The Trump administration is looking for a deputy federal CIO, and theater fans need not apply.
The role was flagged up last week by the Office of Management and Budget, which highlighted a $198,200-$228,000 salary for the Washington DC-based role.
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The successful candidate will manage “the Federal Information Technology (IT) portfolio by establishing policies and standards for the use of IT, overseeing agency budgeting and management of IT, and assessing agency information security and cybersecurity policies and practices.”
The listing is blunt about other aspects of the role. This is definitely not a “remote job” though some “situational” telework might be accepted “as determined by the agency policy.” And it’s resolutely “full-time.” As for promotion potential, the spec states “none.”
If it isn’t clear enough that this is a no-nonsense role, the putative boss, US federal CIO Gregory Barbaccia, pulled no punches when he highlighted the job on LinkedIn.
“If you know how to run large systems, cut through noise, and turn strategy into execution across government scale, this is that job,” he declared. The former Palantir exec promised this meant “serious mission. Real authority. Zero patience for theater.”
We’re not precisely sure what an intolerance for the dramatic arts has to do with IT. But then again, the Trump administration has shuttered the Kennedy Center in recent months and bulldozed the East Wing.
Barbaccia certainly has little patience for “wasteful” spending on IT.
After he was recruited early last year, he took aim at pricey software and consultancy suppliers to the government. This included demanding that CIOs at federal agencies inventory their software spending and forward the details to his office.
The government has since been pushing to streamline tech procurement. The administration launched a drive to reduce spending with the top ten consulting firms, with non-mission-critical contracts facing the chop.
The job spec lays out a series of requirements on “executive core qualifications” and “technical qualifications,” but adds: “This position does not have an education requirement.”
Candidates should, however, definitely be “committed to improving the efficiency of the federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.”
For the avoidance of doubt, “candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.” ®
