Chief Technology Officer

at  City of Seattle

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The City of Seattle is seeking a collaborative and forward-thinking Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the City’s work in applying technology, data, and innovation to equitably benefit Seattle and support the business needs of city departments. The CTO serves as the principal technology leader for the City with overall responsibility for vision, strategy, and leadership of information technology resources and management of the work of Seattle IT. The CTO champions technology to inspire people within City government and the community and to drive change where necessary. Reporting to the Mayor, this cabinet-level position oversees the delivery of all technology services within the City, leads an organization of 669 employees and manages an annual operating budget of $268.8 million with a capital budget of $24.4 million.
Seattle IT is a trusted partner that provides secure, reliable, and compliant technologies enabling the City to deliver equitable and responsive services to the public. The department manages and provides strategic direction for the City of Seattle’s information technology resources and engages with Seattle residents to advance digital equity, civic technology, and affordable connectivity for all.

QUALIFICATIONS

The CTO will be a collaborative leader with a deep understanding of technology and an unwavering commitment to public service. They bring a combination of outstanding technological vision and aptitude complemented by an engaging personal style and interpersonal skills. Equity centers their decision-making, and they serve as a trusted partner known for listening and their knowledge of customer’s business needs. They have a reputation for welcoming innovative and diverse perspectives as well as building consensus.
Well qualified candidates have empowered innovation in service delivery, managed risk, and improved the capabilities of the businesses they serve through the effective use of resources, talent, and technology. To the work they bring a technologist mindset that acknowledges the requirements and challenges unique to supporting the public and business of government. As a leader they value people, prioritize safety, and support a relational workplace culture. Their work reflects financial, political, and technological acumen and a commitment to delivering value to customers. They are decisive, keep their commitments, prioritize collaboration, and hold people accountable.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

In alignment with Mayor Harrell’s vision of One Seattle, the CTO ensures equitable and accessible services for the Seattle community and city departments. The CTO works collaboratively with stakeholders, both inside and outside city government, bringing technology expertise to inform City policy and programs and promoting value-driven technological innovation. They serve as a technology advisor and consultant to executive leaders on major technology issues and decisions including acquisition and the City’s use of technology. The CTO leads the planning and delivery of an inspiring, comprehensive city-wide technology roadmap to guide operations, increase collaboration and spread best practices.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Lead Seattle IT – Actively ensure Seattle IT operations, programs, investments, and staff equitably support the technology needs of the City. Align department operations with City policy objectives, department business objectives, service equity and regulatory compliance. Collaborate with departments to review and understand business unit goals, objectives, and missions. Participate in the review of technology investments and evaluate technologies against City objectives, desired outcomes, and evolving priorities.
Innovate – Track emerging technologies and help determine when and how to leverage them within the City. Collaborate with internal and external partners to gather best practices, ideas, and approaches. Champion technology insertion and pilot solutions to help move the City off aging, outmoded and expensive legacy technology to more accessible and cost-effective solutions.
Strategic Positioning - Develop technology roadmaps aligned with both industry best practices and the City’s strategy and business needs, setting a pathway for how technology will be incorporated into City operations and public engagement. Provide Strategic leadership in the identification, evaluation, and application of emerging technologies. Monitor industry trends and evaluate the uses of emerging technology, their benefits and application, as well as their consistency with City standards and expected return on investment.
Manage Enterprise Architecture and Data – Coordinate and standardize architecture, data usage and accessibility across city departments. Safeguard the operational integrity of the City’s IT resources by ensuring that infrastructure and devices are fully documented, up-to-date, and in a sustainable state. Responsible for establishing policies and processes affecting IT acquisitions, data, projects, and infrastructure for the City of Seattle.
Consult and Advise on Technology – Serve as primary technology advisor to the Mayor, department directors and executive leadership by providing an independent view on technology issues and investment. Translates technological concepts to leaders so they have a clear understanding of the implications of technology decisions on constituents and City business.
Vigilant in Safeguarding Security – Ensure technology infrastructure and systems improve the City’s operational consistency, resilience, and security posture. Take an integrative approach to enterprise data, privacy, supply chain, cyber-physical systems, and cloud. Link adaptive security to broader digital innovation, transformation, and resilience.
Deliver and Improve Services – Oversee and direct the delivery of application development, network, computer operations and technical user support services to all City departments. Invest time with functional and business unit leaders to understand their businesses and identify how technology can make their departments more effective. Reduce experience friction points by mapping, visualizing, and redesigning the user experience.
Engage and Develop Technology Workforce – Foster an inclusive workplace culture that empowers people, respects diverse perspectives, prioritizes psychological safety and promotes universal equity. Champion continuous skill and talent development to ensure an agile, flexible, and growth-minded workforce ready to serve the technology needs of the City. Celebrate accomplishments, model collaboration, and promote transparency.
Inform and Support the Public – Ensure City residents have equitable access to technology, data, government processes, and civic programming. Actively seek to leverage technology to reimagine what it means to invite people to engage with City government, offering greater consistency, transparency and accountability across City departments and community interests.
Advance the Principles of One Seattle – Work to invite dialogue and learning, collaboration and cooperation, innovation, and thoughtful change to drive progress on the City’s most pressing challenges to create a safe, equitable and thriving future. Works to unlock the power and value of data through support of the One Seattle Data Strategy advancing the City’s use of data to achieve better and more equitable outcomes for residents.