Associate VP & Chief Experience Officer

The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and USF Health. In 2025, U.S. News & World Report recognized USF with its highest overall ranking in university history, as a top 50 public university for the seventh consecutive year and as one of the top 15 best values among all public universities in the nation. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in the highest tier, placing it as one of the top 16 medical schools in the nation and inside the top 10 among public universities. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $750 million in research funding in 2025 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of nearly $10 billion for the state of Florida. USF’s Division I athletics teams compete in the American Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu.

The Office of the Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at the University of South Florida (USF) seeks a strategic, innovative, and highly collaborative leader to serve as the Associate Vice President and Chief Experience Officer (CXO). Reporting directly to the SVP and CAO, this executive will lead the university’s efforts to design, evaluate, and continuously improve the end-to-end experience for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community stakeholders.

The CXO is responsible for advancing a comprehensive, enterprise-wide experience strategy that spans all interactions and touchpoints across the university: academic, administrative, digital, physical, and service-oriented. This role ensures that USF delivers a seamless, efficient, measurable, and high-quality experience by aligning processes, services, communications, and systems with the needs of its stakeholders. The CXO leads efforts to evaluate current-state experiences, identify opportunities for improvement, and implement sustainable, scalable solutions that enhance satisfaction, engagement, and institutional effectiveness.

Working closely with executive leadership, deans, and partners across the university, the CXO translates institutional priorities into coordinated experience improvement initiatives. This role requires a strong foundation in process evaluation, service design, change management, and organizational effectiveness. The CXO serves as a catalyst for transformation, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, data-informed decision-making, and stakeholder-centered design across all administrative and academic functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Serves as the university’s lead executive for experience strategy, advancing a comprehensive vision for improving the end-to-end experience of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community stakeholders.
• Develops and implements an experience framework that aligns services, processes, systems, and communications across all university touchpoints.
• Leads the evaluation of stakeholder journeys and interactions to identify pain points, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement across academic and administrative functions.
• Drives process improvement and service redesign initiatives using methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, human-centered design, and continuous improvement practices.
• Oversees the planning and execution of experience-focused initiatives, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Leads organizational change management efforts associated with experience improvements, ensuring effective stakeholder engagement, communication, and adoption.
• Leads a team of dedicated resources and partners with leaders across Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities, Public Safety, Finance, Academic Affairs, Alumni Engagement, Advancement, Athletics, Communications and Marketing and Student Success to coordinate and advance cross-functional improvement efforts.
• Establishes governance structures and cross-functional teams to prioritize, manage, and sustain enterprise-wide experience initiatives.
• Develops and implements communication strategies that promote transparency, clarity, and alignment related to experience improvements and institutional priorities.
• Define success metrics and reporting mechanisms to provide visibility into progress, outcomes, and impact of experience initiatives.
• Identifies barriers to effective service delivery and collaborates with stakeholders to implement solutions that improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Champions a culture of service excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement across the university.
• Serves as a strategic advisor to the SVP/CAO and senior leadership on matters related to experience, organizational effectiveness, and transformation.
• Performs other duties as assigned by the SVP/CAO.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, organizational leadership, higher education, or a related field.
• Minimum of twelve years of experience in organizational effectiveness, process improvement, operations, consulting, or a related field, including seven years of management experience.
• Proven ability to design and implement strategies that improve service delivery, stakeholder experience, and organizational performance.
• In accordance with Florida Senate Bill 1310, required education may be substituted with additional years of directly related experience as permitted by law.
• Degree Equivalency Clause: Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree.
  • Senate Bill 1310- The Florida Senate (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1310) is conditional upon meeting all employment eligibility requirements in the U.S.
  • SB 1310: Substitution of Work Experience for Postsecondary Education Requirements
  • A public employer may include a postsecondary degree as a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number of years of direct experience required, not to exceed:
  • (a) Two years of direct experience for an associate degree;
  • (b) Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree;
  • (c) Six years of direct experience for a master’s degree;
  • (d) Seven years of direct experience for a professional degree; or
  • (e) Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree
  • Related work experience may not substitute for any required licensure, certification, or registration required for the position of employment as established by the public employer and indicated in the advertised description of the position of employment.
  • Minimum Qualifications that require a high school diploma are exempt from SB 1310

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, public administration, higher education administration, organizational leadership, or a related field.
• Experience in higher education, government, healthcare, or other complex, mission-driven organizations.
• Experience in a senior leadership role (e.g., Director, Associate Vice President, Assistant Vice President, Chief Experience Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, or equivalent).
• Formal training or certification in process improvement (Lean Six Sigma), change management (Prosci, CCMP), service design, or project management (PMP).
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale, enterprise-wide transformation or experience improvement initiatives.
• Experience developing and using metrics, dashboards, and analytics to inform decision-making and track performance.
• Experience facilitating cross-functional governance structures and leading initiatives across matrixed organizations.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrates strong strategic and systems thinking by connecting institutional priorities to integrated experience strategies and identifying opportunities for transformation across complex environments.
• Leads through influence by building trust, fostering collaboration, and aligning diverse stakeholders around a shared vision for experience excellence.
• Possesses deep understanding of process improvement, service design, and change management principles, with the ability to apply them in large, complex organizations.
• Communicates effectively across all levels of the organization, translating complex concepts into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences.
• Exercises sound judgment, discretion, and professionalism in managing sensitive matters and advising senior leadership.
• Demonstrates strong analytical capabilities, using data and stakeholder feedback to inform decisions and measure impact.
• Manages multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously, ensuring alignment, accountability, and timely execution.
• Champions innovation and continuous improvement, fostering a culture that prioritizes efficiency, effectiveness, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Navigates ambiguity and organizational complexity with adaptability, resilience, and a focus on long-term outcomes.