Assistant Secretary – Chief Information Officer

Cyber Ireland; Leinster; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is seeking a Chief Information Officer to lead its ICT and digital strategy, reporting to the Secretary General and serving on the Management Board. The CIO will drive digital transformation and oversee a large ICT function across multiple sites, ensuring high‑quality services for stakeholders.

Responsibilities include strategic leadership, governance, stakeholder engagement and managing substantial ICT budgets, with ~300 staff across

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience at the highest level within a large technology organization.
• Strong track record delivering major ICT transformation and large-scale projects.
• Proven ability to manage complex governance, budgets and stakeholder relations.

Responsibilities

• Lead a multi-disciplinary team of about 300 across multiple locations (Dublin, Backweston, Portlaoise, Wexford).
• Drive digital transformation and strategic development of ICT and digital services for stakeholders.
• Provide strong strategic leadership, governance and oversight for ICT programmes and budgets.

Skills

Strategic leadership

ICT governance

Budget management

Stakeholder engagement

Digital transformation

Education

Master's degree in IT/Management

Bachelor's degree in IT/Computing or related

Public sector governance experience

Job description

The role of Chief Information Officer is a Senior Management position in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). Reporting to the Secretary General, the person appointed will be a member of DAFM’s Management Board and will have overall responsibility for the strategic development and management of the Department’s ICT and digital systems and strategy that support new and better ways of improving ICT service provision to all its stakeholders. Please see the Department’s ICT strategy document on the publicjobs advertisement page for reference.

Main Duties of the job

The appointee will play a major role in continuing the current high quality of service and determining future business strategies and will lead a multi-disciplinary team of approximately 300 employees located in Dublin, Backweston (Celbridge), Portlaoise and Wexford. The CIO will be responsible for championing digital transformation in the Department to improve the digital services provided to all its customers and stakeholders.

As well as the key competencies for Assistant Secretaries, the person appointed will have:

• A successful track record at senior level of leading and delivering significant technology transformation and of significant achievement and best practice in the management of large ICT projects;
• A good understanding, supported by relevant qualifications and/or experience of current ICT developments, of the forces encouraging business change and of the pivotal role that ICT can play in meeting business objectives in a way that maximises value for money;
• Agility, flexibility and the ability to effectively lead teams operating under significant time pressure with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships both internally and externally and have demonstrable skills in persuading and influencing with multiple complex stakeholders;
• Excellent leadership, negotiation, communication, management and teamwork skills, with an ability to express him/herself orally and in writing, clearly, concisely and persuasively;
• A demonstrated proven track record of providing strong strategic leadership to large diverse teams, supporting and giving direction to the building of capability, capacity and organisational culture so that the IMT group delivers to a consistently high standard of performance, accountability and integrity, assured by robust governance and oversight controls;
• Familiarity with, or the capacity to acquire quickly an understanding of, the range of farming and wider national stakeholder interests involved in this environment, including an ability to operate effectively in EU and international fora;
• A demonstrated ability to lead and govern significant technology programmes, managing large-scale ICT budgets in complex environments and involving a range of diverse stakeholder, nationally and at EU level.

Information about the Organisation

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s vision is of a sustainable, innovative and competitive agri-food, forestry and seafood sector.

The Department’s mission is to lead, enable and regulate the sector in a way that optimises its contribution to social, economic and environmental sustainability. The Department is a multi-functional and multi-disciplinary organization, which provides a wide range of services and applies regulatory controls both directly and through specialist state agencies which operate under its aegis.

It has a wide and diverse customer base which includes farmers, taxpayers, consumers, food processors and other agri-sector commercial operators, those involved in sea fishing, forestry, bioenergy and research.

With just over 4,000 staff, the Department operates from six large regional locations across the country, with a presence also in a further sixteen regional operational offices, six fishery harbour centres, and a large number of other locations countrywide.

In 2026, the Department is responsible for a gross budget of some €3.54 billion of national and EU funds.

Selection Process Details

This is a Top-Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) position.

The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 3pm on Thursday 22nd October 2026.

If you feel you would benefit from a confidential discussion about this opportunity, please contact Tatiana Romanova at [e-mail]

We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and encourage applications under all nine grounds of the Employment Equality Act.