Chief Technology Officer

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is the senior executive responsible for setting and executing the organization’s technology strategy in service of mission impact. As a member of the leadership team, the CTO ensures that systems, data, cybersecurity, and event-facing technology are reliable, secure, and scalable. This role blends enterprise IT leadership (infrastructure, applications, security, data governance) with event execution—ensuring technology readiness and seamless delivery.

• Develop and maintain a multi-year technology roadmap aligned with organizational strategy, budget, and operating plans; translate priorities into quarterly execution.
• Serve on the leadership team; communicate technology risks, investments, and progress to executives and (as needed) the board.
• Establish technology policies, standards, and governance to ensure consistency, reliability, and accountability across departments.

• Own end-to-end technology readiness and delivery for events/programs where experience, safety, and reputation are on the line.

• Create and drive a technology production plan aligned to the event run‑of‑show: connectivity, AV/lighting integration, streaming, comms, ticketing access control, POS, onsite support, and contingency plans.
• Lead technical readiness checks; confirm escalation plan, bandwidth procurement and redundancy, failover connectivity, and staffing coverage.
• Coordinate with operations, marketing, venue, and development teams to ensure event objectives and audience/donor experience requirements are met.

• Ensure flawless performance of event infrastructure; coordinate internal staff and external vendors during all aspects of events.
• Act as executive escalation point for event technology incidents; stabilize service quickly and lead post-incident reviews.

• Lead post-event debriefs and metrics: uptime, incident logs, vendor performance, and improvement plan for future events.

• Evaluate, select, and manage third‑party partners (managed IT, cybersecurity, ticketing, streaming platform, network providers, CRM/ERP platforms).
• Negotiate contracts, SLAs, and pricing; define measurable performance standards (response times, uptime, deliverables, escalation, on‑site coverage).
• Maintain a preferred provider benchmark and disaster recovery for mission‑critical services (events, system backups, security monitoring, connectivity).
• Partner with operations leadership on vendor coordination practices commonly used in venue/event environments (estimates, scopes, staffing plans, onsite protocols).

• Ensure reliable core infrastructure (identity/access, endpoints, network, Wi‑Fi, cloud services, collaboration tools) and a high‑quality support experience
• Oversee applications portfolio (CRM, fundraising, finance systems, HRIS, ticketing/registration, data interfaces) and prioritize improvements based on impact and risk.
• Lead major implementations and digital transformations (e.g., CRM migration initiatives), aligning stakeholders, vendors, timeline, and change management.

• Own cybersecurity strategy: risk assessments, endpoint protection, phishing training, logging/monitoring, incident response, and business continuity.
• Ensure data privacy and regulatory compliance appropriate to the org (e.g., donor data/PII; program‑specific requirements).
• Establish security‑by‑design practices for event technology (temporary networks, vendor access, streaming platforms, guest Wi‑Fi segmentation where applicable).

• Build a data governance approach: data definitions, stewardship, access controls, retention, and quality.
• Promote data‑informed decision‑making through dashboards and reporting for programs, fundraising, operations, and event performance.

• Lead and develop a high‑performing team; hire, mentor, and evaluate staff and contractors.
• Own technology operating and capital budgets; control spend,…