Vaco is partnering with a rapidly growing financial firm to hire a strategic operator who will serve as the primary organizational and execution partner to the CTO. This role sits at the center of technology decision-making—driving priorities, governance, clarity, and operational discipline across digital, data, cloud, and cybersecurity portfolios.

Role Overview

You will run the operating cadence of the technology organization, align cross-functional priorities, mature governance processes, and ensure executive leadership has clear, actionable information. This role blends strategy, operations, governance, and executive enablement, and is ideal for someone who has worked closely with CIO/CTO leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Alignment & Operating Cadence

Translate the CTO’s vision into structured roadmaps, priorities, and decision frameworks.
Run the leadership cadence: planning cycles, QBRs, weekly reviews, and offsites.
Produce executive- and board-ready materials that connect strategy, progress, risk, and investment.
Coordinate alignment across digital, data, infrastructure, security, and product teams.

Governance & Portfolio Prioritization

Maintain the enterprise technology portfolio: intake, prioritization, resourcing, and dependency management.
Establish governance standards that reinforce clarity, accountability, and transparent decision-making.
Develop KPIs/KRIs to track operational performance, maturity, and regulatory posture.
Provide structured analysis on trade-offs across run/grow/transform initiatives.

Financial & Investment Oversight

Lead annual planning and budget alignment with Finance.
Consolidate CapEx/OpEx requests, track spend, and manage variance and forecast reporting.
Deliver insights that inform investment decisions and vendor optimization.

Risk, Regulatory, & Vendor Coordination

Support compliance with SEC, FINRA, SOC 2, cybersecurity, and internal audit requirements.
Partner with Security, Risk, and Compliance to maintain audit readiness and documentation.
Assist with vendor governance—performance scorecards, renewals, contracts, and risk assessments.
Maintain consistent charters, timelines, and reporting across major initiatives.

Leadership Enablement

Anticipate organizational needs and proactively remove blockers for the CTO and senior leaders.
Facilitate workshops and alignment sessions across teams.
Mentor leaders on communication clarity, prioritization, and execution discipline.

What You’ll Bring

8–15+ years in technology strategy, IT governance, Chief of Staff roles, or enterprise PMO/portfolio leadership.
Experience working directly with CIO/CTO-level executives.
Strong understanding of modernization initiatives, cloud (Azure preferred), security, and data practices.
Outstanding executive communication and synthesis skills.
Familiarity with governance and risk frameworks (NIST, SOC 2, ISO, ITIL).
Financial acumen across budgeting, forecasting, and portfolio reporting.
Bachelor’s required; MBA/Master’s preferred.

Why This Role

Direct partnership with the CTO and senior leadership team.
Build and operationalize a modern governance and prioritization model.
Shape major modernization efforts across Azure, security, data, and digital platforms.
High visibility and meaningful influence in a scaling organization.

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco/Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to the individual’s skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, office location and other geographic considerations, as well as other business and organizational needs. With that said, as required by local law in geographies that require salary range disclosure, Vaco/Highspring notes the salary range for the role is noted in this job posting. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, and can participate in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company’s 401(k) retirement plan.

Director, Technology Strategy & Governance (CTO Chief of Staff)

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