A Chief Technology Officer is essential to startups, growing businesses, and large companies for ensuring their technology is inline with day-to-day operations and long-term goals of the company. CTO duties, although well defined, cover a range of needs, and the CTO is expected to wear many hats as different challenges and demands develop.
In short, a CTO is someone who focuses on the scientific and technological operations of a business from an executive-level position.
While that’s a concise description of the role, let’s take a closer look at some of the finer notes of the role. CTO roles and responsibilities can be broken down into two main parts: short term and long term.
Short term CTO job duties include making sure their team is finishing daily and weekly tasks, ensuring the company is hitting tech dependent deadlines, delegating duties related to short and long term technology goals, reviewing lower level management decisions, and stepping in to do the “dirty work” when needed.
Long term CTO job responsibilities include assessing the company’s technology and business strategies, providing tech-focused solutions for their CEO and stakeholder to achieve corporate goals, evaluating new technologies to see if they fit into the company’s future plans, and leading innovative projects to drive company performance.
A lot of what will be required and asked of a CTO depends on the size and scale of the business they’re working for, but these descriptions and our example job description later in this post will cover the major CTO roles and responsibilities in today’s business environment.
Regardless of their company’s scale, a successful CTO will need to utilize their experience, business insight, and creative skills to solve problems and overcome challenges as they appear in the many phases of corporate development.
Before you write your CTO job description, you should become familiar with the traits of a great CTO and decide which traits will be most important in your CTO role.
To Code or Not to Code
Although not all CTOs have a background in coding, many come from a background in Computer Science and code writing. Knowing when to get your hands dirty on a project and when to delegate is a balancing act that any great CTO will need to master.
Even if unable to provide direct assistance on a project, a great CTO should know when to relegate more support to a specific department and when to let the cogs keep turning.
Business Acumen
An acute eye for technological necessities isn’t enough for a CTO if they want to drive company performance with their initiatives.
Technologies come and go quicker than the seasons pass. Having the business insight to know which innovations will be short-lived trends and which ones are there to stay will make all the difference when making executive decisions about the company’s future.
Jack of all Trades
A CTO’s responsibilities can change from day to day. Having the ability to shift gears and maintain flexibility is an essential trait for any great CTO.
First, this means assessing what processes, tools, etc. need the most the attention to align the company’s technology with their business strategy. Second, flexibility means efficiently making decisions and executing changes based on your assessment.
Additionally, the CTO must understand they are one of many faces of the company. They represent the company’s tech aptitude to the press, business partners, and listeners at conferences, and should be able to communicate eloquently when speaking on behalf of the company.
Use this sample CTO Job Description to help you write your own job description for your next CTO.
Chief Technology Officer Jobs London is looking for a highly qualified Chief Technology Officer with an accomplished background in both technology and business. You must determine day-to-day operations of the technology team, delegate roles and responsibilities to meet deadlines, make executive decisions that support the company’s vision, introduce new tech platforms and channels when necessary, and ensure that tech teams and technology systems/infrastructure are in-line with the company’s greater business strategy.
The CTO will be required to function and act as both a business and technology expert. Strong business acumen, an understanding of the latest technology trends and innovations, and a mind for strategic thinking will all be essential to fit this role. CTO benefits will be competitive and comparable to CTO salary in Boston and other major cities.
This job description is a great starting point for your company’s CTO job ad, but don’t forget to customize it so that it reflects your company’s or your client company’s culture and mission. This way, you can attract a CTO who is engaged with your job description, not someone who just wants a high paying job.
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