Chief Geographic Information Officer

  • Full-time

Company Description

With a workforce of over 25,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all of our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential. 

The Office of Innovation & Technology (OIT) is the central IT department for the City of Philadelphia lead by the Chief Information Officer. The CityGeo team manages enterprise GIS operations for the City including custom application development, custom analysis and visualizations with MapBoard, administration of systems (on-prem and cloud), spatial technology and data contracts, and governance for data sharing, data management, and property data standards.  CityGeo performs some of the most innovative work in municipal government on spatial data analysis; user-centered, application design; and applying LIDAR from 3D modeling to predictive analysis.  Recent projects and on-going programs include:
https://Atlas.phila.gov
https://Openmaps.phila.gov
Vacant Property Indicators Data Model 
Next Generation E-911 
www.phila.gov/solarmap
http://Metadata Catalog
www.phila.gov/stressmap
Philadelphia’s custom basemap and landmarks
www.phila.gov/vacancymap
Litter Index field data collection
Enterprise ArcGIS Governance

OIT/CityGeo is a mission driven operation and the team makes a strong effort ensure a collaborative and participatory approach to GIS and spatial data governance and practices for a large-scale GIS enterprise of multi-departments.  Engagement includes stakeholders in related government agencies in the City of Philadelphia and across the metropolitan region, especially on public safety (Next Generation E-911) initiatives. The enterprise platform includes ESRI, AGO, Carto, AWS, Cyclomedia, Pictometry, Oracle GDB, ETLs in Python, and annual aerial and terrestrial imagery and LIDAR procurement. The annual budget is roughly $2,000,000.  

Job Description

The Chief Geographic Information Office (GIO) is a leadership position within city government and entrusted to carry on the quality of work and high level of services established by the OIT/CityGeo team.  The GIO is responsible for executing a clear vision for innovating and advancing the use and value of spatial technology for the City of Philadelphia for analysis, communication and public engagement, and improvement of city operations. The GIO directly oversees the work of the CityGeo team – 12 analysts and developers/engineers, 2 project managers and the Deputy GIO for Architecture and Planning.
 

Essential Functions

1) Provide leadership to the OIT/CityGeo team including staff development, retention and recruiting and provide direction to the Deputy GIO and project managers on key projects and the evolution of the City’s GIS enterprise, technology and governance programs. 

2) Ensure governance of spatial data standards for the creation, management, and sharing for business intelligence, project/program performance tracking, and public/open data releases. 

3) Ensure high availability of the GIS enterprise platform including, SaaS applications, custom applications, spatial databases, servers, Cloud-hosted map services, applications and ETL operations that are critical to the function of multiple applications, department operations and the publicly available applications on phila.gov.

4) Manage the annual enterprise GIS budget for software and service procurement, contract renewals and contract negotiations.

5) Collaborate and coordinate with GIS mangers or IT Directors of city departments and agencies and OIT units on range of projects, programs and Mayoral initiatives. 

6) Provide direction and leadership for the whole GIS enterprise of the city and maintain participation and engagement in joint operations and funding of the enterprise by multiple city departments.

7) Engage with the public through presentations, outreach and demonstrations of tools and services designed for public use and the public’s benefit by OIT/CityGeo.

8) Prepare annual strategic plans, hiring and training plans, reports and presentations.
 

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Prior experience leading teams of technical staff to manage multiple projects while providing them guidance, looking after professional development needs, and inspiring teams to do their best work.

Genuinely excited to lead a dynamic and resourceful team of professionals to achieve new goals, greater achievements and advance the benefits of spatial data technology within city government.

Professional experience with spatial technologies as applied in local government or public use.

Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Experience in project planning and time management (setting and meeting goals, setting timelines, updating mangers and team members on status, etc.).

Ability to create and maintain good working relationships and collaborations with an array of personality types and interests.

Genuinely excited and enthusiastic about working for the public and serving the City of Philadelphia.

Qualifications

Five years of relevant professional experience required.  Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university which has included major course work in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geography, Urban Planning, Public Health, Natural Resources (analytical focus), Statistics, Information Science, or Civil Engineering.  Master’s degree is preferred.   

Additional Information

Please submit a resume and cover letter with your application.

Successful candidate must be a City resident within six months of hire. 

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age,disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to For more information, go to: Human Relations Website at: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations