Political

Liberal Democrats recruiting for a Chief Technology Officer

Computer code

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay.

Improving the party’s technology and use of data was one of the major themes in my manifesto when running for Party President. It’s a point many others have made too, and earlier this year when picking our priorities for the year, the Federal Board included technology in them.

As a result, the party is making a significant financial investment, part of which is the creation of a new post of Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

(An aside: there have been plenty of Board discussions in the past about the importance of data and technology, but without very much changing as a result. I hope this is a good example of how the Board discussions are becoming more meaningful – and hence our internal democracy too – as discussions increasingly are followed by decisions and then by action.)

Here is the job advert:

You will make sure our technology meets people’s needs in an intuitive way, in a mass membership organisation.

You’ll make sure we take advantage of the latest thinking and developments in campaigning and research technology and digital approaches across the world.

You’ll help us use data in a secure and intelligent way.

Britain’s Liberal Democrat party is looking for a collaborative and user-focused Chief Technology Officer. This is the opportunity to shape a national movement and influence the direction of our country at all levels.

More than 3m people voted for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 General Election. We have more than 2,600 councillors, lead in 50 councils, are responsible for more than £5bn of public spending and have more than 100,000 members.

We have new political leadership, a new President and a new Chief Executive. We are now looking for a world-class Chief Technology Officer with a strong track record to join our senior team.

This is a time of significant change for the Liberal Democrats and the successful candidate will contribute to a strategy of renewal and growth. Working within a complex organisation, this person will improve existing approaches and develop new initiatives, building on our recent General Election review.

Working closely with our political leadership, elected committees and members, you will make sure:

  • our technology meets people’s needs in an intuitive way, in a mass membership organisation
  • we take advantage of the latest thinking and developments in campaigning and research technology and digital approaches across the world
  • we use data in a secure and intelligent way

You’ll bring exceptional technical judgement, strategic thinking, a proven track record in developing and leading technology and software engineering teams, and building and developing successful products.

Our current technology is largely outsourced. We want someone who’s comfortable with building a software engineering capability from scratch while managing external suppliers. You’ll be working with a CEO with substantial digital and product experience.

We’re looking for someone who starts with user needs, and has a product development and service design approach. You’ll be reassured by our recent move from Microsoft Office to G Suite and our use of Slack, Salesforce and other SaaS products.

You’ll be comfortable managing external suppliers as well as in-house teams across disciplines. You’ll be able to get stuck in to the day to day detail as well as create the big picture vision; this is a hands-on role, not a PowerPoint or consulting role.

Salary is market competitive.

This role is the chance to change our country for the better. Join us.

It is recommended that you read the full job description before applying for this role.

There is no closing date for this application, and we will interview on a rolling basis. To apply please send a cover letter and CV by email to georgia.potter@libdems.org.uk  with the subject “CTO role application”.

Listen to the Liberal Democrats and British politics being discussed by myself and a wide range of experts from inside and outside the party on my podcast, Never Mind The Bar Charts.

2 responses to “Liberal Democrats recruiting for a Chief Technology Officer”

  1. A good full job description, except that I would have raised

    “Proven ability to work with and understand the needs of volunteers.”

    from ‘desirable’ to ‘essential’. I think that in future the Party will need to rely more on volunteers to cover tasks that were done by permanent staff in the past. It might be good to add to the ‘desirable’ list something like ‘familarity with the operation of geographically dispersed organisations.’

  2. It’s good to see the party advancing on the Thornhill proposals.
    If they aren’t already on the agenda it might be a good idea to have decision and action as recordable items on each discussion. It helps to clarify the mind as you are obviously doing Mark. Thank you for the very useful aside.

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