesis: Anything to Survive: Union-Management Concessions and Cooperation at Two Maine Paper Mills

 

Harvard Extension School, Master of Liberal Arts (ALM), English

Thesis: Elevated by Art: Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Literary Ambitions to Transcend Sensation

 

TRAINING AND CERTIFICATIONS

MOR Advanced Leaders Program - 2023

CIO Leadership Institute with MIT Sloan School of Management - 2013

Project Management Professional (PMP) - 2011

Other certifications include Google Apigee, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Microsoft Certified Database Administrator, etc.

 

PRESENTATIONS

I have presented frequently at higher education industry events such as EDUCAUSE and the Higher Education User Group (HEUG) on a wide range of topics including agile project management, change management, system selection, business intelligence, and other topics.
 

LANGUAGE

Intermediate fluency in French, Spanish, and Norwegian.