Director, Web Services & Technology

Payroll Title: APPLICATIONS PROGR 4

Job Code: 0652

Job Open Date: 10/10/24

Application Review Begins: 10/25/24

Department Code (Name): PINF (NEWS & COMMUNICATIONS)

Percentage of Time: 100

Union Code (Name): 99 - Non-Represented

Employee Class (Appointment Type): Staff: Career

FLSA Status: Exempt

Classified Indicator Description (Personnel Program): MSP

Salary Grade: Grade 24

Pay Rate/Range: The budgeted salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $100,000 - $110,000/yr. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience; the budget for the position; and the application of fair, equitable, and consistent pay practices at the University. The full salary range for this position is $94,400 - $176,800/yr.

Work Location: Phelps Hall

Working Days and Hours: Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm

Benefits Eligibility: Full Benefits

Eligible for Hybrid Work Arrangement: Hybrid (Both UC & Non-UC locations)

Special Instructions: For full consideration, please include a resume and a cover letter as part of your application.

Department Marketing Statement: The Office of Public Affairs and Communications is responsible for providing strategic communications support for UC Santa Barbara, working with both internal and external audiences. OPAC tells the exciting and important story of UCSB to the general public and our campus community. By working with local, regional, national and international print and electronic news media, the office strives to generate media coverage of the extraordinary development of UCSB as a leading research institution and of the people, programs, events and activities that distinguish the campus. In addition to its public information and media relations functions, the office designs and maintains the UCSB website and 'The Current' news site about the University and the campus community, and produces major university publications.

Benefits of Belonging: Working at UC means being part of this vibrant institution that shines a light on what is possible. People make UC great, and UC recognizes your contributions by making this a great place to work. Excellent retirement and health are just one of the rewards.

Brief Summary of Job Duties:

The Director serves as the technical leader for external facing web services, applications, and sites within External Relations. Functioning as a key senior member of the ER unit, the Director provides leadership on web technology and development for the University website (ucsb.edu), the University news website (news/ucsb.edu) and various ER departmental websites. Provides expert leadership on all web software applications and web systems. Recommends, prioritizes and implements intricate solutions supporting key technical operations for a divisional customer base, incorporating goals and timelines on all projects. The Director provides all supervisory functions for the unit, including the direct supervision of 1 FTE and lateral supervision of numerous key web personnel throughout the campus, including several IA divisional web staff not under direct supervision. Regarding direct reports the Director is responsible for annual performance reviews, all HR actions (partnering with IA's Business Office) including but not limited to hiring and dismissal, classification and disciplinary actions. Manages and provides leadership to divisional web developers and application programmers and provides consultation and web services to campus web developers, as deemed appropriate by divisional leadership, in the interest of unifying web experience and standardizing web technologies across campus. Under direction of the campus Chief Marketing Officer, the Director provides long-range strategic planning for the Division's web environment including ucsb.edu (University website) development, Drupal-based UCSB Web Theme development, email marketing, and supporting marketing technology including third-party tools and platforms. Develops metrics for monitoring success of technology outreach and implementation. Develops and maintains secure and accessible websites, systems and applications following divisional/campus web policies and procedures. Represents External Relations in campus committees and effectively acts as a liaison with various constituencies; works closely with campus offices, including central IT, to maximize organizational efficiency and enhance results.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in related area
• 7-9 years Experience implementing and using modern web development workflows and operations in multi-dev hosting environments such as Pantheon, version control via Git, and build tools such as Github and Composer.
• 7-9 years Experience building and managing websites with Drupal, coupled with a desire to continue mastering the platform as well as other CMS platforms.
• 4-6 years Experience implementing and using Google Analytics and similar tools to generate insight that leads to improved website experiences.
• 1-3 years Experience with managing others.
• Strong project management background, with demonstrated experience establishing project scopes and timelines and seeing them to on-time and on-budget completion.
• Ability to carry out duties independently, with sound judgment and high degree of confidentiality as needed, anticipating job requirements and prioritizing and coordinating multiple complex tasks.
• Ability to effectively manage, coach, and delegate to web developer(s) and programmer(s).
• Working knowledge of web applications, programming and scripting languages, JSON, CSS, CSS3, cross-browser compatibility, HTML5, JavaScript, JQuery, PHP, SASS, ASP.NET, preprocessing, security principles, and web user interface design (UI).
• Meticulous attention to detail and quality assurance, including accessibility standards.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• Occasional night & weekend work as needed for troubleshooting purposes, and/or event coverage that requires technical support (ex: Commencement)
• Satisfactory criminal history background check
• UCSB is a Tobacco-Free environment

Job Functions and Percentages of Time:

• 40% Management of Web Services & Technology: Oversees all web services and technology for the entry portal to the University's main website (ucsb.edu) and steers the development and maintenance of divisional websites including various interfacing department websites. Oversees development enhancements to and broad scale technical implementation of 'UCSB Web Theme' framework. Provides long-range strategic planning for External Relations web environments including website development, email marketing, marketing technology tools & services, and metrics for monitoring success of technology outreach and deliverability. Assigns projects and tasks to ER web developers; monitors progress, provides feedback, and ensures timely and effective completion. Communicates with divisional peers and leadership regarding project and task status. Maintains and clearly documents system features, scripts, technical specifications and infrastructure requirements for all technical work and related processes to meet information requirements. Utilizes tracking and audit systems in place for application integrity and security purposes. Participates in campus-wide planning for web services and technologies that have an external-facing component. Continuously monitors industry trends, technologies, and standards and demonstrates the ability to research, recommend, and apply new technologies as appropriate.
• 40% Delivery of Web Services & Technology: Provides direct technical support and/or manages web developer(s) and programmer(s) in: - Maintenance and improvement of all External Relations websites including but not limited to ucsb.edu, news.ucsb.edu, alumni.ucsb.edu, dia.ucsb.edu, Commencement web pages, Commencement live-streaming service, Regalia website, Job Standard & Family Weekend website, United Way website, and others. - Hosting, security, and production workflows and environments for above-mentioned websites, ideally through the university's enterprise hosting solution (currently Pantheon). - Providing solutions for bugs identified in user and/or QA testing. - Maintaining cross-browser compatibility and mobile responsiveness of websites, along with adherence to accessibility and performance standards. - Comply with University of California accessibility guidelines and ensure that websites adhere to WCAG 2.0 Level AA Success requirements. - Implementation and maintenance of preferred analytics tools (ex: Google Analytics). - Writing and maintaining web applications as needed. - Providing project scope and development timelines. - Addressing Drupal-related tasks including custom module development, as well as the application of patches, upgrades and related enhancements. - Coordinating the development and technical implementation of web themes and templates to-be-used by departmental developers promoting campus-wide consistency in branding and user experience. - Translating functional requirements into technical requirements and specifications for any new website, service, or application. - Ensuring seamless and secure integration of third-party tools and technologies within divisional web environments. Leads development and programming efforts for any new External Relations websites. Partners with central IT (ITS) to administer enterprise technology solutions across divisional touch points, as needed.
• 20% Supervision: Directly supervises 1 FTE web developer. The Director is responsible for annual performance reviews, all HR actions including but not limited to hiring and dismissal, performance evaluation, disciplinary actions, and is responsible on decisions of reclassification and other compensatory decisions. Monitors all projects on a daily basis. Provides adjustment recommendations and assigns new projects routinely. Works with staff to prioritize and troubleshoot. Creates a team approach to all projects. In addition, the Director interfaces with prominent web personnel across campus for adherence to web standards and campus protocol in regard to external-facing websites. Reports to the Chief Marketing Officer for the UC Santa Barbara campus to establish operating plans, goals and priorities, and day-to-day activities for the unit. The Director's performance evaluation is carried out by the Chief Marketing Officer and reviewed by the VC for External Relations.

UC Vaccination Programs Policy: As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs.

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Statement: UC Santa Barbara is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

Reasonable Accommodations: The University of California endeavors to make accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact Katherine Abad in Human Resources at 805-893-4664 or email This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

Application Status: If you would like to check the status of your application, please log into the Candidate Gateway where you applied and click on 'my activities'.