The head of IT is responsible for the IT division and is part of the business leadership team. Professionals in this role will work closely with the C-suite (the COO in particular) to ensure the business has the technical capabilities needed to reach success and drive growth.
Head of IT job description and responsibilities
The head of IT is responsible for business IT and IS services. They typically oversee professionals in IT systems and infrastructure, IT engineering and IT group team leadership.They routinely carry out GAP analysis on the business’ IT tech and team to ensure that there is adequate capability to reach future business goals.
Some daily duties include:
Optimising business IT processesMonitoring IT efficiencyAssessing, monitoring and upgrading business systems and processesLiaising with vendors and 3rd partiesIT security and governanceManaging and developing the business IT divisionStakeholder management
Head of IT job qualifications, skills and experience
To become head of IT, a professional should start with a degree in one of the following subjects (or similar):Computer ScienceInformation TechnologyInformation SystemsGood technical knowledge in the following areas may also be required:IT managementInfrastructure and applicationsData warehousing, architecture and networkingKnowledge of cloud platforms and technologiesA minimum of 5 years of IT service delivery experienceExperience with business operations platformsProfessionals in a HoIT role should also possess some of the following soft skills:Good leadership abilitiesNegotiation skillsAnalytical thinkingExcellent communication skillsStrategic thinking
