Chief Information and Technology Officer – Ford Foundation – New York, NY
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About the job
Ford Foundation is continuing to hire for all open roles with all interviewing and on-boarding done virtually due to COVID-19. Everyone new to the team, along with our current staff, will temporarily work from home until it is safe to return to our offices.
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Summary Description
Based in New York City, the Ford Foundation seeks an experienced technology leader with a global mind-set and a passion for social justice to take on the role of Chief Information and Technology Officer (CITO). Reporting to the COO, the CITO will be the head of all technology and play a critical leadership role in developing, planning, and implementing the IT and knowledge management strategy. This executive must be able to forge collaborative relationships with the leadership team as well as with the programmatic and operational leadership of the organization, to create the IT and knowledge management strategy that best enables the Ford Foundation’s strategy and social justice mission.
The CITO will be responsible for leading a team of 25 FTEs, managing a $15-20 million budget, and partnering with vendor, Mindtree, for helpdesk support. The CITO will also manage a 7-person audio-visual team which runs onsite meetings of 10-300 people in attendance, as well as the 5 full production suites for streaming/editing of video/audio presentations hosted at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. In addition to the IT and A/V groups, the CITO will lead a team of 7 FTEs in the Information Management (IM) group. This group is responsible for leading the development of robust systems and processes that support knowledge sharing, discovery, reporting, and learning through the effective management, preservation, and curation of records and intellectual assets in all formats.
The Ford Foundation has moved most of its systems to the Cloud. The current environment includes all off-the-shelf solutions including Workday HCM, and Fluxx for Contract and Grant Management. Over the next 18 months, the CITO will be responsible for a few critical initiatives including implementing Workday for Finance and Procurement, and implementing software that will improve the internal contract process. In addition, the CITO will work with the leadership team to select and implement a CRM system that can support this complex organization.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Evaluating the Ford Foundation’s long-term global technology needs and developing and implementing an overall IT strategy.
- Working in partnership with program divisions on innovative ways technology can improve the delivery of the organization’s mission and empower the foundation’s grantees to deliver on their missions.
- Contributing to overall long-term business planning, bringing a current knowledge and future vision of technology and systems as they relate to the Ford Foundation’s unique scope and scale.
- Initiating and shepherding design and implementation of large scale, enterprise technology projects; maintaining an integrated IT project plan; and consistently delivering on projects in a timely and cost effective manner.
- Developing operating performance standards for the technology infrastructure and analysis of performance against standards; implementing changes to achieve performance standards.
- Providing vision and strategy for all data management activities, overseeing enterprise information management, championing data governance and quality, ensuring state-of-the-art cybersecurity practices, and developing and maintaining well-designed and integrated systems and information architectures to support this vision.
- Investing in and maintaining systems, applications and platforms that foster seamless internal collaboration and communication across the foundation’s global footprint
- Developing a strong, collegial, proactive and customer-oriented IT team and supporting the professional development of individual team members.
- Leading, directing, evaluating, and developing a team of managers to ensure that the organization’s IT strategy is implemented effectively, consistently and according to established guidelines and budgets.
- Introduction to Cybersecurity Tools & Cyber Attacks by IBM
- Financial Markets by Yale University
- International Cyber Conflicts from the State University of New York
- Business Foundations by University of Pennsylvania
- (sponsored)
QUALIFICATIONS
The CITO will be an experienced, thoughtful, and inspiring leader who is able to act as a strategic partner to senior leadership of the Ford Foundation. This leader will have a track-record of successful organizational decision-making within a complex, multi-location organization and a demonstrated commitment to excellence in systems, processes, people, and organizational culture. To be successful, this CITO must excel at leading through influence in addition to hierarchy, have demonstrated their ability to achieve real impact across an organization and be a collaborative leader who provides clear guidance and acts decisively.
The ideal candidate will have experience leveraging technology and systems to provide insights and drive efficiencies and innovation across the organization. Experience with data (infrastructure and analytics), CRM, and ERP systems is critical and experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors is highly desirable. Experience with investment related platforms and technologies (such as Bloomberg) is a plus, as is an understanding of how digital platforms, particularly websites, are built.
The Ford Foundation is looking for a confident, inclusive manager recognized for building and nurturing long-tenured, collegial, and resourceful teams that contribute to a positive and vibrant work environment. Above all, the CITO will be a recognized culture carrier, have unquestioned integrity and a genuine commitment to the Ford Foundation’s mission and values.
The desired performance and personal competencies for the position are as follows:
Setting Strategy
- The ability to create an enterprise-wide vision for the future use of technology.
- The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions and to align others with the organization’s overall strategy.
- Ability to transition the Foundation to a technology-enabled organization, with an entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative ideas that will stretch the Ford Foundation and push boundaries within the sector.
- Demonstrated executive level experience in strategic decision-making preferably in a complex, multi-site and multi-cultural organization.
- The ability to effectively balance the desire/need for broad change with an understanding of how much change the organization is capable of handling, and to create realistic goals and implementation plans that are achievable and successful.
- Ability to successfully communicate and shepherd change management initiatives throughout the organization.
Executing for Results
- The ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance; tenacious and accountable in driving results.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty; the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations.
- A risk-taker who seeks data and input from others to foresee possible threats or unintended circumstances from decisions; someone who takes smart risks.
- A leader who is viewed by others as having a high degree of integrity and forethought in their approach to making decisions; the ability to act in a transparent and consistent manner while always taking into account what is best for the organization.
Leading Teams
- A visible and accessible leader with the ability to attract top talent, motivate the team, delegate effectively, celebrate diversity within the team, and manage performance; widely viewed as a strong developer of others.
- A genuine commitment to diversity and an appreciation for different perspectives, experiences, and traditions; passionate about creating an organizational culture that reflects equity, diversity, and inclusion in action.
- The ability to persevere in the face of challenges and exhibit a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment to higher standards, which commands respect from followers.
- A leader who is self-reflective and aware of their own limitations; leads by example and drives the organization’s performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and self-improvement.
Relationships and Influence
- Naturally connects and builds strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and empathy, and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively; inspires trust and confidence
- Encourages others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrates and supports the success of the team.
- Creates a sense of purpose/meaning for the team that generates followership beyond his/her own personality and engages others to the greater purpose for the organization as a whole.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- This position is primarily a sedentary role. However, the person in this position may need to occasionally move about inside the office to liaise with internal staff, access files, office machinery and a copy machine/printer. Additionally, some travel may be expected when traveling is safe again.
Alignment to Culture and Values
- Commitment to the Foundation’s mission and core values of equity, openness, collaboration, trust, accountability and urgency
- Personal qualities of humility, capacity for self-reflection, and a sense of humor
- Discretion and ability to handle confidential issues
- Action-orientated and entrepreneurial self-starter who can work well independently and in teams
Benefits
- Medical and dental benefits for employee and immediate family on first day of work
- Retirement savings account with matching company contributions of up to 13%
- Three weeks’ paid vacation in first year of work; four weeks in subsequent years
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Office closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Professional development initiatives for growth
- Generous parental leave (maternal and paternal) during new child’s first year (born into family or adopted)
Salary: Salary is based on experience and on the Foundation’s commitment to internal equity. A generous benefits package is provided.
Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at The Ford Foundation, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.
