Transport for NSW searches for new IT heads to 'fix the trains'
As part of its "Fixing the Trains" initiative, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains have begun a massive recruitment drive, stating that it is "recruiting literally hundreds of passionate, committed leaders and senior managers from across the public and private sectors", including professionals for its IT services.
The IT roles, as first reported by iTnews, include that of a CIO for Sydney Trains and a Head of IT for NSW Trains.
The newly created CIO role will report to Sydney Trains' director of finance, IT, and procurement, but will also be responsible for advising the CEO and executive management team on all of its IT matters in order to create sound policy, strategies, and to make informed decisions.
One of the CIO's key responsibilities will include aligning the IT policies of the newly formed Sydney Trains organisation with that of its parent, Transport for NSW.
NSW Trains' Head of IT role appears to be a more hands-on role, with responsibilities including directing the deployment of IT systems and services. While the new Head of IT will have input into organisational strategy and policy, the role is focused on developing the plans and processes to achieve policy set out by the NSW Trains chief executives.
Their input is also expected to help align NSW Trains' policies with Transport for NSW.
NSW Trains' other IT roles include a Program Manager, whose responsibilities include ensuring its IT projects are properly supported.
Sydney Trains has an additional three IT roles.
Its Asset Information Systems and Services Manager will fill the gap between Sydney Trains' maintenance crews and IT staff, requiring knowledge of not only IT, but asset management and planning.
An Operational Technology Manager will watch over Sydney Trains' telecommunications, control, and passenger information systems. The position details for the role also appears to indicate that they would be jointly responsible for responding to incidents, such as CityRail's previous switch failure in 2011.
Project management for such technology rollouts will be the role of Sydney Trains' Program Delivery Manager Operations Technology. They will be responsible for planning technology-related projects such as telecommunications and radio systems, assessing the risk involved, and ensuring they are delivered in a satisfactory manner.
The hiring spree comes some nine months after the Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian announced that RailCorp would be abolished. Two new agencies — Sydney Trains and NSW Trains — were created at the same time to service the inner and outer Sydney areas, respectively.
In May, in preparation of the split of RailCorp, Berejiklian announced that up to 750 voluntary redundancies would be offered at the state agency. An additional 700 jobs are expected to be cut when RailCorp's separation occurs in July.