London to get its first chief digital officer

Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn to hire CDO to mastermind 'smart city' projects

London will soon be getting its first chief digital officer (CDO) after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced plans to finally make good on one of his 2016 election promises, a move that had been expected last summer.

The announcement was made by the Mayor today.

One of the roles of the new CDO will be to help make London "the world's leading ‘smart city'", according to a statement from City Hall.

This will include working with the Smart London Board and City Hall to develop and deliver a new Smart London Strategy.

In addition, they will also be expected to anticipate and respond to the effect of potentially disruptive new technologies, both in terms of policy and action, as well as to promote and support the implementation of the Mayor's digital inclusion and cyber-security policies.

"London is a world-leading hub for digital technology, data science and urban innovation. These technologies have the potential to transform the way that Londoners and visitors experience our city," said Khan.

He continued: "I want to take the digital transformation of our public services to the next level, so we can improve the ways in which we plan and deliver public services for Londoners.

"I am delighted to begin my search for a chief digital officer, so we can make London an even smarter smart city and use our incredible technological abilities to the best effect."

Khan said that the appointment of the CDO would represent the fulfilment of one of his manifesto commitments.

"As London's CDO, working in the Mayor's Office, you will convene GLA officials, the Smart London Board, local authorities and the technology sectors to encourage collaboration and adoption of common standards around data and service transformation, to drive the development of smart city technology, and to build London's reputation as the city that the world looks to for leadership in urban innovation," according to the freshly posted job advert.

London's first chief digital officer will enjoy a salary of £106,952 per annum, plus benefits, which includes a ‘career average' pension scheme. Applications for the role will close on 23 May.

Join Computing and Forcepoint at 3pm on 18 May for our joint webinar, "Hybrid networks: Securing digital transformation".

Hybrid networks typically blend traditional MLPS networks with managed broadband and WiFi. They can deliver data where it's needed, to more devices, flexibly, efficiently and reliably.

But, this comes at the price of complexity, and also requires a rethinking of security.

So join Computing and Forcepoint on 18 May where we will look at hybrid networks and alternative approaches to achieve a balance of performance and security: enabling digital transformation to become a reality.