Chief Technology Officer

Recruitology; City of Cohoes (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NYS retirement benefits

Job summary

Recruitology seeks a Chief Technology Officer to lead the Cohoes City School District’s instructional and information technology operations, aligning tech strategy with district goals and ensuring robust data security and system reliability.

The CTO will supervise IT staff, collaborate with district leadership, and drive major initiatives, including policy development, vendor governance, and technology integration across K-12 curricula. Strong leadership and district-level experience required.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree and NYS SDA/SDL certification.
• Minimum 3 years as a district administrator or 5 years as a certified educator with ed tech background.
• Proven leadership in instructional and information technology systems within a district setting.

Responsibilities

• Oversees instructional and information technology across the district to support K-12 learning.
• Collaborates with administrative leaders to promote current and emerging technologies for student learning.
• Manages network infrastructure, data management, and information systems policy development.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Vendor management

Data security & privacy

Communication with stakeholders

Staff mentoring

Education

Master’s degree

New York State Certification for SDA/SDL

Job description

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) provides oversight and leadership of the Cohoes City School District instructional and information technology operations, and all related services. This management administrative position reports directly to the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services with primary responsibilities including the management of instructional technology, with a focus of integrating technology into the curricula of all schools grades K-12, and the maintenance of information technology operations, including monitoring and maintenance of network and server infrastructure. This includes the crafting and implementation of District policy pertaining to Technology and Technology resources, installation and integration of programs and policies for student learning, student attendance, student records as well as for all other information systems development and support. The CTO leads long-term strategic planning for instructional and information technology, ensuring the goals and objectives of the District are realized. Responsibilities include day-to-day management of all associated staff and service delivery. The CTO collaborates with administrators within the district, as well as external colleagues, including Capital Region BOCES, to establish consistent technology standards and strengthen network security. The goal is to enhance digital integration, maximize investments, and mitigate cyber security risks. The CTO directly supervises the CIO, Instructional Technology Specialist, and Computer Support Technician, as well as any other staff identified as appropriate to their purview. This role serves on the senior leadership team, supporting organization-wide growth and implementation of the district goals and objectives, ensuring internal goals and priorities are completely aligned.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Overall leadership of the district’s Instructional and Information technology to ensure effective delivery of services to school buildings and departments to support provision of instructional programs across the district.
2. Collaborates with administrative and instructional leaders to identify and promote the use of current and emerging technologies to support excellence in student learning and to improve services for all stakeholders.
3. Oversees development and maintenance of instructional technology systems, business analytics and information management systems, data collection and management, and reporting processes, including policy development and implementation in these areas.
4. Administers and participates in the operations and maintenance of computer networks including analyzing hardware and software network problems, working with Local Area Networks, District Area Networks and/or Wide Area Networks
5. Gathers network statistics and analyzes network traffic patterns and takes corrective action to resolve network problems involving computers and data communications hardware and software; Installs, configures and maintains network micro-computers, routers and file servers;
6. Oversees project management and district deliverables.
7. Exercises independent judgment in strategic and tactical planning, development, evaluation, coordination, and maintenance of information and technology systems and related infrastructure throughout the district.
8. Identifies opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, manage risk and maximize return on investment.
9. Establishes technical support workflows and sets strict Service Level Descriptions (SLDs) for internal technology staff.
10. Oversees careful management of vendors and vendor contracts, reviewing technical specifications, agreements, guarantees, and hardware warranties protect the district’s financial investments as well as establishing terms and conditions to meet district needs.
11. Defines and identifies resource requirements and provides solutions related to instructional and information technology systems, including risk-management programs.
12. Recruits, mentors, and evaluates staff.
13. Works in collaboration with Assistant Superintendent of Educational Technology and Superintendent on the rollout of major initiatives.
14. Assists in the collective bargaining process.
15. Participates in the administration of collective bargaining agreements and in personnel administration.
16. Communicate effectively with board members, administrators, teachers, students, parents, community members, and business partners.
17. Ensures compliance with all federal and state regulations related to data security, privacy, and operational requirements.
18. Performs other duties, and responsibilities as assigned by the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services as a direct report to them and ultimately to the Board.
19. Oversight includes, but is not limited to, leadership of services responsible for:
    • Data security and privacy.
    • Cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST) threat monitoring, endpoint security, vulnerability scanning, and serving as incident commander in the event of a network breach.
    • Design, maintenance, and scaling of physical networks, fiber-optic rings, data centers, cloud environments, and server architectures supporting the region.
    • Data backup strategies, failover protocols, and disaster recovery planning to ensure continuity of critical operations.
    • Building technologies and physical security systems (e.g., surveillance, access control locks).
    • Instructional and e-Learning services such as technology integration.
    • Level 1 Data Warehouse operations, ensuring secure collection, cleaning, and transmission of student information (SIRS) to the state's Level 2 database for accountability metrics.
    • Procurement, deployment, inventory management, and end-of-life disposal of physical devices

Required Qualifications:

1. Master’s degree; and
2. New York State Certification for School District Administrator (SDA) or School District Leader (SDL)
3. Minimum of three (3) years of experience in school administration, preferably administering information and/or educational technology systems in a school district; or
4. Minimum of five (5) years of experience as a certified classroom teacher, certified school counselor, or other similar position with a strong background in educational technology

Excellent benefits including NYS retirement; salary is based upon experience. This will be an on-going recruitment process until filled.