New £122,000 a year information officer 'an investment in public service'
A NEW post has been created within the States' senior management team to address technology shortfalls – with a salary potentially rising to £122,000 a year.
States chief executive Paul Whitfield, pictured, said the new chief information officer position would be vital in addressing much-needed technology improvement and in turn removing obstacles that staff faced.
He defended the move to bring in the fixed-term five-year contract for his management team and said the new officer would have leadership of and responsibility for technology and e-government strategy, service delivery and programme and project development across the whole States. The post is advertised for a salary of between £99,390-£112,055, potentially rising to £108,747-£122,610.
'I am aware that some critics will say this is simply another senior officer post at the centre,' said Mr Whitfield.
'That is unfair – significantly, the CIO will work with me to ensure that we change the way we work so that in the future we don't need to simply replace staff like-for-like when they leave, as the States will be working in a smarter, leaner and more dynamic way.
'The post should be seen as an investment in the public service, not as a cost to it. Funding for such initiatives going forward can be met by those positions that are not being replaced. I have already created a number of such opportunities.