Bridgepoint Health: Director IS & CTO

Ray Berndtson is helping Bridgepoint Health look for a Director of IS and CTO:

The primary responsibility of the Director Information Services and CTO will be to lead the Technical Services, Applications Specialists and Helpdesk team. In addition, the Director Information Services and CTO will be responsible for advising the VP Information Services and CIO and the Information Services Steering Committee on initiatives that have strategic and operational impact to Bridgepoint Health with respect to information technology, process improvement, and adherence to IT standards and best practices. The Director Information Services and CTO will be required to participate on the Steering Council, attend external stakeholder committees and represent the organization.

Bridgepoint describes themselves this way:

Bridgepoint Health is a University of Toronto community affiliated teaching organization committed to being Canada’s Leader for the treatment of Complex Chronic Disease. This bold vision is particularly important today, with 16 million Canadians living with chronic conditions.

The Good
Well, it’s a Director/CTO role, so it’s obviously quite senior. And it’s for health-care, which some people have a soft spot for, at least in comparison to marketing companies, financial companies, and so forth.

The Bad
Well, to be honest, the role sounds a little dull, but that’s probably just a sign that I’m not ready to be a director and/or a CTO at this point, at least not for a company like Bridgepoint. You could play buzzword bingo with: stakeholders, adherence, best practices, process improvements, steering council. Sounds like the usual large-system dysfunction (systemantics), although there’s nothing strictly wrong with the concepts therein.

Also, there’s very little sense about what the work would be, just the role — what projects are underway, is this mostly about managing desktops and networks, or building software, or both, that sort of thing.

Basically: manage people (guide, leadership, conduct review), chair meetings, attend meetings and report up the chain. Again, nothing strictly wrong with this list, it just doesn’t leap off the page, and has a slightly dilbert-eseque feel, rather than focusing on specific, concrete goals of the organization. Process for process sake.

More information about the compensation is probably important for such a senior position. More information about Bridgepoint and the work they do, and the work in which you’d be involved would be nice, although there is some of that information in the posting.

YMMV
Bridgepoint is by the old Don Jail — Gerrard and Broadview. That’s a pretty great location for me, for people in the east end and probably even those who drive, but for someone uptown or west-end, could be awkward.  They describe their location this way:

Bridgepoint’s location offers the best of both worlds. Situated on east  Toronto’s picturesque Riverdale Park (at Broadview Ave. and Gerrard St.), the healthcare facility is easily accessible by public transit, and is minutes away from downtown. The surrounding neighbourhood, encompassing Greektown and  Chinatown East, boasts excellent shopping and dining destinations. An exciting redevelopment project will see our site fully transformed, including a brand new state-of-the-art hospital.

Summary
Basically, if you think you’re in, or looking for, technical upper management, this might be interesting, particularly if you’re in the east end of Toronto.

Update: Some minor edits this morning to clarify concerns; nothing dramatic, so I didn’t bother with strikeout.