After being left vacant for two years, one of the biggest jobs in government tech could soon be filled. But candidates face a long list of challenges. Says Daphne Leprince-Ringuet . In her article for ZDNet. Asked to comment for the piece, Mark Thompson – Methods Director and Professor in Digital Economy at the University of Exeter – said “The role of government’s chief digital information officer (GCDIO) is long overdue – and the candidate will have to demonstrate serious skill, if they are to have any chance of pushing through the considerable inertia and resistance that generally meets any proposal for significant change”
There is a new vacancy in the Civil Service and it isn’t exactly an entry-level role: the successful candidate will become no less than the government’s chief digital information officer (GCDIO), the biggest job in government IT.
The GCDIO will be recruited as a Permanent Secretary, which is the most senior level of the Civil Service, and will be reporting directly to John Manzoni, its chief executive.
It is not the first time that the role has been advertised; actually, the government has been looking for a digital leader for over two years. Back in 2017, the job was advertised as chief digital officer, and it has now relaunched with a surplus of seniority.
The 9-to-5 involves “enhancing Her Majesty’s government’s reputation as the world’s most digitally-advanced government” – in other words, championing the government’s digital transformation outlined in a strategy that was set out in 2017.
And with the UK currently losing its lead in international rankings of most digitally-savvy governments, falling last year from the first place to the third, this new position is one likely to be brimming with challenges.