Head of IT

What is a head of IT?

The head of IT is responsible for the IT division and is part of the business leadership team. Professionals in this role will work closely with the C-suite (the COO in particular) to ensure the business has the technical capabilities needed to reach success and drive growth.

Head of IT job description and responsibilities

The head of IT is responsible for business IT and IS services. They typically oversee professionals in IT systems and infrastructure, IT engineering and IT group team leadership.

They routinely carry out GAP analysis on the business’ IT tech and team to ensure that there is adequate capability to reach future business goals.

Some daily duties include:

Optimising business IT processes

Monitoring IT efficiency

Assessing, monitoring and upgrading business systems and processes

Liaising with vendors and 3rd parties

IT security and governance

Managing and developing the business IT division

Stakeholder management

Head of IT job qualifications, skills and experience

To become head of IT, a professional should start with a degree in one of the following subjects (or similar):

Computer Science

Information Technology

Information Systems

Good technical knowledge in the following areas may also be required:

IT management

Infrastructure and applications

Data warehousing, architecture and networking

Knowledge of cloud platforms and technologies

A minimum of 5 years of IT service delivery experience

Experience with business operations platforms

Professionals in a HoIT role should also possess some of the following soft skills:

Good leadership abilities

Negotiation skills

Analytical thinking

Excellent communication skills

Strategic thinking

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Salary for Head of IT

72000 - 89750

25th percentile

72000

The candidate has little or no prior experience in the position and is still developing relevant skills.

50th percentile

81500

The candidate has an average level of experience and has most of the necessary skills.

75th percentile

89750

The candidate has above-average experience, has most or all the necessary skills, and may have specialised qualifications.

Projected salaries for related positions

Position title

25th percentile

50th percentile

75th percentile

Chief Transformation Officer (CTRO)

128750

165500

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Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

120000

160500

201500

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

108000

150250

200000

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

96250

135250

161750

Chief Architect

95500

125750

145500

IT Director

81750

96000

116500

Enterprise Architect

82000

95250

113000

Solution Architect

78000

90000

106750

Data Architect

78250

89750

102250

Infrastructure Architect

71250

81000

96750

IT Manager

46250

54250

62750

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Your guide to negotiating salaries and offers

Our starting salary projections come from a detailed, multistep process that ensures our numbers accurately reflect the marketplace. They’re based on real compensation data for job seekers our recruiters have matched with companies across the country, in addition to 350,000 third-party vacancies data from Textkernel for independent validation.

The Salary Guide From Robert Half is the original. We’ve been publishing salary forecasts since 1950, and our guide has served as a trusted source for employers, job seekers, industry associations, government and educational institutions, and national and local media.