Associate Director, Database Services - Association of American Colleges & Universities

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the vitality and democratic purposes of undergraduate liberal education. Through our programs and events, publications and research, public advocacy and campus-based projects, AAC&U serves as a catalyst and facilitator for innovations that improve educational quality and equity and that support the success of all students. In addition to accredited public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities and state higher education systems and agencies throughout the United States, our membership includes degree-granting higher education institutions in more than twenty-five countries as well as other organizations and individuals. To learn more, visit www.aacu.org.

The American Association of Colleges and Universities is seeking an experienced Associate Director, Database Services who will be responsible for the installation, configuration, maintenance, security, and performance of the database, Nimble. In addition, the Associate Director will play a critical role in ensuring the efficient operations of the Association’s database. The Associate Director will collaborate with cross functional teams to ensure their data requirements are understood, analyzed, and aligned with the broader goals of the organization. More importantly, the Associate Director will ensure that the database environment is stable, secure, and capable of supporting the overall objectives of the Association, while anticipating the changing needs of the organization as well. This position will report to the Office of Administration.

Responsibilities

Manage life cycle support of the database to include:

• Develop, maintain, and support the Association’s Management System, Nimble AMS by Community Brands.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define, design, and develop new features and functions.
• Design and develop scalable code in accordance with best practices and business standards. Conduct backups and establish procedures to maintain consistency in the coding of data.
• Implement and maintain user permissions and controls to protect and maintain the security of the database systems.
• Perform periodic checks and queries to assure database performance and data integrity.
• Implement database clean up and corrections, apply new patches, upgrades, and versions when required. Test and analyze database performance and stress tolerance.
• Manage backup and recovery processes while ensuring continuity of the operations and database systems.
• Develop reusable reports and queries that can be modified to extract pertinent information for organization-wide distribution, research, and planning purposes.
• Stay updated on the latest technologies and trends in software development.
• Develop written processes and guidelines to optimize use of the database and supporting applications through the software development life cycle.
• Create processes to simplify workflow around key events and projects to include ongoing training, coordination of vendor trainings, tutorials, or visuals to improve both skill and competency in using Nimble, together with specialized modules.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and organizational policies.
• Manage the implementation of appropriate database supporting technologies such as e-commerce, online transaction processing systems, and related application tools.
• Develop cybersecurity measures, control database access and maintain compliance with license agreements.
• Handle all private data ethically.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Information Systems or a related field.
• 4-5 years of progressive experience in technical program management environment.
• Association, Higher Education or Non-Profit experience.
• Ability to adapt to new technologies and rapidly changing environment.
• Security awareness, and knowledge of privacy laws and regulations.
• Experience with Salesforce, Nimble AMS.
• Other experience and skills must include:
• Understanding of object-oriented programming principles.
• Strong knowledge of backup and recovery procedures, and security measures.
• Proficiency in database management systems, MySQL, MS SQL Server or Oracle.
• Understanding of software design and architecture.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Maintains a high level of confidentiality regarding sensitive information.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills.
• Strong project management skills, time management, use of time effectively, and consistently meets deadlines.
• Development of technical program strategies, budgets, and management of costs.
• Committed to supervising and partnering with diverse teams with professionalism.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

This role is based in our Washington, D.C. office. A reasonable rate of compensation for this position is between $90,000-115,000. The position is full-time and based in Washington, DC. Excellent benefits. Please submit a letter of interest with salary requirements and résumé to jobs@aacu.org, or to AAC&U, Box F&A, 1818 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Review of applications will begin on September 20, 2024.

AAC&U believes that a broadly diverse staff is critical to achieving excellence as a national higher education association. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity and compliance with the full range of fair employment practices and nondiscrimination laws.