Government seeks deputy CTO

The government is seeking a deputy chief technology officer who will report to CTO Liam Maxwell.

The candidate will work across government digital service (GDS) and the efficiency and reform group.

The role’s key responsibilities include maintaining and developing the technology leadership vision for government, building relationships with departments and establishing a stronger engagement between departments and Government Digital Services.

“There has never been a better opportunity to transform government’s use of technology,” says the advert. “Many major IT contracts are about to expire, we have an effective controls process in place and the technology landscape is swinging our way.”

Yesterday, it was reported that the government’s digital strategy was on track a year after it was first launched, but there were some inconsistencies between departments.

The GDS was launched by the then digital champion Martha Lane Fox, in 2011, with an aim to save the government billions of pounds by moving to a digital-by-default model.

One of the major IT projects for government over the past year was to consolidate existing multiple government websites on to one single platform (gov.uk), which was launched at the end of last year.

In doing so, it scrapped 1,700 websites that were wasteful and confusing to the public.

The platform is updated quickly and often, every 75 minutes or so during the day, said executive director of GDS Mike Bracken.

But the government still has 200 agencies to move to the centralised website over the coming months, and it was announced today that the completion date of the transition project would be July 2014, four months later than predicted at launch.

Applicants must apply by January 5 2014.