We're searching for our next CIO

By Adam Scott and Ashwin Vasan –

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The CFPB is looking for our next Chief Information Officer (CIO) to lead our technology team in supporting the mission of the CFPB and in setting an exceptional example for how technology can work in government.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a government agency that helps consumer finance markets work for Americans by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives. From the Bureau’s founding in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, it has always been clear that we need to leverage modern technology and take a data-driven approach to achieve these goals. The CFPB technology team uses and produces open source code, has embraced systems in the public cloud, and follows an Agile software development model. Our team is made up of talented individuals from both the public and private sectors, and through CFPB’s Technology and Innovation Fellows program, we bring together designers, developers, data scientists, and security professionals to collaborate on building CFPB technology.

Position Overview

The CIO is the CFPB’s senior leader for all aspects of technology. The role is a hybrid of a traditional CIO, providing services that support the Bureau’s operations, and a CTO, responsible for the technology that amplifies the mission effectiveness of the CFPB.

The CIO oversees the following eight functions, all of which support the Bureau’s mission or operations:

  • Design: Design of digital products on consumerfinance.gov, as well as the design of regulatory products such as mandated disclosures and booklets.
  • Development: Software engineering for digital products on consumerfinance.gov and custom applications for internal use. Applications on consumerfinance.gov include consumer-facing applications (e.g., Owning a Home) and regulatory applications (e.g., eRegulations, HMDA).
  • Data: Management of CFPB data assets throughout the data lifecycle. The data team operates a processing environment and also provides data analysis and data science services to internal customers. Led by a Chief Data Officer.
  • Infrastructure: Management of CFPB’s network and hybrid cloud infrastructure, which supports all of the Bureau’s technology.
  • End User: Management of the computing resources used by the Bureau’s employees and contractors (e.g., laptops, smartphones).
  • Enterprise Applications Platforms: Management of all commercial-off-the-shelf platforms used by the Bureau’s workforce (notably Salesforce).
  • Security: Management and mitigation of the security risk to the Bureau’s technology environment. Led by a Chief Information Security Officer.
  • Privacy: Management and mitigation of the privacy risks inherent in the Bureau’s management of personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive data. Led by a Chief Privacy Officer.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

  • Sets the strategic direction for technology at the CFPB, working closely with the Bureau’s executives to identify areas where technology can enhance our mission and operations.
  • Leads technical decision-making for the Bureau, focusing on large cross-cutting decisions that impact usability, scalability, and reliability of CFPB technology.
  • Manages each of the functions above to ensure service delivery and customer satisfaction.
  • Acts as the accountable official for risk related to the Bureau’s technology including security, privacy and data governance risks.
  • Sets an exceptional culture and tone for a large organization that aims to be a beacon for how technology can work in government.

Professional Experience/Qualifications

We are looking for a broad and diverse pool of candidates to apply for the position. Strong candidates will have 15+ years of professional experience from the government or private sector (combination of private/public sector experience is highly desirable). Strong candidates will also have exceptional experience in at least two of the three following areas:

  • General management and leadership
    • Proven ability to manage significant change in a complex enterprise environment.
    • Experience inspiring, leading, and managing a large cross-functional team (e.g., 100+ employees/contractors).
  • Technical experience
    • Undergraduate or graduate degrees in computer science or similar technical discipline.
    • Experience leading the engineering and delivery of innovative technical solutions across a range of technical domains.
  • Financial services subject matter expertise
    • Experience working in financial services, particularly within consumer financial services (including regulators).
    • Experience leading compliance, operations, and technology functions within financial services organizations (including regulators).

Ready for the challenge?

Contact us to learn more about the CFPB’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) position.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to create and maintain a vibrant and diverse workforce. Women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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