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The Head of CIO Office is an emerging position within IT departments, at the crossroads of strategic, organizational and operational steering. Particularly present in large CIOs, the Head of CIO Office supports strategic planning and the alignment of IT Projects with business objectives, ensuring an efficient, clear CIO. A true cross-functional orchestra conductor, it is involved in governance, transformation and business reporting, and acts as a conduit between the CIO and the rest of the organization. Yet only 25% of CIOs today have a Head of CIO Office (source: Abraxio 2025 Barometer of IT department steering maturity). Let’s take a closer look at this profession, which is particularly well suited to CIOs.
What are the main responsibilities of the Head of CIO Office?
The Head of CIO Office is responsible for a number of key tasks:
- Align IT strategy with that of the company and ensure performance: translate the CIO’s vision into a manageable roadmap, ensure that IT activities and projects are aligned with the company’s strategic orientations in order to maximize their impact, structure and monitor the relevant roadmaps and KPIs to this end (read our article on IS strategic alignment). To this end, he/she represents the CIO on certain bodies and is the natural interface with the Business Units, the CFO, purchasing, etc.
- Leading governance and comitology: organizing and leading key committees, preparing decision files, guaranteeing traceability of decisions and consistency of arbitrations, ensuring that governance rules are applied, and ensuring smooth organization and communication between the various stakeholders, including Business Units and the Finance Department. It is also frequently involved in monitoring, compliance and Manage project risks, whether to steer or support regulatory compliance plans (RGPD…), DORANIS2, etc.) or tracking internal or external audits.
- Structure IT processes and support the CIO’s internal operations: set up planning, tracking, communication and reporting processes to ensure effective management of CIO activities, including all data related to the information system. In this role, the Head of CIO Office is often responsible for digital transformation and change management. It plays a role in setting up and monitoring steering rituals, in the managerial leadership of the CIO, and in ensuring the coherence of cross-functional initiatives (innovation, quality, compliance).
- Steer all aspects of IS (Information Systems) activity monitoring: financial and budgetary management (in conjunction with IT management control), project portfolio monitoring (in conjunction with the PMO), vendor management, team monitoring, by structuring planning, monitoring, communication, budgetary and activity reporting processes and ensuring their application. In this capacity, he is frequently responsible for Reporting and Dashboards. The aim of this steering is to reinforce overall performance and optimize the impact of the IS.
- Make the CIO’s value and actions visible: produce or supervise internal and external communication media (annual reports, flash reports, Projects communication, etc.), promote the CIO’s actions to the Executive Committee, the business lines, and even externally, and contribute to the CIO’s cultural cohesion and readability.
Because each CIO Office is a reflection of the organization into which it is integrated, the Head of CIO Office may also oversee risk management, compliance and relations with the Business Units (BRM).
The Head of CIO Office and the CIO’s information system
The Head of CIO Office occupies a key but often thankless position. Sometimes experiencing the same difficulties as the PMO due to his or her cross-functional position as deputy to the CIO, with no direct authority over his or her department manager peers, he or she has to make a place for him or herself, and win the trust of his or her colleagues, even though he or she often puts them in a situation where they have to step out of their comfort zone by steering change.
Compared with the expectations of the company’s management, it is often confronted with the “under-equipment” of the CIO for its own steering : time-consuming Excel files to update, difficulties in centralizing and consolidating data, or even in aligning capacity due to a lack of tools adapted to needs.
In the absence of suitable tools, it is essential to rely on the CIO’s middle management to feed all data and information back to the steering committee, enabling it to take a strategic view. This lack of management tools means that it is difficult to produce up-to-date KPIs that reflect the reality of the department’s activity, but also meet the needs of the company’s business lines and finance department (alignments, budget reconciliation). The challenge is therefore to structure the CIO’s activities around reliable, centralized data to save time, save everyone time, and facilitate decision-making.
What training and career paths lead to the role of Head of CIO Office?
The profile of a Head of CIO Office is generally characterized by a solid academic training, complemented by significant experience. Training opportunities abound, from a degree in IT engineering to a Master’s in information systems management or an MBA with a specialization in digital transformation.
The Head of CIO Office is an analytical, precise and results-oriented person, with a solid knowledge of analyzing and processing large volumes of data.
Before taking on this role, the Head of CIO Office needs to have solid professional experience. He or she may, for example, have held a senior Project Management Officer (PMO) position, or a role in the management of IT projects or programs, IT governance, IT management control or even transformation management, for example as an AMOA. In order to gain legitimacy in the eyes of all those he/she deals with, this central position requires him/her to be familiar with all the IT services and offerings available to internal and external users of the company’s IT system (without, however, being a technical expert).
What are the key Skills required of a Head of CIO Office?
More than a senior PMO or Project Director, the Head of CIO Office plays a key role in the cross-functional orchestration of the CIO , guaranteeing the coherence, clarity and efficiency of IT action. To be successful in this role, he or she needs a number of key Skills:
- Mastery of all aspects of IT performance management (Budgets, Opex/capex – Capital Expenditureprioritization and resource allocation, etc.) and the ability to translate them into KPIs and Dashboards.
- Experience in managing Projects or Programs to ensure the execution and steering of the transformation.
- Cross-functional leadership and influence to win the attention and respect of all stakeholders, emotional intelligence and political acumen to move complex issues forward without direct hierarchical leverage.
- Excellent communication skills to get the right messages across to the right people and propose the right deliverables
- Strong IT culture (cloudCybersecurity, legacy, urbanization, data) to federate stakeholders while maintaining credibility with both business and technical Teams.
In short: a central player in IT transformation, capable of giving meaning and a framework for action, ensuring the coherence and tracking of actions, federating and convincing, driving forward critical Projects and translating technical issues into strategic decisions.
How much will a Head of CIO Office earn in 2025?
The remuneration of a Head of CIO Office in France depends on his or her level of experience, the size of the CIO, the sector of activity, the scope of the position and the department supervised, and of course the location.
It ranges from €65-80K per year for a medium-sized CIO (>100 pers.), rising to €80-110K for CIOs > 200 ETP, or even more if the position is more exposed or has a wide scope of intervention. (source: Glassdoor).
How does the Head of CIO Office interact with other CIO and corporate players?
The Head of CIO Office occupies a central position, at the crossroads of the CIO’s decision-making, operational and financial flows. He or she doesn’t just steer the business internally: he or she interacts with all the company’s stakeholders, from COMEX to Projects Teams, including Business Units, Finance, HR and Purchasing.
Although not all the following interactions are systematic, as they are specific to each organization, their number allows us to measure an essential component of the function: orchestrating, aligning and streamlining exchanges to ensure overall IT performance.
1. Interactions with CODIR and executive functions
Head of CIO Office – Chief Information Officer
With a direct hierarchical link, the Head of CIO Office acts as a right-hand man, or even a chief of staff, guaranteeing the clarity and coherence of the CIO’s actions.
> Prepare and lead strategic committees (COMEX, extended CODIR, IT committee)
> Synthesis of IT priorities, storytelling of ongoing transformations
> Tracking key commitments and supporting decision-making
CFO/DAF – Chief Financial Officer
As a key partner in IT department steering, the Head of CIO Office plays an active role in :
> Drawing up and tracking IT budgets (RUN & BUILD)
> Analysis of business cases and ROI – Return on Investment – for Projects
> CAPEX/OPEX budget arbitration, in conjunction with FinOps Teams
> IT management control, financial Dashboards, budget cycles
COO – Chief Operating Officer
The COO is often involved in operational transformation Programs steered or supported by IT. The Head of CIO Office is involved in :
> Frame and structure cross-functional Projects impacting business processes
> Align business and IT roadmaps
> Monitor performance and shared operational KPIs
CISO/RSSI – Chief Information Security Officer
The Head of CIO Office works closely with the CISO on Cybersecurity and compliance issues:
> Steer or coordinate security plans (DORA, NIS2, RGPD…)
> Lead SSI governance committees
> Integrate risk issues into Projects arbitrations
DRH – HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT Human Resources Department
The CIO has a major impact on internal organizations. The Head of CIO Office acts as HR liaison for :
> Organizational change management (OCM) issues related to IT Projects
> Internal communication (digital acculturation, transformation plan)
> IT resources steering: skills requirements, internal/external headcount management, TJM, sourcing
2. Interaction with business departments and transformation
Business departments (marketing, sales, production, customer service, etc.)
The Head of CIO Office represents the CIO in managing the Projects portfolio, acting as mediator and arbitrator:
> Projects scoping, business value assessment, prioritization
> Coordination of Projects Committees and Roadmap Tracking
> Communicate on CIO’s delivery capacity and manage expectations
Business PMO / Transformation Department
Within the framework of cross-functional Programs, the Head of CIO Office works in co-piloting mode:
> Alignment of Project management methodologies
> Management of a shared portfolio: coordination of schedules, cross-departmental arbitration
> Tracking expected business benefits
3. Internal CIO interactions
IT Managers (infrastructure, applications, data, architecture, etc.)
The Head of CIO Office acts as a cross-functional orchestra conductor:
> Coordination of IT roadmaps and cross-domain synchronization
> Tracking deliverables, capacity trade-offs
> Alignment between the CIO’s strategic vision and technical execution
PMO
He is in daily contact with the planning, Milestones, Risks and Tracking aspects of Projects :
> Structuring management (comitology, flash reporting, KPIs)
> Standardization of tracking and arbitration practices
> Support for delivery industrialization
IT Controlling / FinOps
The CIO Officer interacts closely to ensure financial control of the CIO:
> Tracking commitments, budget variances and action plans
> Development of business dashboards
> Optimization of IT business model
IT Purchasing / Legal
He plays a facilitating role in supplier relations :
> Tracking strategic contracts and SLA – Service Level Agreement commitments
> Support for contract negotiation (quality, costs, deadlines)
> Coordination on contractual compliance and RFP – Request for Proposal
What career prospects does the Head of CIO Office offer?
A strategic position by its very nature, the Head of CIO Office opens up a wide range of prospects, depending on the maturity of the organization, the size of the group and the profile of the candidate. Its cross-functional position, both close to management and rooted in IT operations, provides leverage for advancement to broader responsibilities, such as :
Deputy CIO / Directeur adjoint de la CIO
A natural evolution in large CIOs, this role involves taking over part or all of the CIO’s scope: Budgets, Project portfolio, delivery, production. It requires strong exposure to the field and to management.
CIO of a subsidiary or entity
The mastery of cross-functional issues (steering, governance, coordination) acquired in the Head of CIO Office provides a solid basis for steer a local or business IT department, before a possible return to group level.
IT steering or performance department
Cross-functional role at the crossroads of strategy, finance and IT operations. It positions the profile as a transformation architect, sometimes outside the pure CIO perimeter.
Strategic Program or Group Transformation Management
For profiles focused on change management, coordination of major programs or comitology, a move towards the Digital transformation, innovation or operational excellence departments is a natural step.
Chief of Staff to another C-level (COO, CEO…)
The Skills acquired (prioritization, organization, cross-functional influence) are sought after in other executive departments. This trajectory broadens the impact beyond IT.
CIO consulting or coaching
With structuring experience and a systemic vision, some profiles choose to support CIOs as independent consultants or experts, particularly in transformation or governance.
Thematic specialization
Some choose to focus on an area identified in their career path: FinOps / IT management control, Security (RSSI), Supplier strategy or ESG IT.
Whatever direction you choose, the keys to successful development lie in :
- greater visibility with the CODIR, since the Head of CIO Office is sometimes perceived as the CIO’s “shadow team”.
- the ability to decide, not just coordinate
- achieving a balance between management, delivery, relationships and vision
- clarity of skills: steer, transform, secure, innovate, manage?
What are the major challenges facing the Head of CIO Office in a CIO under stress?
The Head of CIO Office plays a structuring role at the heart of the CIO, at the crossroads of strategic steering, operational performance and cultural change. The challenges it addresses are numerous, and their importance is undoubtedly one of the factors driving the development of the function.
1. Align the CIO with changing business priorities
In a context where IT is omnipresent but expectations are fragmented (business, Cybersecurity, CSR, compliance…), the Head of CIO Office has to prioritize, arbitrate and keep decisions clear. The risk: dispersion of Resources and strategic vagueness.
2. Making CIO performance and value visible
While the “run” absorbs more or less ¾ of Budgets, it is the “build” and its transformative capacity that is scrutinized by top management. The Head of CIO Office has to produce clear KPIs, speaking in terms of value and demonstrating the real contribution of IT investments.
3. Steer through uncertainty, without compromising Agility
Priorities change, Projects evolve, Teams are hybrid. The Head of CIO Office must structure without rigidifying, while avoiding an inflation of reporting that would be detrimental to the dynamics of execution.
4. Maintaining cohesion in a fragmented IT ecosystem
Between in-house Teams, Contractors, Offshore, DevOps or Cloud, operational complexity is increasing. The Head of CIO Office must ensure alignment and clarity of responsibilities, despite an increasingly distributed IS.
5. Integrating compliance, safety and sustainability without holding back innovation
Regulations (DORA, NIS2, CSRD…) and sustainability issues call for rigorous management. The Head of CIO Office must integrate these dimensions into governance without creating unnecessary red tape.
6. Reconciling short-term and long-term vision
IT transformations take time, but COMEX expectations are immediate. The Head of CIO Office must combine strategic modernization with rapid results, often with limited room for maneuver.
In conclusion, the Head of CIO Office plays a central role in business success, ensuring effective governance of IT systems. The technical and managerial skills required of the Head of CIO Office, combined with a strategic vision, make this position an essential lever for aligning IT with business objectives. The challenges ahead will further reinforce the importance of this function within organizations.