[Hiring] Virtual Chief Information Officer @Columbia Advisory Group

Role Description

The Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) serves as a trusted advisor and strategic technology leader for assigned clients. This role blends executive-level IT strategy, business acumen, and relationship management to help organizations align their technology roadmap with long-term business objectives. The vCIO is responsible for guiding clients through technology planning, cybersecurity posture, modernization initiatives, and best-practice alignment while ensuring technology strategy remains aligned with business objectives. The vCIO does not replace Engineering, Project Management, Service Management, or Customer Success. The role is focused on technology strategy, roadmap development, budgeting, risk management, and long-term planning.

What the vCIO Owns

• Technology strategy
• IT roadmaps and lifecycle planning
• Technology budgeting and forecasting
• Executive technology relationships
• Business and technology alignment
• Technology risk identification
• Risk communication
• Risk documentation and accepted-risk tracking
• Technology standards alignment
• Technology opportunity identification
• Initiative prioritization
• Strategic guidance during onboarding
• IT Reviews, QBRs, and strategic planning sessions
• Technology modernization planning
• Future-state planning and business initiatives

What the vCIO Does Not Own

• Project management
• Project delivery
• Engineering design validation
• Technical implementation
• Service ticket management
• Service escalation ownership
• Client satisfaction management
• Client advocacy
• Relationship health management
• Cross-functional client coordination
• Internal client follow-up coordination
• Procurement execution
• Compliance or GRC delivery
• Day-to-day operational support
• Resource scheduling
• Capacity planning
• Operational incident management

Strategic Planning & Client Advisory

• Serve as the primary technology strategist for assigned client accounts.
• Develop multi-year IT roadmaps aligned with organizational goals, budgets, risk appetite, and growth plans.
• Lead and deliver IT Reviews, QBRs, and strategic planning sessions to ensure client alignment and satisfaction.
• Participate in new client onboarding activities, including discovery sessions, technology assessments, risk identification, and initial roadmap development to establish a strategic baseline and prioritize future initiatives.
• Advise on cybersecurity, compliance, business continuity, and overall IT governance.
• Identify opportunities for technology improvement, cost optimization, and operational efficiency.
• Prioritize recommendations based on risk, business impact, budget, and operational maturity.
• Identify material operational, cybersecurity, backup, business continuity, and access-control risks and ensure remediation recommendations, client decisions, and accepted risks are properly documented.

Technology Leadership & Best Practices

• Guide clients through cloud adoption, infrastructure modernization, and digital transformation initiatives.
• Ensure ongoing alignment with industry best practices, standard operating procedures, and technology standards.
• Maintain deep working knowledge of the company’s technology stack, lifecycle management standards, and strategic platforms (e.g., ConnectWise Manage/Automate, RMM/PSA tooling, reporting platforms).
• Stay current on emerging technologies and develop recommendations that drive measurable business impact.
• Promote alignment with company standards related to security, backup and disaster recovery, lifecycle management, documentation, and operational maturity.

Roadmap, Budget, and Opportunity Development

• Develop and maintain strategic technology roadmaps aligned to client goals and budgets.
• Assist clients with technology budgeting and forecasting.
• Identify and prioritize technology initiatives based on risk, business value, and operational impact.
• Identify project and professional services opportunities that support the client's roadmap and business objectives.

Project Intake & Solution Framing

• Identify technology initiatives from client roadmaps and business plans.
• Define the business objective, risk, and strategic value of proposed initiatives.
• Provide strategic context during project planning and solution discussions.
• Support long-term planning for lifecycle refreshes, infrastructure improvements, and end-of-life systems.

Client Relationship Management

• Build and sustain trusted executive-level technology relationships with client decision-makers.
• Conduct recurring technology review, roadmap, budgeting, and planning meetings.
• Maintain alignment between client business objectives and technology strategy.
• Provide strategic technology guidance that supports the client's business objectives and long-term plans.

Internal Collaboration & Leadership

• Share technology strategy, roadmap, budgeting, and risk planning guidance with internal teams.
• Share knowledge, best practices, and strategic guidance with peers and developing team members.
• Review and enhance internal documentation, workflows, and operational standards to elevate service delivery.