Chief Information Officer (Bank/Financial Services experience only)

This is not a remote/work-from-home opportunity.

About the Role

The Chief Information Officer is responsible for the Bank’s technology strategy, information systems, cybersecurity, technology operations, data environment, and key technology-vendor relationships. The CIO will work closely with the President and CEO, executive management, department leaders, and the Board of Directors to ensure the Bank’s technology supports its business strategy, operating priorities, regulatory responsibilities, and public-company requirements. This is a senior leadership role in a community banking environment. The successful candidate must be able to think strategically while remaining involved in major projects, vendor relationships, system performance, and technology issues affecting employees and customers. The CIO will also play an important role in improving the Bank’s ability to execute by establishing clear priorities, improving project accountability, simplifying processes, and ensuring that technology investments produce measurable operational, financial, or risk-management benefits.

Leadership Characteristics

The successful candidate will be a practical technology executive who understands community banking and can operate effectively in a lean environment. This individual must be comfortable advising senior management and the Board while remaining close to the Bank’s systems, vendors, employees, and day-to-day technology needs. The CIO should demonstrate sound judgment, strong communication skills, financial discipline, and the ability to manage several priorities at once. The position requires someone who can challenge existing practices when necessary, explain technical issues clearly, and work effectively across the organization. The successful candidate must also be an effective executor, establishing clear priorities, creating accountability, raising issues early, and following important initiatives through to completion.

Responsibilities

Strategic & Executive Leadership

• Develop and maintain a technology plan that supports the Bank’s strategic goals, growth plans, risk appetite, and operating priorities.
• Serve as the primary technology advisor to executive management and the Board of Directors.
• Translate the Bank’s strategic priorities into defined technology, data, and process-improvement initiatives.
• Recommend technology priorities and investments based on business need, risk, expected return, and total cost.
• Work with department leaders to identify opportunities to improve service, efficiency, scalability, and accountability through technology.
• Keep executive management and the Board informed about major technology projects, cybersecurity risks, system issues, vendor performance, and industry developments.
• Evaluate new technologies and determine whether they are practical and appropriate for the Bank.
• Help establish a disciplined approach to prioritizing technology requests across the organization.

Execution & Operating Performance

• Maintain an enterprise technology project portfolio with clear priorities, business owners, milestones, budgets, and expected outcomes.
• Establish regular reporting on project progress, implementation risks, costs, delays, and results.
• Hold internal teams, project leaders, and outside providers accountable for agreed-upon commitments.
• Identify and address barriers that prevent technology initiatives from being completed on time or producing the intended results.
• Work with business leaders to improve the use of existing systems before recommending additional technology investments.
• Simplify processes, reduce unnecessary manual work, and improve coordination between departments.
• Establish meaningful service levels and performance measures for technology operations, projects, and critical vendors.
• Conduct post-implementation reviews to determine whether major projects achieved their operational, financial, and risk-management objectives.
• Provide executive management with clear information regarding competing priorities, resource limitations, and execution risks.
• Promote greater discipline in project planning, decision-making, documentation, and follow-through.

Technology Operations & Core Systems

• Oversee the Bank’s technology infrastructure, networks, telecommunications, hardware, software, and business applications.
• Ensure that systems supporting branches, lending, deposits, payments, financial reporting, and customer-facing channels are reliable and properly supported.
• Oversee the Bank’s core processing system and other critical applications.
• Lead major technology projects, including system implementations, integrations, conversions, migrations, and upgrades.
• Work with business units to improve the use of existing systems and eliminate unnecessary duplication.
• Establish clear processes for system access, change management, technical support, incident management, and issue resolution.
• Maintain appropriate documentation for systems, applications, procedures, and technology decisions.
• Balance internal technology resources with the use of managed-service providers and outside specialists.
• Maintain an appropriate technology architecture that supports the Bank’s current operations and anticipated growth.

Cybersecurity, Risk & Regulatory Compliance

• Provide leadership for the Bank’s cybersecurity and information-security programs.
• Work closely with the Information Security Officer and other risk leaders to maintain effective controls.
• Oversee access management, network security, data protection, vulnerability management, security monitoring, and incident response.
• Ensure technology policies and practices comply with applicable laws, regulations, and regulatory guidance, including FFIEC and GLBA requirements.
• Coordinate technology-related regulatory examinations, internal audits, external audits, and independent assessments.
• Ensure audit, examination, and assessment findings are addressed in a timely and effective manner.
• Communicate significant technology and cybersecurity risks to executive management and the Board.
• Promote cybersecurity awareness throughout the Bank.
• Participate in enterprise risk-management activities and provide informed assessments of technology, cybersecurity, and third-party risks.

Public-Company Controls & Disclosure Support

• Partner with Finance, Risk, Internal Audit, and external auditors to maintain effective technology controls supporting financial reporting and public-company requirements.
• Maintain appropriate controls over system access, system changes, data integrity, and technology used in financial reporting.
• Support the Bank’s compliance with applicable internal-control and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
• Ensure technology-control documentation is complete, current, and available for review by management, auditors, and regulators.
• Identify technology-control weaknesses and oversee timely remediation.
• Work with Finance to maintain the reliability of system-generated reports and information used in financial reporting.
• Coordinate with Legal, Finance, Risk, and executive management when technology or cybersecurity matters may require regulatory or public disclosure.
• Escalate significant cybersecurity incidents promptly and provide accurate information to support materiality assessments and disclosure decisions.
• Support the preparation of required cybersecurity risk-management, governance, and incident disclosures.
• Provide technology and cybersecurity information to the Board, Audit Committee, or other Board committees as requested.

Vendors, Projects & Business Continuity

• Manage relationships with the Bank’s core processor, software providers, managed-service providers, and other critical technology vendors.
• Lead technology vendor selection, due diligence, contract review, and performance monitoring.
• Evaluate vendors based on service quality, financial condition, cybersecurity controls, business-continuity capabilities, and regulatory requirements.
• Hold vendors accountable for service levels, security requirements, project commitments, and timely issue resolution.
• Develop and manage the Bank’s technology operating and capital budgets.
• Evaluate technology spending based on business value, risk reduction, expected benefits, and total cost.
• Oversee technology disaster-recovery planning and testing.
• Ensure critical systems, applications, and data can be recovered within established timeframes.
• Participate in the Bank’s broader business continuity, crisis-management, and incident-response planning.
• Ensure technology projects are properly scoped, prioritized, resourced, and completed within established budgets and timelines.

Data & Reporting

• Support the Bank’s data, reporting, and business-intelligence needs.
• Work with business leaders to improve the quality, consistency, and availability of information used by management and the Board.
• Help establish clear ownership and accountability for critical data.
• Improve the reliability and usefulness of management reporting.
• Ensure appropriate controls are in place to protect sensitive and confidential information.
• Evaluate opportunities to use automation, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies in a controlled and practical manner.
• Establish appropriate governance for the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technology.
• Help the Bank make better use of technology and data to support customer service, risk management, financial performance, and decision-making.

Team Leadership

• Lead, develop, and retain the Bank’s technology staff.
• Establish clear responsibilities, performance expectations, and service standards.
• Promote accountability, responsiveness, collaboration, and strong internal customer service.
• Provide appropriate training, cross-training, and succession planning.
• Build effective working relationships throughout the Bank.
• Ensure the technology team understands the Bank’s business priorities and the importance of timely execution.
• Create an environment in which issues are raised early, responsibilities are clear, and commitments are met.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, cybersecurity, business administration, or a related field preferred. Equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible information technology experience.
• Five or more years of technology leadership or management experience.
• Banking, credit union, or other regulated financial services experience strongly preferred.
• Extensive knowledge managing technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, business applications, data, and outside technology providers.
• Robust proficiency with core banking systems, major system implementations, conversions, or technology migrations preferred.
• Experience leading multiple projects and improving execution across business and technology teams.
• Demonstrated history of working effectively with executive management, boards and board committees, regulators, and auditors.
• Expertise supporting technology controls related to financial reporting and public-company requirements preferred.
• Working knowledge of FFIEC guidance, GLBA requirements, cybersecurity frameworks, and financial services regulatory expectations.

Pay

Annual salary range: $185,000 – $255,000 USD.