CIO recruitment: how to select the right profile?

A key function within any company, the position of CIO requires advanced technical skills, but also very specific managerial skills. WAYDEN gives you some advice on how to successfully recruit your future CIO and select a qualified talent, whose profile is aligned with the needs of your company.

 

The CIO: role and missions

The CIO (Chief Information Officer), also known as the IT Manager, Chief Information Officer (CIO), is responsible for overseeing the implementation, evolution and reliability of the company’s information systems in order to meet the company’s strategic objectives.

Here are some of the missions of the CIO:

• Develop the company’s IT strategy in collaboration with the general management,
• Create and implement the IT policy,
• Manage the performance of information systems on a daily basis,
• Identify relevant IT investments,
• Manage the team of IT technicians within your department,
• Carry out an audit of the company’s information systems to identify risks and opportunities,
• Manage relations with service providers,
• Lead IT projects in collaboration with the company’s various departments,
• Carry out a daily technological and legal watch,
• Define, manage and adapt the budgets of the IS department,
• Prevent and control risks related to data security,
• Ensure the maintenance of software and IT tools,
• Guarantee the proper execution of IT operations,
• …

 

What is the profile of a CIO?

The IT departments have a Bac+5 academic level and most often from engineering schools or holders of a Master’s degree in computer science. These are senior profiles: a minimum of 10 years’ professional experience in an IT department, as a web developer or IT project manager, is generally required to apply for such a position.

The Chief Information Officer must also have several specific technical skills in programming (mastery of certain languages such as Java, Python, PHP, C++, JavaScript, etc.) and computer security, as well as legal knowledge (to ensure compliance with regulations and standards in the IT sector) and financial knowledge (to manage budgets).

In addition to these business skills, the CIO must also possess certain specific human and managerial qualities to be able to supervise his team and collaborate effectively with the various departments of the company (interpersonal skills; rigor; responsiveness; interpersonal skills; leadership; spirit of synthesis…).

 

How to successfully recruit your CIO?

Here are the key steps to follow to select the right profile and successfully recruit your future CIO:

• Identify business needs

To recruit the right profile, it is first of all essential to clarify and formalize the company’s needs about the position, as well as the objectives and issues related to this function. Is the company in a phase of Digital Transformation, external or internal growth, international development? It will also be necessary to analyze the organization of the existing IT department to identify the strengths, flaws, areas for improvement and opportunities related to this function. This due diligence will determine the necessary skills and clarify the responsibilities of the future CIO.

• Define the responsibilities and missions of the future CIO

Once the needs, environment and context of the function have been clarified, it will be necessary to identify the skills, level of training, qualifications and experience required to fill the vacancy.

It will then be necessary to draw up a clear and structured job description, formalising:

• The type of contract (permanent or fixed-term contract, part-time or full-time),
• The description of the missions and tasks related to the position,
• The difficulties of the position,
• Relations with other posts,
• The position in the hierarchy,
• The work environment and the specific context in which the position will be occupied,
• Working conditions (hours, mobility, location, etc.),
• The technical and soft skills required,
• …

• Source candidates

The job offer must be written in a clear, attractive and precise way to source the right candidates. This ad can then be broadcast on various digital channels (social networks, platforms and general or specialized job boards, etc.).

The HR team will then be able to pre-select the applications received to select the profiles that best meet the criteria defined beforehand.

• Conduct interviews

Job interviews with the selected talents can be used to validate the candidate’s motivation, his interest in the position and in the company, but also his managerial, technical and soft skills. This will be an opportunity to ensure that his personality and values correspond to his the culture of the company.

• Hiring an interim CIO

Hiring a CIO is a complex and delicate project, which can often take longer than expected. While waiting to find a new Chief Information Officer, it is possible to Hire an interim CIO. The latter will be able to ensure continuity of functions for the necessary time.

At WAYDEN, we can identify an experienced interim CIO from our pool of 8,000 highly qualified interim managers. The latter can intervene, at short notice if necessary, within your company until the arrival of the new employee.

Operational from the moment of his arrival, he will be able to supervise and federate the teams of the IT department and fulfill all the missions of the CIO successfully. His intervention will also facilitate the transition and integration of the future IS manager. Indeed, the interim CIO will be able to identify areas for improvement, opportunities, best practices and challenges specific to the function, and thus provide a roadmap for the new CIO.