Job Description
The Chief Technology Officer at DFS is responsible for setting the organization’s technology strategy, and ensuring secure and scalable systems are delivered to our partners in the social impact sector. The CTO leads the IT development team at DFS, provides hands-on support to the implementation of our IT and NLP/ML projects, and implements cybersecurity and data privacy activities. He/She will contribute to fostering stakeholder relationships and providing technical guidance to DFS’ implementing partners.
Roles and responsibilities include:
- Leading the development and execution of DFS’ technology roadmap, in alignment with DFS’ portfolio and Organisational Strategy 2024-2027;
- Developing and maintaining relationships with key technology vendors and partners;
- Providing technical guidance to project teams and the management team
- Evaluating current DFS’ technology infrastructure and processes, developing policies, and improving processes;
- Overseeing the implementation of quality assurance processes to ensure the delivery of reliable, high-quality technical solutions;
- Ensuring compliance with relevant international technology regulations and standards;
- Contributing to DFS’ research and development (R&D) workstream, including in relation to the NLP/ML portfolio;
- Ensuring that the DFS’ technology infrastructure and systems are secure, and ethical and that appropriate controls are in place to protect data;
- Leading the development and implementation of data privacy guidelines, including policies and procedures for the collection, storage, and use of sensitive data;
- Leading the technology development towards clustering current and future use cases;
- Monitoring and optimizing technology-related costs and performance with respect to our strategy and operations;
- Promoting capacity building and professional development opportunities for NLP/IT development teams;
- Estimating timelines and resource requirements for software development projects;
- Assessing capabilities of development teams and making plans to address gaps;
- Working closely with partners to gather detailed technical requirements for their development needs.
What we are looking for in you:
- Demonstrated experience of at least 5 years in managing and leading technology teams to drive innovation and deliver high-quality results.
- Strong Knowledge of core languages Java, JavaScript, Python, and typical frameworks (Vue, React, Node, Django, etc.).
- Strong Knowledge of core Data Stores, both SQL (SQL, Postgres) and NoSQL (Dynamo, Mongo), etc.
- Fluent in multi-cloud orchestration and deployments across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
- Experience managing all areas of the tech stack, front-end, back-end, middle-tier, and managing monolith to microservices conversions.
- Knowledge and experience in best-practices engineering processes, methodologies, and platforms such as Agile, Service Oriented Architecture, redundancy, and high scalability.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, and listening skills, with the ability to present complex technical information to a variety of technical and non-technical audiences.
- Demonstrated experience managing vendor relationships.
- Experience Managing engineering budgets and forecasting.
- Strong technical background and expertise in relevant technologies and domains, ie. Cloud Architecture, Generative AI, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Cybersecurity, and Agile Development.
- Proven track record in developing and implementing scalable, distributed system architecture and robust technology solutions.
- Extensive knowledge of industry best practices and emerging trends in technology, and the ability to assess their potential impact on the organization.
- Experience in strategic planning and resource allocation to align technology initiatives with organizational goals and objectives.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills to effectively address complex technical challenges and make informed choices.
- Being a forward-thinking leader to ensure our solutions stand with the forefront technology solutions.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate with cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and external partners.
Contract Duration: The initial contract period spans one year, with the prospect of extension.
Commencement Date: Immediate availability is preferred.
Level of Effort (LOE): The engagement requires a full-time commitment, constituting 100% LOE.
Remuneration: The salary for this position will be commensurate with industry standards and the candidate’s qualifications.
Language Proficiency: Proficiency in both written and spoken English.
Work Arrangement: This is a remote position, offering the flexibility to work from any location worldwide.
About Us
Data Friendly Space (DFS) is a 501(c)(3) global non-profit organization with guiding principle to improve information management and analysis capacity, tools, and processes in the humanitarian and development community to enable better informed and more targeted assistance.
DFS staff is composed of experts from the humanitarian information management and analysis field who specialize in real-time secondary data review and build humanitarian applications that support the fast extraction of information from large volumes of unstructured data.
DFS also focuses on the creation of data-centric web applications, websites, and mobile applications to support humanitarian organizations. When building software, DFS focuses on the intersection between data automation processes powered by Artificial intelligence and human knowledge and skills, in particular when one can help the other to execute the analysis.
Our Values:
We are user-driven: Our digital tools are designed with the end-users in mind. We prioritise relevance and usability for organisations working in complex and low-resource environments and actively engage decision-makers to ensure that our initiatives align with organisations’ capacities and resources.
We take an ecosystem-first approach: We believe in the catalytic and transformative potential of multi stakeholder partnerships and therefore we cultivate ecosystems of like-minded organisations seeking to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.
We are adaptable and agile: Our approach is tailored to the unique needs and intricacies of each partner and individual context. We remain flexible to ensure that our tools and services effectively address the diverse challenges of our partners.
How to apply
To Apply
Please note that this position is filled on a rolling basis, and we will close the vacancy
once we receive a sufficient number of qualified candidates or find the ideal candidate.
To ensure your consideration, we strongly encourage interested individuals to submit
their applications promptly.
Apply Before: January 14th, 2024
Application Documents: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/03a48852517c44899a8e7f421b8cdbf6
To apply, kindly complete the form and upload both your CV and motivation letter.
Thank you for your interest in the position at DFS.