Chief Technology Officer

The Blockchain & Climate Institute (BCI) is an international volunteer-led think tank supporting and advocating the application of blockchain and other emerging technology in the global fight against climate change.

We are looking to recruit a thought leader and practitioner volunteer (or what we call a ‘pro bono officer’) who will serve as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), streamlining the technology side of the organisation, and further contributing the development of technical assistance of client projects. This role will play a leadership role in strengthening BCI positioning as the preferred provider of blockchain-based capacity development for climate change policy implementation.

The ideal candidate is self-starter and experienced; and looking to make a difference in international climate change governance. The successful candidate will be a competent leader and Blockchain subject matter expert with rich experience in technology leadership and oversee execution of technology development project lifecycle from inception to completion. Working with innovative mindset and having a desire to find technology solutions to climate-related actions should be second nature. Experience as the technology advisor or evangelist in a digital organisation will be highly beneficial, as will technology incubation experience in a non-profit environment.

We are currently seeking a motivated, experienced executive to join our growing organisation. Reporting to the Director-General, you will be responsible for formalising the BCI’s technology building operating model and driving the advancement of Blockchain capabilities, translating it for stakeholders across the various climate-related actors. You will drive organisational growth by forging new project relationships and synergies across and establishing BCI as a leading player across the climate ecosystem of stakeholders. You will lead the analysis and shaping of proposals for revenue generation and various government-focused innovation support initiatives relevant to BCI’s scope of activities. You must be a natural communicator who can gain consensus, be accurate, understandable and provide actionable strategy to guide BCI’s capacity building activities to be more functional, more agile, adding to BCI’s core growth aspirations.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Designing architectures, creating technology solutions to organisational problems and applications for our complex commercial, research and software initiatives;
• Successfully engage in multiple initiatives simultaneously, some of which will be focused on developing or exploiting Blockchain technology and, where necessary, take ownership, and lead and guide these initiatives;
• Serve as an interface between research and software development teams and be an advocate for sound architectural principles;
• Collaborate with solutions and technical architects, developers, and subject matter experts to establish the technical vision, the scope of which may range from technical infrastructure to the entire project development lifecycle;
• Produce solution designs using established methodologies, such as Unified Modelling Language, document analysis, requirements workshops, business process descriptions, use cases, business analysis and programming.
• Execute market research requirements for climate-related actions and emerging technology patterns, particularly Blockchain & Artificial Intelligence;
• Build the continuous pipeline of revenue-generating technology building projects and ecosystem collaboration with universities and research organisations;
• Formulate Blockchain Technology Adoption Strategy and implementation plans that meet our strategic goals and requirements of partner governments; and

·        Coordinate the recruitment of suitable blockchain coders/developers to work with governments and international agencies.

Key requirements include:

• Capable of using the full UML methodology to create a model of the requirements, through complex use cases, class models, sequence diagrams and state machines;
• Industry knowledge (any domain) and how blockchain solutions can address real business problems is desirable;
• Ability to take concepts from vision to technical solutions working with business, technical, management and subject matter experts to deliver products or platform capabilities;
• Understanding of both Agile and Waterfall software development lifecycles;
• Experience with back-end systems and full stack development is desirable;
• Postgraduate degree in technology management or relevant discipline required;
• Additional professional qualifications, research publications or Blockchain certifications a plus;
• High-level awareness about climate policy frameworks and Blockchain technology;
• Familiarity with common business software, project management programs and IT systems;
• Able to develop and present detailed, actionable proposals and plans;
• Impeccable organisational skills;
• Aptitude for innovative and big picture thinking;
• Excellent listening skills with an ability to communicate with professionals in various disciplines; and
• Natural leader with growth mindset and driving the change agenda.

Attributes/ Relevant Criteria

Skills & Abilities

●       Excellent communication skills, including exceptional written English, the ability to develop effective working relationships, work flexibly across professional and operational boundaries, and communicate professionally with internal and external stakeholders at all levels;

●       Proven ability to lead, develop and motivate colleagues as needed

●       Proven ability to effectively multitask and prioritise actions;

●       Excellent problem-solving and data management skills; and

●       Excellent attention to detail and proactive attitude.

General & Specialist Knowledge

●       Strong technology management, consulting or research expertise is essential for this role;

●       Innovative and creative leader to drive conceptualisation of contextual and deep research topics (Sector specific Product / capability development and deployment experience is preferred);

●       Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, Power-point is essential to perform in this role; and

●       Some knowledge on topics central to the BCI such as climate change, climate finance and blockchain technology preferred.

Education & Training

●       Educated to at least Bachelor’s degree level (Master’s degree in technology management & MBA preferred)

Relevant Experience

●       5+ years’ experience working in a CTO or similar technology leadership role is essential, ideally acquired in a consulting practice, public sector, and non-profit environment

●       Experience of building long term relationships with stakeholders; and

●       Experience of working independently and with distributed teams to drive forward projects using own initiative.