Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO)

Next Dimensions Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) is the strategic technology voice at the executive table for a portfolio of clients. Acting as an outsourced fractional CIO the vCIO partners directly with client owners and C-suite leadership to translate business goals into a multi-year technology roadmap a defensible IT budget and a security posture built for where the client is headed not just where they are today.

Where Next Dimensions Operations Team keeps a clients environment running day-to-day and the Customer Success Manager keeps the accounts documentation onboarding and short-term service experience on track the vCIO owns the long-term view: making sure the environment is the right one for the right reasons at the right cost and risk tolerance. The vCIO drives Technology Business Reviews (TBRs) multi-year roadmaps budget planning vendor and contract oversight and framework-based risk and compliance alignment working closely with each clients Account Manager Customer Success Manager and Sales Engineer. This is an executive-facing role built on judgment and trust where turning technical risk into a decision a business owner can act on and fund is the core skill.

Strategic IT Advisory & Executive Relationship Management

Executive Relationship Ownership: Serve as the primary strategic point of contact and trusted advisor for an assigned portfolio of clients engaging directly with owners C-suite and other executive decision-makers.

Technology Business Reviews: Lead recurring TBRs (quarterly or as scoped) reviewing performance risk spend and upcoming initiatives against each clients business objectives.

Technology Roadmapping: Build and maintain 1-3 year technology roadmaps for each client aligning infrastructure cloud security and connectivity investments with business growth plans.

Executive Escalation: Act as the escalation point for strategic non-operational client concerns partnering with Operations leadership to resolve them.

Budget Vendor & Contract Oversight

IT Budget & Capital Planning: Develop and manage client IT budgets and multi-year capital plans ensuring spend is defensible ROI-driven and benchmarked appropriately.

Vendor & Contract Management: Evaluate recommend and negotiate third-party technology vendors and contracts on the clients behalf holding vendors accountable to SLAs.

Solution Scoping: Quote and scope new solutions in partnership with Sales Engineering and Account Management and manage licensing and renewal cycles.

Risk Compliance & Security Alignment

Framework Alignment: Align client environments against a recognized security framework (NIST CSF CIS Controls IG2/3 or similar) regardless of regulatory status using the framework as a maturity benchmark rather than a compliance checkbox.

Risk Register Ownership: Own and maintain each clients risk register within Next Dimensions GRC platform tracking identified risks owners mitigation status and residual risk over time.

Vendor Risk Assessment: Conduct technology-focused vendor risk assessments on each clients third-party vendors and critical suppliers documented within the GRC platform.

Compliance Guidance: Guide clients through industry-specific compliance frameworks SOC 2 CMMC CPCSC TISAX and similar in coordination with NDs GRC service line.

Cyber Insurance Alignment: Review each clients cyber insurance coverage against their actual security posture and flag gaps ahead of renewal or claim events.

Business Continuity: Develop and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity plans in partnership with technical delivery teams.

Risk Translation: Translate technical risk (e.g. MFA gaps unmanaged endpoints unsupported systems) into business-language recommendations that leadership can act on and fund.

Account Growth & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Expansion Identification: Identify expansion opportunities across NDs service lines (Managed IT Private Cloud Cybersecurity Connectivity Colocation) within the existing client base.

Renewal & Growth Partnership: Partner with Account Managers Customer Success Managers and Sales Engineers on renewals upsell strategy and net-new opportunities sourced through the vCIO relationship. The CSM surfaces operational risk and expansion signals; the vCIO leads the strategic conversation and owns the renewal discussion itself.

Operational Collaboration: Collaborate with the Service Desk Engineering and Operations to ensure roadmap commitments are delivered.

M&A & Inflection-Point Advisory: Lead technology due diligence and integration planning for clients navigating M&A activity or other major growth inflection points.

Emerging Technology Evaluation: Proactively evaluate emerging technology (AI adoption automation major platform shifts) for client relevance rather than waiting for the client to raise it.

Strategic Documentation: Maintain current technical documentation of each clients roadmap architecture decisions TBR history and strategic risk/compliance posture within NDs PSA and documentation platforms distinct from the CSMs ownership of day-to-day operational documentation (configs SOPs credentials asset inventories).

This is an executive-facing advisory role not a technical delivery role. Youll spend real time in boardrooms and C-suite conversations and you need the presence and judgment to hold your own there including the ability to tell a client something they dont want to hear about risk or cost.

The horizon here is long. Where a lot of the business runs on this weeks ticket queue your job is to keep one eye on where each client needs to be in one to three years and to keep that plan alive even when the day-to-day pulls everyone elses attention elsewhere.

You need enough technical depth to be credible with engineers and enough business fluency to be credible with a CFO or owner in the same week. Neither alone is enough for this role.

7 years of progressive experience in IT leadership IT consulting or a senior technical account role including meaningful experience within an MSP or MSSP environment.

Demonstrated ability to communicate technical risk and strategy to non-technical business owners and executive audiences.

Working knowledge of IT infrastructure cloud platforms (Azure preferred) networking/connectivity and modern cybersecurity practices sufficient to advise on them not necessarily to operate them.

Experience building and presenting technology roadmaps budgets and business reviews to clients or internal stakeholders.

Familiarity with security frameworks (NIST CSF CIS Controls) and compliance frameworks (SOC 2 CMMC or similar) and comfort aligning clients to a framework even outside regulated industries.

Valid drivers license and ability to travel regularly among NDs client sites.

Bachelors degree in Information Technology Business or a related field or equivalent professional experience.

Prior experience carrying a quota or growth target tied to an existing account portfolio.

Familiarity with ConnectWise IT Glue LogicMonitor NinjaOne Todyl or GRC platforms.

Experience serving manufacturing/automotive professional services or other verticals relevant to NDs client base.

Industry certifications such as CISSP CISM ITIL or PMP.

Experience with technology due diligence or advisory work tied to M&A or major growth inflection points.

Client retention and expansion revenue within the assigned portfolio meet or exceed target.

Every managed client has a current technology roadmap and an up-to-date risk/compliance posture on file in NDs GRC platform.

Clients view their vCIO as a strategic partner in growth decisions not solely as an escalation path for IT issues.

Technology Business Reviews are delivered on cadence with clear follow-through on action items.

Competitive salary

Health and wellness benefits

Opportunity for professional growth

Collaborative work environment with industry experts

This role is based out of one of Next Dimensions offices (Windsor London Detroit or future Guelph) with regular in-person travel to client executive meetings across the region. Some early or late meetings should be expected to accommodate client executive schedules.

This is a current vacancy as yet unfilled;

We use AI for screening purposes only;

The salary range for this position is $115000 to $145000;

We do not require our applicants to have Canadian experience.

Next Dimension is a CIO Strategist firm; we provide managed IT services that align the server room and the boardroom by providing a framework to fill gaps in reliability security and resourcing. To successfully achieve this Next Dimension cultivates a workplace culture around the Employee Experience in which we seek to optimize the moments that matter for each and every employee.

Next Dimensions vCIOs work inside a dedicated GRC platform that tracks each clients risk register framework alignment and compliance posture in one place giving clients audit-ready evidence rather than a folder of one-off assessments.

Next Dimension is committed to the National Centre for Truth & Reconciliations Call to Action 92 to ensure that Indigenous Peoples have equitable access to jobs training and education opportunities. To that end all our employees are trained in OCAP Awareness and the importance of Digital Sovereignty to the First Nations.

Next Dimension is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We thank all applicants for their interest; however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.