Vacancy Notice 1652

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 196 Member Countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities, and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime. 

INTERPOL strives to achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcomes applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. To achieve our Diversity goals, we encourage applications from women and nationals of under/unrepresented member countries who are passionate about our mission. INTERPOL’s recruitment process is merit-based hence all hiring decisions are made considering the applicant’s qualifications and the needs of the Organization.

Job Title: Chief Technology Officer  
Reporting To: Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Location: Lyon
Type of contract: Fixed-term Contract
Duration (in months): 36.00  *
Grade: 2   
Number of post:1
Level of Security screening:  Enhanced
Deadline for application: 15 March 2026

Conditions applying for all candidates

Only professional experience for which candidates can provide official proof of employment will be considered. Candidates could be requested to provide copies of such official documents prior to interviews/test.

* Subsequent extension to this post will be subject to the terms of the Organization’s Staff Manual, to satisfactory performance and to availability of funds.

Tests/interviews in connection to this selection procedure will take place approximately 2/3 weeks after the deadline for applications. Applicants are kindly requested to plan their availability during this period accordingly, in case they are short-listed.

​Selected candidates will be expected to report for duty approximately two to three months after receiving an offer of employment at the latest.

This selection exercise may be used to generate a reserve list of suitable candidates that may be used to address Organization's similar staffing needs in the future.

As part of the General Secretariat of INTERPOL, the world’s largest International Police Organization, the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Executive Directorate delivers trusted, secure, and innovative digital platforms and services that enable global police cooperation.

ICT constitutes the technological backbone of the Organization, providing the trusted, secure, and innovative platforms and services that allow law enforcement agencies across member countries to collaborate effectively and securely.

Within this framework, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) ensures that INTERPOL’s technological foundations, systems, and services align with the Organization’s strategic vision, uphold its security standards, and continuously evolve to meet future needs.

Reporting directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the CTO oversees the following departments and competency centres:

• Engineering Department (Core Components Factory) / Solution Design Competency Centre
• AI and Data Platform Competency Centre
• DevOps / Quality Assurance (QA) Competency Centre
• Development Competency Centre

Together, these entities form a cohesive technology and engineering ecosystem, supporting INTERPOL’s global ICT strategy and providing the core enablers for the Organization’s digital transformation.

The incumbent is the custodian of engineering excellence, ensuring that architectures, software developments, and automation frameworks deliver high-quality, secure, and efficient ICT products and services aligned with INTERPOL’s mission of global cooperation, trust, innovation, and operational excellence.

DUTY 1: Technical Strategy and Architecture Governance

Define, maintain, and promote the overall technical vision of ICT in alignment with INTERPOL’s global information system strategy and organizational priorities.

Ensure that the technical architecture supports operational efficiency, security, scalability, and interoperability across all systems.

Lead the Solution Design Competency Center, establishing technical standards, architectural blueprints, and reference frameworks that guide the design of ICT products and platforms. Guarantee that all new solutions, whether internally developed or externally procured, are consistent with the Organization’s enterprise architecture and security policies.

Chair or contribute to architecture review boards, coordinate with the CIO and the Project Management Office (PMO) on strategic decisions, and provide expert guidance to squads and projects to ensure technological coherence and sustainability.

DUTY 2: Engineering and Core Components Factory

Direct the Engineering Department, which acts as the “core components factory” of ICT. This department provides shared tools, frameworks, and reusable modules that serve as the foundation for product and service delivery across INTERPOL’s systems.

Ensure the industrialization and automation of software development, build, and deployment processes. Promote best practices in software craftsmanship, continuous integration, and modular design to maximize maintainability and efficiency.

Ensure the lifecycle management of all engineering assets, from conception to decommissioning, and drive technological modernization through regular evaluation of emerging technologies, ensuring long-term maintainability and cost-effectiveness.

DUTY 3: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Platform Competency Center

Oversee the AI and Data Platform Competency Center, responsible for AI transformation, data management, data flow orchestration, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) practices.

Ensure that INTERPOL’s data ecosystem, spanning structured, unstructured, and streaming data, enables secure and ethical data-driven decision-making across all policing and corporate functions. Define standards for data architecture, governance, and interoperability to guarantee the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of data managed by ICT.

Foster collaboration with analytical teams, ensuring the availability of robust data pipelines, Application Programming Interfaces (API), and platforms supporting innovation in AI and operational analytics. Ensure alignment with INTERPOL’s data protection, legal, and security frameworks, particularly in AI and machine learning contexts.

DUTY 4: DevOps and Quality Assurance Competency Center

Lead the DevOps and Quality Assurance Competency Center, promoting continuous integration, delivery, and improvement across ICT’s digital ecosystem.

Define DevOps and QA strategies, ensuring automation of builds, testing, deployment, and monitoring processes. Establish common pipelines and practices enabling consistent and secure delivery of solutions, while maintaining full traceability and quality control.

Promote a culture of technical excellence, transparency, and accountability by defining measurable quality indicators, conducting regular technical audits, and ensuring adherence to the Directorate’s quality and security methodologies. Collaborate closely with squads and product teams to accelerate delivery while maintaining reliability, security, and compliance with INTERPOL’s standards.

DUTY 5: Development Competency Center

Manage the Development Competency Center, which provides highly skilled software developers to staff Agile squads. Ensure the availability, training, and continual upskilling of these developers according to evolving technologies and project needs.

Define and maintain coding standards, frameworks, and common libraries to ensure code quality, consistency, and long-term sustainability. Oversee the balance between internal development and outsourcing, ensuring that both adhere to INTERPOL’s quality, security, and cost-effectiveness expectations.

Drive the evolution of INTERPOL’s software development ecosystem, adopting modern methodologies, tools, and technologies that enhance productivity and cross-team collaboration. Ensure that all software produced, internally or externally, remain maintainable, well-documented, and version-controlled, with secure and traceable source code repositories.

DUTY 6: Agile Support and Technical Enablement

Ensure that all Competency Centers effectively support the Agile squads by providing the right expertise, tools, and processes to enable efficient product delivery.

Drive the definition of staffing models for squads, aligning resources with priorities and maintaining flexibility to adapt to organizational needs. Promote a shared culture of agility, technical mentorship, and continuous learning within and across Competency Centers.

Support the implementation of Agile ceremonies (such as sprint reviews, retrospectives, and planning sessions), ensuring technical representation and coherence of engineering practices.

Ensure that each squad benefits from the right technical enablers — from Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to architecture frameworks — and foster an environment of innovation and technical empowerment.

DUTY 7: Quality, Security and Compliance

Ensure that all ICT developments and operations adhere to INTERPOL’s policies for quality, information security, and compliance. Ensure the integration of security-by-design principles and oversees the application of governance frameworks ensuring traceability, auditability, and accountability.

Collaborate with the ICT Security Office and Information Security Governance function to ensure technical compliance with international standards and INTERPOL’s internal directives. Lead initiatives to continuously improve quality assurance processes, focusing on reducing defects, enhancing reliability, and ensuring the long-term integrity of ICT systems.

Ensure that risk assessments and corrective actions are performed regularly and that mitigation plans are tracked and implemented efficiently.

DUTY 8: Communication and Collaboration

Foster collaboration across all levels of ICT and ensure alignment between technology strategy, business priorities, and operational execution.

Maintain regular communication with the CIO, Product Officers, Operations Officers, and Security teams to coordinate planning and ensure coherent delivery of ICT initiatives. Represent INTERPOL’s technical capabilities and innovation roadmap in internal governance committees and external professional forums when required.

Promote transparency, documentation, and knowledge sharing across teams. Ensure that technical decisions and innovations are communicated effectively, contributing to a unified, cooperative, and performance-oriented culture within ICT.

DUTY 9: Acting on behalf of the CIO

In the absence of the CIO/Deputy CIO, or when delegated, represent the Executive Directorate at meetings, committees, or international events concerning technology, innovation, or ICT strategy.

Accurately convey the views and strategic directions of the CIO, ensuring continuity of leadership and coherence in all ICT-related decisions and initiatives. Provide authoritative technical advice and ensure that any decision taken in this capacity is consistent with INTERPOL’s mission, strategic objectives, and policies.

Perform all other duties as assigned by the CIO to ensure the effective functioning of ICT operations, projects, and services, contributing to the Directorate’s commitment to excellence and innovation.

DUTY 10: Other duties

Perform any other duties as required by the hierarchy.

Education and qualification required:

• A minimum of 5 years’ completed University education or equivalent education level.
• Certification in IT governance standards and methodologies (COBIT, TOGAF, ITIL or similar) would be an asset.

Experience required:

• A minimum of 10 years proven experience in the provision of IT solutions
• Sound background in IT Architecture, technical strategy, project and product management.
• Technical leadership and demonstrated experience in planning, development and managing complex tasks with minimum supervision.

languages:

• Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in another official language of the Organization (Arabic, French, Spanish) would be an asset.

SPECIAL Abilities required:

• Certification or proven knowledge in the Management of Information Systems related Projects according to Project Management Methodologies.
• Strong communication skills, both in written and oral form (public speaking and delivery of presentations).
• Successful experience in IT project management and IT product management
• Successful experience in. people management

Special aptitudes required:

• Personal and professional maturity;
• Ability to maintain objectivity and apply logical, specifically inductive, reasoning;
• Ability to work in teams as well as individually;
• Ability to work persistently and under pressure;
• Good social, specifically multicultural skills;
• Initiative, creativity (original and critical thinking) and curiosity;
• Looking forward and attentive to innovation
• Ability to develop and maintain good professional networks;
• Ability to synthesize;
• Very good organization skills;
• Very good listening skills