Deputy Chief Information Officer; CIO - Operations

Position: Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) - Operations

We are the Metropolitan
Council
, the regional government for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. We plan 30 years ahead for the future of the metropolitan area and provide regional transportation, wastewater, and housing services. More information about us is on our website. We are committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.

Information Services is the central IT department supporting all divisions of the Metropolitan Council. Our 140 team members provide technology, practices, and innovative solutions that enable the Council's core services.

How your work would contribute to our organization and the Twin Cities region:

The Deputy Chief Information Officer – Technology Operations is a strategic executive leader who will provide guidance and leadership across the infrastructure, operations, and service management pillars of the Information Services Department. The DCIO will assist the CIO in focusing on aligning operational capabilities with organizational goals and long-term digital strategies. This executive role leads the planning, implementation, and continuous enhancement of the Council’s enterprise technology foundation, encompassing IT infrastructure, cybersecurity operations, systems engineering, endpoint and SCADA support, and enterprise service management.

Acts on behalf of the CIO as assigned or in the absence of the CIO.

• Develop and execute a 5-year strategy for enterprise technology operations and infrastructure.
• Serve as a primary strategic liaison and operational partner for IT services across all five Council divisions.
• Define and implement strategies for infrastructure modernization, reliability engineering, and service experience.
• Participate in IS Leadership Team planning and Council-wide initiatives.
• Establish and monitor performance metrics (SLAs, KPIs) for infrastructure, operations, and service management that reflect Council-wide needs.
• Build a proactive incident response and resilience capability for critical systems.
• Develop and maintain business continuity and disaster recovery programs.
• Drive cloud modernization and disaster recovery readiness in alignment with enterprise risk management.
• Design and implement a scalable cost allocation and service model that supports all divisions equitably.
• Actively mentor technical leads and managers within the division.
• Lead vendor and contract negotiations for technology operations services.
• Drive continuous improvement and operational excellence using lean/agile principles.
• Build collaborative and empowered teams that can deliver high-value services on a scale.
• Participate in governance forums such as the Technology Oversight Committee (TOC).
• Represent the CIO in senior-level operational and technical meetings as needed.
• Promote and model IS guiding principles in cross-functional leadership settings.
• Serve as a backup to the CIO and provide executive-level technical and business reporting as needed.

Any combination of completed education in information technology, engineering, business administration, or a related field

• High School/GED and fourteen (14) years of experience, including five (5) years in a management role.
• Associate's degree and twelve (12) years of experience, including five (5) years in a management role.
• Bachelor’s degree and ten (10) years of experience, including five (5) years in a management role.
• Master's degree and eight (8) years of experience, including five (5) years in a management role.

What additional skills and experience would be helpful in this job (desired qualifications):

• Experience working and collaborating in a diverse, multicultural, and inclusive environment.

What knowledge, skills, and abilities you should have within the first six months on the job:

• Deep knowledge of IT infrastructure, enterprise operations, cybersecurity, and service management principles.
• Extensive understanding of hybrid cloud architecture, systems engineering, enterprise networking, and operational risk mitigation.
• Mastery of enterprise-scale infrastructure planning, network systems, and cloud operations.
• Demonstrated expertise in industry-standard frameworks such as ITIL, NIST, ISO 20000,…