About the position
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is a leadership position within IMPD, overseeing all facets of technology, and is responsible for execution of the department's technology strategy. The CTO will provide technical guidance, direction and implementation of strategic IMPD IT plans, processes and procedures. This position will function as the chief advocate for technology use within IMPD, responsible for oversight, coordination of overall strategy and enhancement of the IMPD technology environment. This position is responsible for establishing current and long-range direction of technology, aimed at keeping IMPD on the forefront of technical efficiency within established guidelines. The CTO is responsible for conducting needs analysis, product selection, procurement process oversight, design, and implementation. The CTO will coordinate technical functions performed by IMPD, Information Services Agency (ISA), Public Safety Communications (PSC), and third-party vendor staff. The CTO is responsible for establishing near term and long-range direction of technology aimed at keeping the 2,000 employees of IMPD at the forefront of innovation and operational effectiveness, while adhering to established guidelines and governance procedures. This position directs and procures necessary technology investments in infrastructure, digital forensics and evidentiary matters, surveillance, automation, and special projects, while ensuring departmental information security and protecting departmental technology assets. The CTO will also function as the primary manager for IT vendors and IT contracts owned by IMPD, and is responsible for effective management of the finite technology budget. The wide scope of citizens' needs to be served by IMPD requires a CTO with strong interpersonal communication and leadership skills who can navigate the distribution of limited technology resources to address competing IMPD projects. The CTO must maintain a positive working relationship with IMPD teams, ISA, other City/County agencies, and contract vendors. This position will also establish technology priorities and will hold providers accountable to clearly defined service level agreements. The ideal candidate will have solid technical infrastructure and application experience, strong project management acumen and excellent vendor management skills, in addition to a superior, service-oriented approach to technology operations. This individual is responsible for operational and service management processes to ensure that quality, efficiency, and agility goals are achieved. The position requires a high degree of independent judgment for making recommendations and decisions. Many decisions will be controlled by established department or city policies, but recommendations to IMPD leadership command staff will require a high degree of analytical judgment. The CTO must have the ability to effectively evaluate available data and exercise sound judgment when evaluating equipment requirements, productivity of sections and equipment and cost effectiveness of desired programs. There will be instances where policies, procedures, rules, and regulations do not exist for all situations that could be encountered. Errors in judgment will adversely affect the perception and image of the city/county relating to the use and operations of enterprise data and technology. This position reports to the IMPD Administration Division Deputy Chief.
Responsibilities
- Leads the development of public safety technology governance structure to support IMPD's strategies
- Provides expertise and guidance to IMPD, ISA and PSC leadership, in the development of public safety technology solutions for IMPD needs
- Assists and advises the IMPD executive staff in crafting the mission and vision to support an increasingly technology-based and data-driven approach
- Provides consulting expertise, leveraging public safety and technical knowledge to support IMPD strategies and deliver operational value
- Leads research, evaluation, planning, design, defining, selecting, piloting, and deploying public safety technology infrastructure, security, and architecture
- Maintains industry awareness to identify emerging public safety technologies
- Leads decision-making processes and works collaboratively with IMPD, ISA and PSC staff in determining, developing, and managing the IMPD technology portfolio
- Works with IMPD staff and ISA business services staff to understand business needs across various IMPD functions and defines the role of technology to meet those needs within established guidelines and standards
- Seeks out best practices and develops partnerships in the industry and other jurisdictions that may accelerate the implementation of or mitigate the risk of deploying leading-edge public safety technologies in IMPD
- Continually analyzes public safety technology industry trends, best practices, and technologies to determine the potential impact upon IMPD
- Directs the development and execution of public safety technical standards, process, and procedure for IMPD
- Acts as an advocate for change and innovation, enlisting support for change, including solving problems to keep the technical needs and direction of IMPD on track
- Works with the IMPD Deputy Chief of Administration and IMPD CFO to develop and manage the annual IMPD technology budget
- Acts as primary IMPD liaison with various city-county agencies and technology vendor partners
- Develops and presents business case assessments for technology use to varying audiences
- Leads IMPD technical team meetings to promote team participation and collaboration to continuously communicate purpose, goals, progress and successes
- Maintains a deep understanding of IMPD processes and needs, as well as public safety technology solutions to support IMPD's strategic goals
- Takes ownership of understanding and improving IMPD user satisfaction levels, identifying performance gaps and ensuring that development occurs to close those gaps
- Approaches each IMPD officer interaction as an opportunity to engage and improve IMPD's use of technology
- Works with IMPD, ISA and PSC staff to identify and drive improvements in processes, systems, and tools to better service IMPD
- Collaborates with IMPD leadership to schedule cross-functional group training for new IMPD product offerings and enhancements to IMPD systems and tools
Requirements
- Ten (10) years of IT work experience, including architecture, design and deployment, systems lifecycle management and infrastructure planning and operations.
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field or equivalent work experience. Relevant work experience beyond 10 years may be substituted for education requirements.
- Must possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to describe and present complex technical concepts in a non-technical fashion.
- A passion and ability to build and grow an organization to achieve the goal of providing an exceptional customer experience.
- Experience dealing with various levels of internal/external management, including operations and executive management.
- Exceptional customer service skills and abilities, while being a professional and tactful negotiator.
- Superior organizational, time and project management skills in managing conflicting priorities.
- Focused and goal-oriented and can work independently with minimal direction.
- Management and leadership of customer service, projects, and technical teams.
- Must maintain confidentiality at all times.
- Within 6 months of employment, candidate must reside in Marion County, and shall maintain residency during employment.
- Must possess a valid driver's license.
- Must have reliable transportation to travel between IMPD sites.
- Must pass an FBI fingerprint-based background check and maintain IDACS access eligibility.
Nice-to-haves
- Master's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related technical field
- Three (3) years of leadership experience in managing enterprise technology solutions
- Public sector or public safety IT experience is preferred
- ITIL certification is preferred
- PMI certification is preferred
