Deputy Chief Information Officer – Public Safety

A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact. 
As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What We Offer:
Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
Benefits - We care about your well being.

The Office of Innovation & Technology (OIT) is the central IT agency for the City of Philadelphia headed by the Chief Information Officer (CIO). OIT oversees all major information and communications technology initiatives for the City of Philadelphia - increasing the effectiveness of the information technology infrastructure, where the services provided are advanced, optimized, and responsive to the needs of the City of Philadelphia’s businesses, residents, and visitors. OIT responsibilities include: identifying the most effective approach for implementing new information technology directions throughout city government; improving the value of the city’s technology assets and the return on the city’s technology investments; ensuring data security continuity; planning for continuing operations in the event of disruption of information technology or communications services; and supporting accountable, efficient and effective government across every city department, board, commission and agency.

The Deputy CIO Public Safety will report directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and will serve as an integral member of OIT’s executive team.  The Deputy CIO Public Safety provides vision, leadership, and execution on enterprise-class, technology solutions that support the City’s Public Safety agency’s technology needs.  In this role, they support City of Philadelphia Public Safety agencies to develop and execute strategic technology roadmaps to enhance and evolve their critical systems and operations. 

The Deputy CIO Public Safety is responsible for the planning (strategic and tactical), technology evaluation and selection, implementation, delivery, and assessment of the Public Safety’s technology infrastructure systems and services. They oversee the managers and directors of various Public Safety units, foster high-performing and agile teams, adopt modern and forward-looking technology and service strategies, and effectively utilize the department’s technological, financial, and human resources.  This position is responsible for all IT operations, projects and programs supporting Fire Department, Police Department, Department of Prisons, Office of Emergency management and the 9-1-1 technology supporting the operations of the largest Primary Safety Answering Point (9-1-1 center) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This is both an operational and a strategic role. 

Essential Functions

Strategic Planning & Budgeting

• Creates Public Safety IT roadmaps that leverage modern design principles and technologies that effectively meets both current and future agency needs.
• In partnership with Public Safety department stakeholders, leads strategic planning to improve efficiency and effectiveness through IT programs.  
• Oversees Public Safety program execution and solution delivery, coordinating with other areas within OIT for project scoping, planning, communication, and/or reporting.
• Provides oversight to all Public Safety IT programs including requirements gathering, user-centered design, implementation, assessment, and retirement of solutions.
• Participates in the management of the operating and capital budgets for the OIT Public Safety department including developing financial models and multi-year budget projections for equipment replacement and maintenance/refresh programs.
• Leads the evaluation of Public Safety solutions that meet short and long-term goals while developing business cases, TCO, and other analyses to help guide their selection.
• Provides leadership to a portfolio of IT directors and managers responsible for IT operations within the City’s Public Safety departments.
• Recommends IT enhancements and investments, where appropriate, to support the City’s Public Safety strategic goals and technology priorities, improve processes or user experience, and/or reduce costs.

Service Delivery & Optimization

• Directs the day-to-day operations for areas within their purview, including creating and managing strategies, plans, policies, and procedures.
• Ensures high availability and reliability of the IT infrastructure ecosystem.
• Identifies appropriate industry standards, legislative requirements, City policies, OIT procedures, and best practices for technology management and support, and ensures they are consistently implemented across the department.
• Continually assesses and improves departmental processes, services, and systems.
• Identifies and implements key metrics and service level agreements (SLAs) for Public Safety IT services (in coordination with other areas within OIT where appropriate) and tracks, analyzes, and reports on trends relative to key metrics and SLAs.
• Participates in internal and external audits, prioritize corrective actions, ensure successful remediation within requested timeframes, and report efforts to auditors, as appropriate.
• Provides oversight and manages Public Safety vendors holding them accountable to service level agreements and deliverables and manages contract renewals.

Management & Leadership

• Builds, supports, and expands a culture that is supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion where employees from all backgrounds can succeed and thrive.
• Trains, coaches, and mentors employees under their supervision. Plans and conducts performance appraisals of employees under their supervision. Participates in or lead hiring processes, as needed.
• Builds strong and collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders across the City and State by actively participating in City and State activities and initiatives.
• Cultivates, negotiates, and formalizes vendor relationships and external partnerships that support or enhance Public Safety initiatives.
• Keeps the CIO informed of current and potential issues, activities, operational outages, and any other risks that might jeopardize or degrade service delivery to the Public Safety community including external partners.

Additional Duties

Perform other duties as assigned by the CIO of OIT

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Required Skills and Abilities

• Experience in a management role, with proven leadership skills and demonstrated ability to manage high-performing teams, vendors, operations, and budgets.
• Commitment to continuous assessment and improvement with experience identifying, establishing, and reporting on key performance metrics.
• Experience leading organizational and/or technology change initiatives with a strong emphasis on relationship-building, collaboration, and shared stewardship.
• Strong written and oral communication skills (including ability to present ideas in user-friendly, business-friendly and technical language) and interpersonal skills with a focus on rapport-building, listening and questioning skills.
• Ability to build effective relationships and strong commitment to working collegially and collaboratively with constituents at all levels in a diverse and distributed environment.
• Experience with budgeting, financial planning, and business operations.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.

Desirable Skills and Abilities

• Experience in IT planning, strategy, and architecture that supports an organization’s business needs and operations, with the ability to plan and execute technology infrastructure initiatives strategically, tactically, and expansively.
• Experience designing technology infrastructure to meet and support PCI, HIPAA, CJIS, and/or other compliance needs.
• Expertise in one or more of the Public Safety technical domains, including: 911; Police; Prisons; Fire and OEM.
• Experience planning and leading IT implementation projects including deployment of physical, cloud, virtual, SaaS, and IaaS services, and/or significant conversion projects of legacy systems to modern technologies.
• Deep understanding of current and emerging Public Safety technologies, best practices for their use, and how other enterprises are employing them.
• Demonstrated conflict resolution, influence, and/or consensus-building.

• BA/BS degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ten plus (10+) years of applicable work experience with 5 or more years of IT management or IT program management experience, preferably in a large governmental environment or a large and highly regulated entity

Salary Range: $165,000 - $175,000

Starting salary to be determined based on experience and qualifications. 

All applications should include the following: 
•    Cover Letter clarifying your interest and qualifications for the role.
•    Resume
We won’t accept or review incomplete applications.

Work Setting: in-person (onsite)

Discover the Perks of Being a City of Philadelphia Employee:
•    We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
•    Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
•    Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
•    Generous retirement savings options are available
•    Pay off your student loans faster - As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Join the ranks of hundreds of employees who have already benefited from this program and achieved student loan forgiveness.
•    Enjoy a Free Commute on SEPTA - Starting September 1, 2023, eligible City employees will no longer have to worry about paying for SEPTA public transportation. Whether you're a full-time, part-time, or provisional employee, you can seize the opportunity to sign up for the SEPTA Key Advantage Program and receive free Key cards for free rides on SEPTA buses, trains, trolleys, and regional rails.
•    Unlock Tuition Discounts and Scholarships - The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!
Join the City of Philadelphia team today and seize these incredible benefits designed to enhance your financial well-being and personal growth!

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to [email protected].