Deputy Chief Information Officer

Deputy Chief Information Officer

The City of Aurora is seeking a Deputy Chief Information Officer to provide operational leadership, organizational stability, and management oversight across the City's technology environment.

Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the Deputy CIO oversees the managers responsible for Project and Program Management, Technical Infrastructure, and Software Solutions. This role ensures that each division delivers reliable, secure, transparent, and customer-focused technology services that support City operations and the community.

The Deputy CIO will lead day-to-day IT operations, strengthen service delivery, improve operational reporting, support technology governance, and help advance the department's next phase of organizational maturity. This includes process refinement, workforce development, operational accountability, resource planning, and continuous improvement across IT.

This position serves as a key member of the IT leadership team and will serve as acting CIO when designated.

Operational Leadership

• Oversee daily IT operations and project execution across assigned technology divisions, including Project and Program Management, Technical Infrastructure, and Software Solutions.
• Provide operational leadership across those divisions and functions.
• Monitor and report on incidents, service requests, and operational performance to ensure timely resolution, transparency, and accountability. Ensure tickets are addressed within the established Service Level Objectives.
• Ensure Priority Incidents and Major Incidents are triaged, supported, communicated, resolved, and documented appropriately, including After Action Review documentation when required.
• Identify recurring issues, coordinate root-cause analysis, and work with division managers to develop corrective actions, implementation plans, and measurable improvements.
• Coordinate the development and improvement of operational reports, dashboards, metrics, and performance measures used to evaluate service delivery and identify improvement opportunities.
• Recommend adjustments to Service Level Objectives, operating procedures, and performance metrics when data or business needs indicate change is required.
• Coordinate internal change management, communication, and training activities to support successful technology adoption and operational consistency.
• Partner with the CIO to support execution of the City's strategic priorities and department-level objectives.
• Partner with the Chief Information Security Officer to incorporate security best practices into operations, projects, technology decisions, and service delivery using security-by-design principles.
• Establish clear operating expectations for division managers and ensure consistent accountability for service delivery, project execution, reporting, staff development, and adherence to approved policies and standards.

Governance, Standards, and Planning

• Oversee the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of IT operational policies, procedures, standards of practice, and governance processes.
• Ensure each division aligns quarterly plans, initiatives, and resource commitments with City priorities and IT department objectives.
• Coordinate resource tracking, capacity planning, and forecasting across divisions to ensure staffing, skills, and available capacity align with prioritized demand.
• Collaborate with division managers to identify upcoming budgetary needs, operational risks, staffing requirements, vendor dependencies, and technology lifecycle requirements.
• Support IT financial administration through budget planning, budget execution, forecasting, and review of technology-related expenditures.
• Support vendor management activities, including contract reviews, performance discussions, renewals, negotiations, and service accountability.
• Represent the IT Department on City and partner committees as designated by the CIO.

People and Culture

• Lead, coach, and develop the managers responsible for Project and Program Management, Technical Infrastructure, and Software Solutions.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, service-oriented, and improvement-focused culture across IT.
• Strengthen cross-division coordination to reduce silos, improve communication, and support shared ownership of outcomes.
• Recommend and coordinate recurring professional development, technical training, leadership development, and interdisciplinary learning opportunities for IT staff.
• Support consistent and transparent employee evaluation practices that align with departmental goals, service expectations, and performance standards.
• Work with IT managers and supervisors to support recruitment, retention, workforce planning, and succession planning activities.
• Model sound judgment, professionalism, transparency, and calm decision-making in routine operations, escalations, and high-pressure situations.
• Build productive working relationships with City leadership, department partners, elected officials, vendors, employees, and community stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications & Working Conditions

An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that demonstrates required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be considered.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or related field; Master's degree preferred.

Experience:

• Eight or more years of progressive IT leadership experience.
• At least three years of experience managing operational teams and multiple functional areas.
• Demonstrated success leading IT operations, service management, and organizational or cultural change.
• Experience overseeing or supporting incident management, service request management, change management, operational reporting, and performance improvement.
• Experience developing, implementing, or enforcing IT policies, procedures, standards, and governance practices.
• Experience with IT financial administration, budget planning, budget execution, resource planning, or capacity forecasting.
• Experience working with internal business partners, executive leadership, vendors, and cross-functional teams.

Licenses and Certifications:

• ITIL Certification preferred
• Related IT, project management, financial, security, or public-sector certifications preferred.

Knowledge:

• Advanced knowledge of IT operations, service management, SDLC concepts, project management principles, and operational governance practices.
• Advanced knowledge of IT policies, procedures, standards of practice, and performance management methods.
• Intermediate knowledge of IT budget development, budget administration, resource forecasting, and financial controls.
• Intermediate knowledge of cybersecurity principles, security-by-design practices, risk management, and operational security considerations.
• Knowledge of incident management, Major Incident response, root-cause analysis, After Action Reviews, change management, and operational reporting.
• Knowledge of infrastructure, platforms, analytics, enterprise applications, and customer support functions sufficient to lead managers across multiple technology domains.

Skills:

• Strong IT operations management.
• Strong customer service and service delivery orientation.
• Strong development, implementation, and enforcement of IT policies, procedures, and standards.
• Strong cross-departmental collaboration with teams both inside and outside IT.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Strong operational reporting, metrics interpretation, and performance analysis.
• Strong budget forecasting, resource planning, and operational prioritization.
• Strong vendor management, including contract review, service performance discussions, and negotiations.
• Ability to use reporting from multiple sources to assess performance, identify trends, and recommend action.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, shifting demands, and time-sensitive issues while maintaining sound judgment, professionalism, and composure.

Abilities:

• Ability to lead managers and influence outcomes across multiple IT divisions.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with executive leaders, department directors, elected officials, employees, vendors, and partner agencies.
• Ability to align business objectives with technical capabilities, operational capacity, budget constraints, and City priorities.
• Ability to translate technical, operational, and service delivery issues into clear business language.
• Ability to establish expectations, monitor performance, identify gaps, and support corrective action.
• Ability to balance operational reliability, security, service quality, budget discipline, and innovation.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity, organizational change, competing priorities, and urgent operational needs.
• Ability to support the CIO in department leadership, strategic planning, operational oversight, and Citywide representation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with or knowledge of the ServiceNow platform.
• Experience with financial controls, budget administration, or public-sector financial processes.
• Experience building or improving IT teams through professional development, interdisciplinary training, coaching, and workforce planning.
• Experience in municipal, public-sector, public safety, utility, or other complex service-oriented environments.
• Experience improving IT service delivery, operational transparency, and customer satisfaction through metrics,