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Food authority cooks up top CIO role

One of the government's regulatory agencies is on the hunt to fill a newly-created head of IT position, bucking the trend for technology outsourcing in public services.
Written by Steven Deare, Contributor

One of the government's regulatory agencies is on the hunt to fill a newly-created head of IT position, keen to buck the trend for technology outsourcing in public services.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the authority that sets codes of practice for food production and retail sale, has begun recruiting for the position of information technology and communications manager, who will be charged with leading and managing the regulator's ICT unit and infrastructure.

Rocky Dalmolen, human resources manager at FSANZ, told ZDNet Australia that, despite the government's recent history of outsourcing IT, the agency maintains a strong respect for an in-house technology presence.

"The agency has a good track record in IT. We rarely have unscheduled downtime, but we're looking for more strategic focus," he said.

"They [the incoming head of technology] will need to be forward thinking; what is it that ICT is able to provide here, to New Zealand, and internationally?" Dalmolen added.

Dalmolen said the regulator believes the new position will be able to bring value to the business.

"The new position, we're hoping, will have a very strategic focus on what ICT can do for the agency, but also be client-focused," he noted.

The new IT manager will also be responsible for developing a detailed strategic technology plan for the regulator.

Despite a four-strong IT department, the agency says it is well-equipped in technology terms: staff frequently use videoconferencing and the regulator is already making use of virtual servers.

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