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| Acting CIO Walter Harris--Courtesy of FDA |
For the past 20 months, the revolving door at the workplace of the FDA's chief information officer (CIO) has stopped swinging. The lull follows a period in which the FDA went through 5 CIOs in as many years, but the stability comes with a caveat: The FDA is still trying to replace the CIO who left in March 2013.
The regulator resumed its active search for a CIO late last month, more than one year after it first advertised the position, Regulatory Focus reports. The FDA has essentially reposted the old advertisement for the $120,000- to $180,000-a-year job, with changes limited to the rewording of some sections and the addition of two points to the list of technical qualifications. Applicants must now have demonstrated experience in scientific computing and technology.
The FDA is also now looking for a CIO with experience providing direction to a large organization and preventing fraud within its operations, requirements that weren't in the earlier ad. Most other sections are unchanged, however. The wording of the duties the CIO will handle is identical to that in the September 2013 ad, as are the paragraphs on what specialized experience applicants must possess.
In September, acting CIO Walter Harris told Federal News Radio a decision on who to hire for the permanent position is expected by the end of the year. The incoming CIO will have a slightly different workload than that of their predecessors. With Taha Kass-Hout now serving as chief health informatics officer, the new CIO will focus on IT services.
- here's the ad
- and Regulatory Focus' take