Chief Information and Technology Officer

Requisition No:885450

Agency: Department of Education

Working Title: Chief Information and Technology Officer -

Pay Plan: SES

Position Number:

Salary: agency to update

Posting Closing Date: 10/26/2026

Total Compensation EstimatorTool

Florida Department of Education

Office of The Commissioner

Location: Tallahassee

Position Title: Chief Information Officer (SES)

Salary Range: $180000.00 - $190000.00

SALARY IS BASED ON CANDIDATES EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

OFFICE CONTACT:

Jennifer Boswell

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Chief Information and Technology Officer is a cabinet-level executive who sets the Departments technology vision architecture and investment agenda; runs the Division of Technology and Innovation (DTI) (including the Education Data Center and related application infrastructure data security and service functions); and represents FDOE with the Florida Digital Service (or successor enterprise IT body) the Legislature school districts colleges and vendors.

While the CIO directly oversees DTI technology leadership and modernization efforts extend across the Department. The CIO will work collaboratively with technology teams throughout the agency including those within the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Division of Blind Services (DBS) and Division of Early Learning (DEL) to advance shared technology priorities strengthen operational support and ensure alignment with the Departments broader strategic goals. These teams play a critical role in maintaining essential systems supporting division-specific needs and contributing to the Departments long-term technology modernization efforts.

Success in this role is defined by four outcomes: (1) a funded governed and executing plan to exit the mainframe and retire COBOL-dependent applications on a public timeline; (2) a production-ready AI and advanced analytics program that improves operations and decision-making under a clear risk and privacy framework; (3) measurable improvement in reliability security and service to program offices and local education agencies; and (4) a rebuilt technology organization that can attract and keep modern engineering data and product talent.

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) is seeking a transformation-minded Chief Information Officer to serve as the agencys senior technology executive and statutory agency CIO under section 282.3055 Florida Statutes. This is not a caretaker role. The next CIO will retire a remaining mainframe and COBOL/DB2 estate that still underpins core statewide education operations stand up a durable cloud and data platform and scale artificial intelligence in a way that is useful to districts colleges and the Departmentwithout compromising student privacy cybersecurity or public trust.

A completed feasibility study frames enterprise mainframe modernization as a multi-year programthree phases over six years with an estimated total cost of approximately $151 millioncovering student data collection education finance calculations financial reporting transcript exchange assessment reporting school identification and capital outlay. Year-one work includes a program management office COBOL and DB2 inventory and business-rule extraction knowledge transfer from a shrinking specialist workforce and cloud foundation work consistent with Floridas cloud-first policy and Chapter 60GG cybersecurity rules. The CIO will own that program end to end and will be judged on whether the mainframe actually goes away.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

(Note: The omission of specific job duties does not preclude management from assigning specific duties not listed herein if such duties are a logical assignment to the position.)

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) has an open position that is responsible for executing the following functions:

• Own the enterprise mainframe modernization program as a single accountable executivescope sequence budget vendors risk and legislative reporting.
• Complete and maintain a full inventory of COBOL CICS DB2 batch and interface assets; extract business rules; map data and process dependencies; and publish a system-by-system retire rewrite replace or encapsulate decision.
• Stand up a Program Management Office with independent verification and validation stage-gate funding and monthly executive dashboards that a non-technical cabinet and legislative staff can read.
• Move remaining workloads off the mainframe to cloud-native or commercially supported platforms consistent with s. 282.206 F.S. (cloud-first) Northwest Regional Data Center and enterprise hosting policy and Chapter 60GG-2 F.A.C.
• Protect continuity of FEFP funding calculations survey/data collections transcripts assessments MSID PECO and related mission systems during cutover. No big bang that puts a school year at risk.
• Capture institutional knowledge from retiring mainframe specialists before it walks out the door; convert it into documented product and data contracts.

1. Scale artificial intelligenceresponsibly and in production

• Publish and execute an agency AI strategy covering use-case intake model risk human-in-the-loop rules procurement evaluation and retirement of tools that do not perform.
• Prioritize high-value low-regret uses first: document intelligence code and test generation for modernization service-desk deflection data-quality assistance legislative and policy research support and internal knowledge retrieval. Expand to instructional and district-facing tools only after governance FERPA and security controls are proven.
• Establish an AI review board (legal privacy program security and data) with authority to pause or kill deployments.
• Require vendors to meet data-residency training-data audit and no-retention terms appropriate for student and staff records. Prefer architectures that keep sensitive data inside the States control plane.
• Build internal capability so the Department is not permanently dependent on a single AI vendor or on shadow tools.
• Measure adoption and outcomes. AI that is not used not evaluated or not secure does not count as scaled.

• Treat education data as a product: owned documented quality-measured and reusable across program offices and authorized partners.
• Strengthen the K-20 Education Data Warehouse survey collections and longitudinal reporting so the Commissioner State Board districts and Legislature can act on timely trusted numbers.
• Reduce duplicative collections from districts and colleges; publish APIs and data contracts instead of one-off file drops wherever feasible.
• Align with statewide data and identity standards from the Florida Digital Service and the agency CIO workgroup.
• Partner with Accountability Research and Measurement; Finance and Operations; Public Schools; Florida Colleges; Career and Adult Education; and Vocational Rehabilitation so technology follows the business not the other way around.

• Serve as the Departments senior executive for information security posture working with the designated Information Security Manager / agency CISO and the State CISO / Cybersecurity Operations Center under s. 282.318 F.S.
• Drive identity least privilege logging vulnerability management incident response and tabletop exercises that include mainframe-to-cloud transition risk.
• Protect student education records and other regulated data under FERPA related federal grant conditions and Florida public-records and cybersecurity law.
• Maintain tested disaster recovery and continuity of operations for funding collections and other time-critical cycles.

• Set a target enterprise architecture: cloud landing zones integration layer identity data platform observability and DevSecOps. Stop net-new development on dead platforms.
• Run reliable day-to-day operationsnetworks endpoints collaboration service desk application supportwhile the transformation work proceeds. Modernization cannot excuse outages.
• Rationalize the application portfolio. Every system has an owner a cost a risk rating and a sunset or invest decision.
• Improve service levels to Department staff and to districts and colleges that depend on FDOE systems.

• Build and defend the IT legislative budget request including multi-year mainframe-exit and AI platform funding with clear milestones the Legislature can hold the agency to.
• Advise the Commissioner and cabinet on technology risk technical debt and the true cost of delay.
• Run competitive well-scoped procurements. Prefer outcomes and interoperability over lock-in. Hold integrators to acceptance criteria tied to retired mainframe MIPS migrated workloads and working productsnot slide decks.
• Coordinate with Florida Digital Service project oversight where required and with NWRDC and other enterprise providers.

• Lead the Division of Technology and Innovation. Hire develop and where needed restructure so the shop can do product data cloud security and AI worknot only keep a mainframe alive.
• Create career paths that retain remaining COBOL/DB2 expertise long enough to finish the exit while recruiting engineers architects product managers and data scientists who will run the next platform.
• Replace heroics and tribal knowledge with written standards agile delivery where it fits public-sector constraints and honest status reporting.
• Model a service culture: technology exists to make teachers students program staff and district partners more effective.

• Perform the duties of the agency chief information officer under s. 282.3055 F.S.: plan and manage agency IT services; implement procedures and standards consistent with enterprise policy; advise senior management; and help prioritize IT needs in the legislative budget request.
• Represent FDOE on the agency CIO workgroup and in enterprise architecture cybersecurity and cloud-first forums.
• Ensure accessibility of public-facing systems (s. 282.601 et seq. F.S.) and compliance with applicable records procurement and technology rules.

1. Enhance Education through Technology

Appropriate technologies are researched and implemented which will:

• Establish and keep current strategic guidelines which promote the vision of technologies to be used in education throughout the State
• Reduce the total cost of ownership of technologies used to accomplish the educational goals as established by the Commissioner of Education
• Propose at least 1 bold idea per month

1. Promote Communication and Collaboration

• Establish quarterly communications with district superintendents and IT leaders
• Establish internal and external business relationships partnerships and personal networks to drive the use of technology in the classrooms

1. Create Business Efficiencies through Technologies

• Achieve departmental technology savings in terms of efficiency effectiveness and cost
• Technology strategy is explicitly aligned with business goals
• Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to leverage technology to accomplish the goals of the agency
• Propose at least 1 bold idea per month

1. School Districts Communication Support

• Participating in Conferences
• Conducting Surveys and soliciting feedback from school districts
• Provide general guidance and technical support to school district personnel involved in educational technology initiatives

1. Promote Strong Leadership Management

• IT leaders are fully vested business leaders
• Establish industry leading Governance Portfolio Management Project Management and ITIL practices
• IT teams maintain appropriate short- mid- and long term human capitol
• Current and future managers are coached and mentored

1. District Funding Readiness/Support

• Work with vendors to leverage school districts bulk purchasing of devices network infrastructure and technology services to reduce total cost of ownership
• Submission of LBRs to assist school districts in implementing digital learning and Common Core State Standards

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Strategic clarity. Can reduce a six-year nine-figure program to a sequence a cabinet can fund and a delivery team can execute.
• Technical judgment. Enough depth in mainframe cloud data identity and AI to call vendor bluffs and protect the Department from fashionable but unfit architecture.
• Political and legislative fluency. Comfortable in Sunshine appropriations and public scrutiny.
• Operators discipline. Transformation work does not excuse missed survey windows or funding-calculation failures.
• Talent magnet. Can hire in a market that pays private-sector CIOs far more than state SMS rates by offering mission authority and a real modernization mandate.
• Integrity and candor. Reports risk early. Does not confuse activity with progress.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Required Licensure/Registration/Certification/Experience or Education:

• Bachelors degree from an accredited institution in information systems computer science engineering business public administration or a closely related field. Ten or more years of progressive executive or senior IT leadership may substitute on a year-for-year basis for the degree.
• Ten or more years of progressive information technology leadership including at least five years leading a multi-function IT organization (applications infrastructure or cloud security and data) in government education or a comparably regulated enterprise.
• Demonstrated record of delivering at least one large-scale modernization: mainframe or COBOL exit core system replacement cloud migration of mission systems or equivalent transformation with published outcomes.
• Experience owning an IT budget vendor portfolio and legislative or board-level investment case.
• Working knowledge of cybersecurity and privacy obligations in a public or education setting.
• Ability to obtain and maintain any access required for State of Florida systems and to work in Tallahassee on a regular cadence.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Preferences will be given to:

• Masters degree (MBA MPA MS in a technical field) or an executive credential such as CGCIO.
• Direct experience modernizing IBM mainframe / COBOL / CICS / DB2 estates including business-rule extraction and coexistence architectures.
• Experience standing up or scaling an enterprise AI machine learning or intelligent-automation program with governancenot a pilot that never left the lab.
• K-12 higher education or state education agency experience including student information education finance assessment or longitudinal data systems.
• Florida state government experience including Chapter 282 / 60GG Florida Digital Service engagement legislative budget requests and SMS/SES organizations.
• CISSP CISM PMP cloud architect or equivalent professional certification.
• Record of rebuilding an IT workforcesuccession for legacy skills and hiring for cloud data and product roles.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MISSION STATEMENT

Every day the Department of Education works hand in hand with parents teachers educators and community members to improve Floridas education system for students of all backgrounds and abilities. Our site reflects the cooperative relationship and the role that so many Floridians play in ensuring student success.

The FDOEs mission for Floridas Early Learning-20 education system is to increase the proficiency of all students within one seamless efficient system by allowing them the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills through learning opportunities and research valued students parents and communities.

Serving approximately 3 million students 4400 public schools 28 colleges 200000 instructional staff 46000 college professors and administrators and 340000 full-time staff throughout the state FDOE enhances programs and services for Floridas students from early learning through college and career addition FDOE manages programs that assist individuals who are blind visually impaired or disabled succeed either in school settings or careers encouraging independence and self-sufficiency.

FDOEs goal is to hire individuals to provide:

1. Higher Student Achievement
2. Seamless Articulation and Maximum Access
3. Skilled Workforce and Economic Development
4. Quality Services

Florida Department of Education Home

WORKING FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA HAS BENEFITS!

• State Group Insurance coverage options
• Nine paid holidays and a Personal Holiday each year
• Student Loan Forgiveness Program (Eligibility required)
• Tuition Fee Waivers (Accepted by major Florida colleges/universities)
• Retirement plan options including employer contributions ()
• Annual and Sick Leave Benefits
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Ongoing comprehensive training provided
• Career Growth
• Maternity and Parental Leave Benefits
• Highly skilled professional environment

For a more complete list of benefits visit

*We care about the success of our employees.

*We are always improving our technology our tools our customers experiences and ourselves

*We care about the success of our clients.

*A rewarding experience for reliable compassionate and professional employees.

LEAVE INFORMATION: SES

• Annual Leave: Employees in Senior Management Service and Selected Exempt Service positions are credited with 176 hours of annual leave upon subsequent years the annual allotment is credited on the anniversary date of the initial appointment.

• Sick Leave: Employees in Senior Management Service and Selected Exempt Service positions shall be credited with 104 hours of sick leave upon subsequent years the annual allotment is credited on the anniversary date of the initial appointment.

BACKGROUND SCREENING REQUIREMENT

It is the policy of the Florida Department of Education that applicants for employment/volunteer undergo Level 2 Background screening in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435 Florida Statutes as a condition of employment or being permitted to serve as a volunteer. You will be required to provide your Social Security Number to conduct required verifications. No applicant for a designated position will be employed contracted or permitted to volunteer until the Level 2 screening results are received reviewed and approved by the Department. Level 2 background screening shall include but not be limited to finger printing for all purpose and checks under this requirement statewide criminal and juvenile records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement federal criminal records checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local criminal records checks through local law enforcement.

SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM (SSS) AND REQUIREMENT

Male applicants born on or after October 1 1962 will not be eligible for hire or promotion in the Other Personal Services (OPS) or Career Service (CS) or appointment in the Selected Exempt Service (SES) or Senior Management Service (SMS) unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS) before their 26th birthday or have a Letter of Registration Exemption from the SSS.

Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire.

For more information please visit the Selective Service website.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please note that this position requires an on-site schedule of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Telework is not available for this role.

APPLICANT INFORMATION & HIRING REQUIREMENTS

Application Information:

• Your Candidate Profile (application) must be complete in its entirety.
• Work History (in easy to review chronological order) Consists of:
  • Any position held by a State of Florida agency
  • Any position held by a Florida University
  • All periods of employment from high school graduation
  • All periods of current or prior unemployment
  • Gaps 3 months of more must be accounted for*
  • Any Education
  • Any Volunteer Experience
  • Your resume and application must match

• Gaps 3 months of more must be addressed you will need to account for and explain any gaps in employment including unemployment. You can either list these in your application under Period of Employment or attach a word document listing your gaps.
• It is unacceptable to use the statement See Resume in place of entering work history. Your candidate profile will be converted to your official application.
• Include your supervisors names and phone numbers for reference checks or the contract information for your Human Resources office to verify current or former employment.
• Experience education training knowledge skills and/or abilities as well as responses to pre-qualifying questions must be verifiable to meet the minimum qualifications.

Hiring Information and Requirements:

• The Bureau of Personnel Management reviews every application for prior State of Florida and Florida University work history in the People First system.
• If claiming Veterans Preference the candidate MUST attach supporting documentation such as the DD214 and your VA Letter that reflects level of disability if applicable. Applicable to career service positions only.
• If claiming Right to First Interview the candidate MUST attach a copy of your official layoff letter when applying. This only applies to employees laid off from Career Service positions. Applicable to career service positions only.

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act must notify the agency hiring authority in advance. The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with section 112.0455 F.S. Successful applicants will be screened in accordance with Chapter 435 F.S. as applicable.

If you are missing any of the items above your packet may be held up at the final review step.

NOTE: Responses to qualifying questions must be clearly supported by the state application and any omission falsification or misrepresentation in the answering of the qualifying questions will be cause for immediate elimination from the selection process.

If you experience problems applying online please call the People First Service Center at

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455 F.S. Drug-Free Workplace Act.