Manager - CTO Office

ROLE OVERVIEW The CTO Office Lead (Chief of Staff) is the operational and strategic enabler of the Chief Technology Officer. This is not an administrative role — it is a high-trust, high-impact position that requires the intellectual depth to engage with complex technology governance questions, the political acumen to manage senior stakeholders, and the operational discipline to run a multi-forum governance machine without a single failure.

The CTO Office Lead (Chief of Staff) is the operational and strategic enabler of the Chief Technology Officer. This is not an administrative role — it is a high-trust, high-impact position that requires the intellectual depth to engage with complex technology governance questions, the political acumen to manage senior stakeholders, and the operational discipline to run a multi-forum governance machine without a single failure.

The Chief of Staff will act as the CTO's force multiplier: ensuring the technology organization operates with rigour, visibility and accountability across all nine departments. They will be the custodian of the governance calendar, the architect of Board reporting, the tracker of all decisions and actions, and the primary coordinator of cross-department dependencies.

This role sits at the intersection of strategy and operations — the person who ensures that the CTO's strategic priorities translate into concrete actions, that every governance forum is productive, and that no commitment falls through the cracks in a 58-person organisation managing India's national skilling infrastructure.

The CTO Office Lead is accountable for three things above all else: § The CTO is always prepared. Every board meeting, every Ministry engagement, every governance forum is preceded by a well-researched, quality-assured briefing pack. No CTO surprises. § Every governance commitment is met. The six Technology & Digital governance forums — Technology Leadership Council, Architecture Review Board, AI Governance Board, Data Governance Council, Change Advisory Board, and Vendor Governance Council — run on schedule, with the right attendees, the right pre-reads, and the right outputs captured.

§ Every decision and action is tracked. In a 58-person organisation with nine departments and multiple vendors, the difference between a decision made and a decision implemented is follow-through. The Chief of Staff owns that follow-through. CTO Enablement & Executive Support § Manage the CTO's strategic calendar — prioritising engagements, preparing briefings, and ensuring no governance obligation is missed § Prepare and quality assure all Board level and Ministry level technology communications: board packs, technology committee papers, ministerial briefings, and strategic updates § Conduct pre-meeting research and synthesis converting complex technology data into clear, decision ready narrative for senior leadership § Anticipate issues before they reach the CTO by monitoring governance health across all departments and flagging risks early § Draft and quality-check all external communications from the CTO's office including stakeholder letters, policy responses and partnership communications § Support the CTO in managing upward relationships: CEO, Board Audit Committee, Ministry officials, and MSDE leadership Governance Calendar & Forum Management § Own and maintain the master Technology & Digital Governance Calendar — scheduling, coordinating and tracking all governance forums and their sub-meetings § Technology Leadership Council (monthly) — prepare agenda, collate department reports, manage pre-reads, capture decisions and actions § Architecture Review Board (bi-weekly) — coordinate with Head APO on agenda, manage attendance, circulate outputs § AI Governance Board (monthly) — coordinate with HAIO on agenda, track pre-requisite use case reviews, capture governance decisions § Data Governance Council (monthly) — coordinate with HDAO on agenda and data maturity reporting § Change Advisory Board (weekly) — coordinate with Change & Release Manager, circulate CAB decisions to relevant departments § Vendor Governance Council (quarterly) — prepare vendor scorecard packs, coordinate with Head PPO and Finance § Ensure every forum has: a published agenda (72hrs prior), relevant pre-reads, confirmed quorum, live note-taking, and published minutes and actions within 48 hours MIS Dashboards & Reporting § Own the Technology & Digital MIS dashboard suite — weekly summary for CTO covering: OKR status across all departments, delivery RAG, security posture, data quality, platform availability, vendor performance and financial spend § Coordinate data collection from all department heads for weekly and monthly MIS chasing, quality checking and compiling into a single consistent view § Prepare the quarterly Leadership and Board Technology Report translating operational metrics into Board-appropriate narrative with RAG status, trend analysis and key risks § Maintain the Technology & Digital Scorecard against the 3-year transformation roadmap tracking progress against annual targets and surfacing variance § Prepare ad hoc analysis and briefing notes as directed by the CTO Decision Register & Action Tracking § Maintain the master Technology & Digital Decision Register recording every significant decision (ARB approvals, governance exceptions, vendor awards, architectural choices) captured with rationale, date, approver and review date § Maintain the master Action Register for all actions from all governance forums tracked with owner, due date, status and escalation flag § Chair the weekly action review, following up with department heads on overdue actions and escalating to CTO where required § Produce a weekly governance health summary for the CTO covering decisions made, actions overdue, forums pending, escalations required § Maintain governance documentation repository — ensuring all policies, standards, frameworks and board papers are version-controlled and accessible Cross-Department Coordination § Identify and surface cross department dependencies, conflicts and bottlenecks that individual department heads cannot resolve independently § Facilitate cross department working sessions as directed by the CTO — preparing agendas, capturing outputs, tracking actions § Manage the CTO's involvement in cross department programmes: ensuring the right level of CTO attention is directed to the right programmes at the right time § Support the Senior Program Manager (PPO) in escalated program governance issues that require CTO visibility § Coordinate the annual Technology & Digital strategy refresh — organising the strategy offsite, synthesising inputs, and preparing the strategy paper for CXO approval Stakeholder Management & Communications § Act as the first point of contact for all inbound requests to the CTO's office — triaging, responding or routing appropriately § Maintain the CTO's stakeholder map — Ministry relationships, NSDC leadership, Board members, key vendors and partners § Coordinate the quarterly Ministry technology briefing — preparing deck, organising logistics, briefing the CTO § Manage the CTO's representation at external technology forums, industry events and Gov.

Tech engagements — preparing briefs, talking points and follow-up actions § Support the Technology & Digital communications programme — internal technology town halls, all-hands preparation, staff communications from the CTO's office Office Operations § Manage the CTO office budget — tracking spend against allocation and preparing quarterly financial reports § Coordinate recruitment activity within the Technology & Digital function by liaising with HR, managing interview scheduling, and onboarding coordination for senior hires § Maintain the Technology & Digital Organisation Chart, contact directory and onboarding documentation § Oversee the CTO office's compliance obligations — ensuring all governance returns are submitted on time (Ministry reporting, Board committee papers, audit responses) Essential Qualifications § Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline from a recognised institution § MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification from a Tier-1 institution — strongly preferred and will be given significant weight in selection § 12–15 years of progressive experience in technology program management, technology strategy, or executive office roles within large technology organisations, government digital bodies, or management consulting § Demonstrated experience supporting a C-suite technology executive (CTO, CIO, CISO, or equivalent).

§ Proven experience preparing Board-level technology communications, committee papers and ministerial briefings Essential Technical Knowledge § Ability to read, understand and synthesize technology architecture documents, programme health dashboards, cloud cost reports and security posture summaries without being a hands-on technologist § Familiarity with cloud services and provider’s at a governance level (Landing Zone, Well-Architected, Fin.

Ops) sufficient to quality check reports and ask intelligent questions § Working knowledge of OKR frameworks, programme governance (RAG reporting, RAID logs, dependency mapping) and portfolio management § Proficiency in Microsoft 365 suite, Power BI or equivalent data visualization, and project management tools (Jira, Confluence, MS Project) Government / Public Sector Experience —Desirable § Experience working within a Government of India Ministry, PSU, autonomous body or government digital agency § Familiarity with Government of India reporting obligations, parliamentary committee processes, Ministry of Finance/MeitY engagement protocols § Understanding of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) concepts, NDEAR, DPDP Act 2023, and India's national digital governance framework § Experience with Gov.

Tech or digital transformation programmes Competencies & Attributes § Exceptional written and verbal communication: the ability to write with clarity, precision and appropriate tone for multiple audiences (Board, Ministry, technical staff, vendors) § Political intelligence: the ability to navigate complex multi-stakeholder environments with sensitivity, discretion and professionalism § Structured thinking: the ability to take ambiguous, complex inputs from multiple departments and synthesize them into coherent, decision-ready outputs § Absolute reliability: this role is the CTO's operational guarantee; missed deadlines, incomplete packs or undocumented decisions are not acceptable § Confidentiality and Integrity: this role operates with access to Board-restricted information, vendor negotiations, personnel decisions and strategic planning; the highest standards of discretion are non-negotiable § Proactivity: the Chief of Staff does not wait to be asked; they anticipate what the CTO will need before the CTO asks for it § Collaborative authority: the ability to get things done through people who do not report to you; this role has authority by association and must exercise it with judgement.

Requirements

Essential Qualifications § Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline from a recognized institution § MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification from a Tier-1 institution — strongly preferred and will be given significant weight in selection § 7-10 years of progressive experience in technology program management, technology strategy, or executive office roles within large technology organizations, government digital bodies, or management consulting § Demonstrated experience supporting a C-suite technology executive (CTO, CIO, CISO, or equivalent).

§ Proven experience preparing Board-level technology communications, committee papers and ministerial briefings Essential Technical Knowledge § Ability to read, understand and synthesise technology architecture documents, programme health dashboards, cloud cost reports and security posture summaries without being a hands-on technologist § Familiarity with cloud services and provider’s at a governance level (Landing Zone, Well-Architected, Fin.

Ops) sufficient to quality check reports and ask intelligent questions § Working knowledge of OKR frameworks, programme governance (RAG reporting, RAID logs, dependency mapping) and portfolio management § Proficiency in Microsoft 365 suite, Power BI or equivalent data visualisation, and project management tools (Jira, Confluence, MS Project) Government / Public Sector Experience —Desirable § Experience working within a Government of India Ministry, PSU, autonomous body or government digital agency § Familiarity with Government of India reporting obligations, parliamentary committee processes, Ministry of Finance/MeitY engagement protocols § Understanding of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) concepts, NDEAR, DPDP Act 2023, and India's national digital governance framework § Experience with Gov.

Tech or digital transformation programmes Competencies & Attributes § Exceptional written and verbal communication: the ability to write with clarity, precision and appropriate tone for multiple audiences (Board, Ministry, technical staff, vendors) § Political intelligence: the ability to navigate complex multi-stakeholder environments with sensitivity, discretion and professionalism