Chief Innovation Officer (Open Until Filled) en City of Richmond (CA), CA
City of Richmond (CA), CA · Richmond, Estados Unidos De América · Onsite
- Senior
- Oficina en Richmond
About the Department

Are you a forward-thinking leader with a passion for driving innovation in local government? Do you thrive on finding creative solutions, building collaborative partnerships, and turning bold ideas into practical results for the community? The City of Richmond is seeking a Chief Innovation Officer to guide strategic initiatives, improve service delivery, and strengthen community impact. This is an exciting opportunity for a thoughtful and results-driven professional to partner with City leadership, employees, and the community to shape a more efficient, responsive, and forward-looking government.
The Chief Innovation Officer will lead Citywide efforts for innovation, continuous improvement, and data-informed decision making. The incumbent will be responsible for identifying and implementing strategies that enhance operational efficiency, internal processes, and service delivery through collection and analysis of data. The Chief Innovation Officer will collaborate with departments to develop and manage initiatives that apply data and innovation to improve City operations.
Annual salary for this classification is as high as $180,151 at the top of the range. Additionally, City-paid benefits include medical, dental, vision, paid vacation, holidays, administrative leave days, sick time, CalPERS retirement contribution, life insurance, disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, annual professional development reimbursement, four weeks of paid parental leave, and more! All benefit information can be found in our Benefits Summary.
Position Duties
The Chief Innovation Officer is responsible for the overall planning, administration, and oversight of the City’s innovation initiatives and data collection efforts. The incumbent has responsibility for integrating data analytics and innovative practices to inform policy and operational decisions. The position fosters a culture of innovation, promotes transparency and accountability, and requires significant collaboration with City departments and various stakeholders. The incumbent reports directly to the City Manager and will use considerable judgment and independence in managing their work. The Chief Innovation Officer is exempt from the classified service, and the incumbent is an at-will employee who serves at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
The ideal candidate is a:
- Strategic Thinker – able to connect big-picture vision with practical implementation.
- Collaborative Leader – builds partnerships across departments, agencies, and community stakeholders.
- Creative Problem-Solver – uses data, technology, and new approaches to tackle challenges.
- Change Champion – comfortable leading organizational transformation.
- Equity-Focused – ensures innovation efforts promote fairness and inclusion.
The following list is intended to be illustrative in nature and does not necessarily represent the entire range of work duties expected of employees within the job classification.
- Plans, organizes and conducts complex and detailed analytical work to support innovation, strategic planning, informed decision-making, and data reporting across the organization.
- Develops, implements, and manages citywide data programs that support effective, ethical, and equitable use of data to assess and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of City programs and services.
- Collaborates closely with the Information Technology Department to evaluate, select, and implement technology products and services—including software platforms, digital tools, and infrastructure solutions—that support innovation goals. Ensures that innovation initiatives are aligned with IT capabilities and security standards, and co-leads technology projects that enhance operational efficiency, data integration, and service delivery across departments.
- Engages residents, community organizations, and other stakeholders to identify and understand civic challenges, then applies a design-based innovation approach to collaboratively develop and implement effective, data-informed solutions.
- Leads the City’s open data initiatives, including creating and publishing data sets, creating dashboards to communicate impact, and supporting City staff to collect and report data.
- Coordinates cross-departmental data management processes and systems to improve reporting and communication, facilitate data sharing, and evaluate and improve programs and services.
- Collaborates with department heads to identify opportunities for innovation and data integration in service delivery.
- Oversees the strategic development and implementation of comprehensive performance measurement systems, including required collection, analysis, and reporting of data to evaluate program effectiveness.
- Provides regular updates and progress reports to the City Manager, executive leadership, and elected officials on key innovation initiatives and outcomes.
- Prepares and/or oversees the preparation of clear, comprehensive reports and presentations; presents reports, findings, and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders.
- Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with community-based organizations, residents, and private and nonprofit stakeholders.
- Facilitates training and workshops to build data literacy and promote innovative practices among city staff.
- Stays abreast of emerging technologies and methodologies to recommend and implement modern solutions.
- Performs related work as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Required Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Public Administration, Data Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
- Five (5) to seven (7) years of experience in data analysis, program management, project engineering, or innovation initiatives, preferably within a governmental or similar setting.
- Any equivalent combination of training, education, and experience that provides the required skills, knowledge and abilities
Desired Qualifications
- Experience developing and managing an organization-wide strategic/innovation plan.
- Experience leading cross-departmental or organization-wide innovation initiatives.
- Knowledge of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Innovation Team (i-team) Program.
- It is the City’s policy that all persons hired on or after October 18, 2021, must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, including the booster. New employees will be required to provide proof of full vaccination or have an approved medical or religious accommodation before employment may commence. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact Human Resources.
Knowledge of:
- Principles and practices of data management and analysis, program evaluation techniques, analytic and quantitative methods, data lifecycle, and statistical information gathering, evaluating, and reporting
- Innovative methodologies and tools applicable to public sector services
- Ethical considerations and regulations related to data usage
- Performance measurement and management techniques
- Cloud based data and analytics tools
- Trends and emerging technologies in business innovation and technology
- Analyzing complex data sets to inform decision-making
- Facilitating cross-departmental collaboration and communication
- Implementing innovative solutions to improve service delivery
- Utilizing data visualization tools to present findings effectively
- Lead and manage projects with multiple departments
- Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with all levels in the organization, other agencies, and the public
- Communicate complex information verbally and in writing to diverse audiences
- Prepare charts, graphs, reports, modeling and structured analysis
- Adapt to changing technologies and methodologies
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement and innovation
Other Qualifications
What innovation means to you in the context of local government;
How your experience and skill set have prepared you to lead organizational change and drive innovative solutions; and
One example of how you have successfully turned a new idea into measurable results.

The City of Richmond lies on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, five miles north of Berkeley and seven miles northeast across the Bay from downtown San Francisco. A hub of multimodal transportation, many of our residents and businesses are located in Richmond because of its central location and easy access to the Amtrak/Capitol Corridor, BART, AC Transit, the ferry, and two freeways (I-80 & I-580). Residents, visitors, and employees enjoy Richmond’s numerous recreational opportunities, which include 32 miles of shoreline and over 3,000 acres of shoreline parks, more segments of the Bay Trail completed than any other city, several recreational boat harbors and yacht clubs, and thousands of acres of contiguous inland regional parks and open space. The City has substantial economic resources but is still affordable compared to other Bay Area cities. Our community is welcoming, diverse, and actively engaged.
WEBSITE: www.ci.richmond.ca.us