Information Security Officer (CISO) - Career Executive

State of Wisconsin; Milwaukee (WI); Hybrid; USD 77,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) is seeking an Information Security Officer (CISO) to guide IT security strategy, governance, and risk management for a large state agency. The role oversees the Enterprise Security team, partners with executive leadership, and drives security initiatives across the organization.

The position offers hybrid work options, a comprehensive benefits package, and the chance to impact children and families across Wisconsin.

Qualifications

• Experience leading enterprise information security teams and IT security initiatives.
• Experience developing and maintaining security policies, standards, and procedures.
• Experience overseeing daily security operations including incident response and vulnerability management.

Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise the Enterprise Security team to advise on IT security issues.
• Develop security policies and procedures for CIO/Executive approval and IT planning.
• Ensure security requirements are integrated across applications, infrastructure, and operations.

Skills

Leadership experience

Cybersecurity policies

Incident response

Security operations

Job description

Introduction

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF), Division of Management Services (DMS), Bureau of Information Technology Services (BITS), Enterprise Section is currently recruiting to fill an Information Security Officer (CISO) position. DCF offers great benefits, personal growth opportunities and work-life balance as a State of Wisconsin employee; and the intrinsic reward associated with serving the children and families of Wisconsin. To learn more about DCF’s complete compensation package, please visit our Total Rewards Calculator!

This position may allow hybrid work for a portion of the work schedule up to 95% depending on the employee’s preference and needs of the work unit. Any hybrid work flexibility that may be available will be discussed in more detail in the interview process.

For positions that do allow hybrid work flexibility, employees may need to report to a DCF office location on short notice. There is no mileage reimbursement when traveling to the headquarter location. Our DCF locations are in the following cities: Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Eau Claire, and Rhinelander. Employees need to report to the 201 W. Washington Ave. Madison, WI office or the 635 N 26 St. Milwaukee, WI office on their first day for onboarding and orientation.

High speed internet access is required to meet the needs of remote work.

Come see why DCF is such a great place to work!

DCF is committed to the important work of helping children, youth and families become safer, more secure and progress down the road to true independence. For more information about DCF, visit our website at http://dcf.wi.gov/.

Position Summary

This position serves as the Information Security Officer (CISO) for DCF and is responsible for overseeing and supervising members of the DCF Enterprise Security team. This team advises agency personnel in IT Security issues, develops security policies and procedures for CIO and Executive Management approval, participates in the agency’s IT Strategic Planning process and is responsible for ensuring DCF IT initiatives and general operations not only conform to security policies and standards, but also adapt to evolving cybersecurity threats.

View the complete position description.

Salary Information

The classification title for this position is IS Supervisor 2. The starting salary is between $55.65 and $63.50 per hour ($115,752 and $132,080 annually), depending on qualifications. Pay for current and new State of WI employees will be based on the compensation plan in effect at the time of the appointment. Pay for current state employees who are transferring will be determined based upon the pay on transfer rules (higher level duties or equity) as outlined in the compensation plan in effect at the time of appointment.

The pay schedule/range is 70-02. A two-year career executive trial period may be required.

Job Details

Due to the nature of the position, final candidates will be required to complete a comprehensive fingerprint-based background investigation to determine whether the circumstances of any pending charges or convictions would be substantially related to the job being filled.

Applicants must be legally entitled to work in the United States (i.e., a citizen or national of the U.S., a lawful permanent resident, an alien authorized to work in the U.S. without DCF sponsorship.) The Department of Children and Families does not sponsor visas, either at time of hire or at any later time.

Qualifications

Minimally qualified applicants will have:

• Leadership experience in IT security, (i.e., Supervising cybersecurity or enterprise security staff, contributing to IT strategic planning for an organization of 100+ employees, providing coaching to staff, performance management, etc.)
• Experience developing and maintaining cybersecurity policies, standards, and procedures, (i.e., establishing web application scanning policies, implementing procedures for using GitHub Advanced Security to automate code scanning, etc.),
• Experience overseeing daily security operations such as incident response, access control, and vulnerability management.
• Experience managing security related projects, (i.e., coordinating technical activities, tracking work products, and ensuring security requirements support organizational business needs.)

Well-qualified Applicants Will Have

• Experience developing, implementing, and/or overseeing enterprise information security programs aligned with recognized cybersecurity frameworks (e.g. NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology), including governance, risk management, compliance, and security policy development.
• Experience advising executive leadership on cybersecurity strategy, risk posture, long-range planning, and cross-agency security initiatives.
• Experience managing security budgets and vendor engagements while collaborating across multiple business units to integrate security into applications, infrastructure, and operations.

Deadline to Apply

The deadline to apply is 11:59 PM on November 2, 2026. If you need assistance with the online application process, please contact, Megan Harper at 608-712-8730 or via email at [e-mail]. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions for general wisc.jobs user information and technical assistance.