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The CDO Team Organisation

First and foremost, at Sector level, an IT Team is provided at the organisation structure of the leading Ministry and it covers the IT functions for the entire Sector. Thus, the IT function is headed by a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) for the harmonious coordination of IT Strategy. In Sectors without CDO, the IT function is headed by a Business Analyst. The Chief Digital Officer (CDO)/Business Analyst (BA) is an employee placed within the sector (line Ministry) but under the supervision of RISA as said before.

The BA and IT Team under the supervision of the sector’s CDO is attached to the Sector’s line Ministry as their reporting line and primary location. Based on proper planning and workload evaluation, the CDO/BA dispatches the allocated IT Team within the Sector to ensure full support and optimum utilisation of resources including staff and IT systems. Staff under the CDO/BA’s office are allocated to the leading Ministry and serve dynamically the institutions under the Sector to ensure the smooth operation.

The team is directly attached to the lead Ministry and dispatched across the sector’s institutions to address emerging IT needs. The Digital Office has also a direct reporting line to RISA as supervising authority.

Each CDO organises its team as needed, depending on the Ministry organisation and the size of the team. However, each CDO team is composed of:

 i. At the leadership and management level

The CDO or BA is the leader of the whole team and the rest of the team works under his/her supervision.

They organise  the team around the vision and specific objectives and projects of the sector they are in charge of.

 ii. The IT technical team

  1. Senior Software Developer: As a key team member, the Senior software developer is responsible for development, design and implementation of new software solutions or modification and upgrade of the existing ones, providing quality assurance and technical evaluation of new and legacy systems and software products in the sector. The Senior Developer will lead Developers to ensure the application of best practices and professional software development methodologies, relevant tool suites and technologies, creativity and innovation in all software development projects of the sector.
  2. Network Specialist: the network specialist is responsible to maintain reliable, secure and efficient data communications networks in the Sector (Ministry, Lead Institution, Affiliated institutions).
  3. System Administrator Specialist: The System administrator Specialist is responsible for the installation, maintenance, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems and servers in the Sector (Ministry, Lead Institution, Affiliated institutions). The System Administrator Specialist will actively resolve problems and issues with computer and server systems to limit work disruptions within the Ministry.
  4. Software Developers:  In support of the Senior Software Developer and under the supervision of the CDO and Business Analyst, the Developers (Software Developers) are responsible of the development, design and implementation of new software solutions or modification and upgrade of the existing ones, toward digitization of the institutions and sector’s services. The developer is expected to work closely with other developers, Business analysts, UX and UI designers, database experts, Software architects and projects managers from RISA and the sector to ensure he/she develops solutions that meet requirements and standards.
  5. Database Administration Specialist: The responsibility of the database administration specialist is to create, ensure and maintain the performance, integrity and security and disaster recovery of databases. He/ she is involved in the planning and development of the database, as well as in troubleshooting any issues on behalf of the users.
  6.  IT Help Desk Officer: under the supervision of CDO/BA, the IT Help desk officer supports personnel, and acts as focal point when end-users face hardware, software, or system issues, Administers desktop computers, printers, IP telephony, servers and related equipment (monitor, hard drive, keyboard, etc..), software deployment, security updates and patches, Keep inventory of all equipment, software, and licences, Monitor and work on responding quickly to incoming requests related to IT issues.

 Some key objectives should guide the CDO in his/her team’s composition and organisation:

Find the right balances

  • Between the technical vision and the functional vision: a CDO office is no longer an IT support service, supposed to maintain applications and network; it is about introducing the most efficient solutions for the administration to deliver its mission. Therefore you would need to recruit staff able to understand the sector and the missions of the ministry as well as translate users’ needs into digital services.
  • Between build and run: while some digital services need to be maintained and monitored, you need to have sufficient available staff to launch new ones. It implies having a clear view on ongoing projects/services and future needs, as well as recruiting people who can proactively identify and design new projects and services. 

 Articulate recruitment with the ways of working and mid-term challenges:

  • Because of the switch towards product and agile methodologies, RISA will tend to recruit people with adapted hard and soft skills. It implies looking for profiles such as UX/UI designers and user researchers, product owners and managers, product ops, dev ops, business developer, community facilitator, communications officer;
  • As digital transformation in the public sector faces new challenges - cybersecurity, data, privacy, etc. – there will be a need to integrate cutting edge profiles: data-scientists, data-engineers, API manager, cybersecurity specialists, and not to mention the need to have profiles mastering the legal framework of digital and data..

Build a delivery-centred organisational and  managerial structure: in order to break silos and make sure the CDO can build and operate services safely and efficiently, it could be useful to transform the organisational structure. For instance, rather than having a tech-focused organisation (software service, architecture service, …), the CDO can structure the teams by the projects they are running/operating, and have some transversal divisions linked.

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