The Department of Social Services (DSS) is comprised of the administrative units of the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). HRA is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as Food Assistance and Emergency Rental Assistance. DHS is committed to preventing and addressing homelessness in New York City by employing a variety of innovative strategies to help families and individuals successfully exit shelter and return to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.
Under the executive direction of the DSS First Deputy Commissioner, with the broadest latitude for the exercise of independent action and decision-making, the Chief Information & Technology Officer is responsible for directing and coordinating the overall administration, planning, and technical strategy of the Information Technology Services (ITS) organization within DSS-HRA-DHS. The Chief Information & Technology Officer (CITO) ensures the achievement of the primary objective of ITS to maintain and continuously enhance the technology, infrastructure, and applications that are in place to support the present and future business requirements of all areas within DSS- HRA-DHS (the agencies).
With broad authority for independent judgement and decision-making, the CITO leads a large, complex Information Technology Services (ITS) organization that operates 24/7 to support the delivery of essential human services across New York City. The CITO ensures that technology platforms, systems, and services are secure, resilient, fiscally sound, and aligned with the agencies’ missions, policy priorities, and operational needs – today and into the future.
This role is central to advancing modernization, improving service delivery, protecting sensitive information, and ensuring that technology serves as a strategic enabler of equitable, effective services for millions of New York City residents.
ITS supports a citywide enterprise operating continuously across more than 90 locations in all five boroughs. The organization provides technology services to approximately 39,000 users and manages a large portfolio of applications, infrastructure, end-user computing, data platforms, and vendor-managed services critical to agency operations. ITS also oversees a high-volume service operation and a broad ecosystem of contractors and vendors supporting DSS, HRA, DHS, and partner human services agencies.
The CITO provides executive leadership to more than 1,000 IT employees and supports over 39,000 users, 290 applications supporting business operations for DSS-DHS-HRA, 17,000 PCs and 20,000 mobile devices, 2,000 servers, and 1,400 databases on hosted infrastructure and network devices, with around 21,000 incident tickets resolved per month. These areas of oversight include: Infrastructure and Operations manages and supports agency infrastructure, desktops and mobile devices. Enterprise Shared Services evaluates new technology and manages our imaging services. Enterprise Solutions Management maintains, enhances and develops new systems supporting DSS-HRA-DHS programs and staff. Strategic Engagement is responsible for IT project management and quality assurance. IT Service Management manages the helpdesk and troubleshoots issues. Assets and Resources is responsible for managing ITS contracts, budget and HR matters.
The Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) is recruiting for one (1) Director of Information Services M-VII, to function as Chief Information & Technology Officer (CITO), who will:
- Establish and execute a comprehensive, multi-year technology strategy aligned with agency mission, service delivery goals, and citywide priorities
- Provide executive leadership for all technology functions, including application development and maintenance, infrastructure and operations, service delivery, and innovation
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, modernization, and responsible adoption of emerging technologies (including upskilling staff as technologies emerge)
- Develop and enforce enterprise technology governance, standards, and policies related to procurement, data management, system usage, and cybersecurity
- Ensure compliance with Mayoral, Commissioner, city, state, and federal requirements
- Promote transparency, accountability, and effective decision-making across technology initiatives
- Represent the agency before legislative bodies, oversight entities, and external partners on technology-related matters
- Provide expert guidance on mandates, regulations, and policy proposals affecting agency technology and service delivery
- Collaborate with citywide partners to advance shared strategies and maximize public value
- Establish priorities for the effective use of technology resources across the enterprise
- Oversee a large operating and capital budget, ensuring expenditures remain within approved spending plans
- Lead the planning and execution of major, multi-year capital initiatives, including data center migration and infrastructure modernization
- Lead, develop, and support senior technology leaders and a diverse, multidisciplinary workforce
- Ensure effective management of staff, vendors, and contracts
- Provide executive guidance on sensitive, high-risk, and confidential matters
- Prepare and maintain an integrated enterprise technology plan covering systems, infrastructure, staffing, costs, schedules, and expected benefits
- Ensure technology projects whether delivered internally or by vendors, meet user needs, are delivered on schedule, and achieve intended outcomes
- Strengthen service reliability, system availability, and operational resilience
DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVIC - 95819
Minimum Qualifications
- A baccalaureate degree and four (4) years of responsible full-time experience in the fields of computer utilization, computer systems development, or in related fields, at least one (1) year of which must have been in a responsible supervisory, administrative, staff or consultative capacity; or
- Education and/or experience equivalent to "1" above. However, all candidates must have the one (1) year of specialized experience as described in question "1" above. Graduate studies in business administration or related fields may be substituted for the required general experience on a year-for-year basis.
Preferred Skills
- Proven executive leadership experience directing enterprise technology organizations within large, complex environments - Deep knowledge of modern technology domains, including cloud platforms, enterprise applications, cybersecurity, data management, and large-scale infrastructure - Demonstrated ability to align technology strategy with organizational mission, policy objectives, and service delivery outcomes - Strong financial, contract, and vendor management expertise, including oversight of large operating and capital budgets - Experience leading organizational change, modernization initiatives, and large-scale technology transformations - Ability to analyze complex information and exercise sound judgment in high-impact decision-making - Strong communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder engagement skills - Demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, and public service values in technology leadership and delivery - Understanding of economic, political, and technological trends affecting human services and public-sector technology
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.
Residency Requirement
New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.
Additional Information
The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.
