WA Govt readvertises CIO role

The Western Australian Government is again on the lookout for a CIO to overhaul the business systems of the Rottnest Island Authority.

The advertisement for the Perth-based position follows the recruitment of the same position in December last year from which a new CIO was appointed.

“We did advertise it recently and we actually did make an appointment to the position, and the person was with us for a period of three weeks,” a spokesperson for the organisation said.

“The reason they left was because they were actually headhunted from Singapore and were paid three to four times as much as what we were paying them so they chose to leave.”

The spokesperson would not disclose the previous CIO’s name but did note their very high-level experience in the private sector and that they came with the skills set the organisation required.

“With the new CIO, we’re looking to develop our strategy for the organisation and to implement that strategy and there are significant issues that we have with our business systems right now that need that transformational change,” the spokesperson said.

“In the past we’ve implemented what I’ve been advised are point systems… They are absolutely not integrated and absolutely not talking to each other and I’m not convinced we have the right system or software infrastructure either, so there’s some historic issues with our business systems that need to be addressed and fixed up.”

The organisation is working on a tight timeframe with applications closing on 27 May, whereby the successful candidate will commence by 31 July, should they need to give four weeks notice, or as quickly as the 30 June, if no notice is required.

According to the advertisement, the new CIO will be experienced in leadership of ICT management and delivering ICT strategy and outcomes.

The successful candidate must also have experience in managing and negotiating with stakeholders, driving and managing transformational change including system analysis and people change.

The organisation has cited a salary of $95,301 – $102,144 for the role. This places it in the second lowest remuneration bracket for a CIO of $100-$125,000; according to the 2010 Australian State of the CIO survey, the median salary for a CIO is $231,000. Just 7.7 per cent of respondents to the survey indicated a total annual compensation in this range.

A slew of organisations have been offering salaries on the lower end of the spectrum of late, with the Department of Defence recently advertising a CIO role paying an annual salary of $88,019-$99,285, plus super.

The Queensland Goevrnment agency, Public Trustee, also recently advertised for a CIO and cited a salary of $$109,674 to $120,324 per annum for the role.

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