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Chief Technology & Innovation Officer

4Front Credit Union

101 N Park St

Traverse City, Michigan 49684

USA

Position Description

Chief Technology & Innovation Officer (CTIO)

4Front Credit Union | Executive Leadership | Exempt

This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship.

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About 4Front Credit Union

At 4Front Credit Union, we are committed to helping our members, team members, and communities thrive. We combine the cooperative philosophy of people helping people with forward-thinking financial solutions, strong community relationships, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Our success depends on creating meaningful member experiences, empowering our team members, and investing in the technology, people, and capabilities needed to serve our communities well—today and into the future.

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Why Join 4Front?

As Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, you will help shape the future of the organization. You will guide enterprise technology strategy, strengthen cybersecurity and operational resilience, advance data-driven decision-making, and lead innovation that improves how our team members work and how our members experience 4Front.

This role offers the opportunity to:

• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors
• Influence enterprise strategy, transformation, and long-term growth
• Lead technology, cybersecurity, data, automation, and innovation initiatives across the organization
• Build and develop a high-performing technology and innovation function
• Champion responsible use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence
• Deliver measurable improvements in efficiency, security, employee experience, and member value

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Reporting Structure

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Supervises: Network and Security Services Manager, Service Delivery Manager, Enterprise Applications & Data Services Manager

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Position Purpose

The Chief Technology & Innovation Officer (CTIO) provides enterprise leadership for the credit union’s technology, cybersecurity, data, digital capability, and innovation strategies. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, this role ensures technology investments and transformation initiatives are aligned with organizational priorities, strengthen operational performance, protect the credit union, and create meaningful value for members and team members.

The CTIO serves as a strategic advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, and senior leaders, translating emerging technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, automation, and data opportunities into practical organizational strategies. Through strong governance, executive leadership, and cross-functional partnership, this role builds the secure, scalable, and resilient capabilities necessary to support sustainable growth, organizational agility, and long-term success

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What You’ll DoEnterprise Technology & Innovation Strategy

• Develop and execute an enterprise technology and innovation strategy aligned with the credit union’s mission, strategic plan, risk appetite, and long-term growth objectives
• Translate organizational priorities into a clear technology roadmap, investment strategy, and portfolio of enterprise initiatives
• Advise the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors on emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital trends, innovation opportunities, and technology-related risks
• Evaluate the business value, organizational readiness, risk, and long-term sustainability of proposed technology investments
• Ensure technology strategy supports scalability, operational resilience, employee effectiveness, and exceptional member experiences
• Establish meaningful measures of progress and communicate the organizational impact of technology and innovation initiatives

Executive Leadership & Enterprise Transformation

• Serve as an active member of the Executive Leadership Team, contributing to enterprise strategy, organizational planning, risk management, and business performance
• Lead and sponsor cross-functional transformation initiatives that improve efficiency, collaboration, agility, and organizational effectiveness
• Build alignment among executive leaders, business units, technology teams, and external partners
• Champion thoughtful change management that supports adoption, accountability, and lasting organizational improvement
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, modernize operations, and strengthen the credit union’s ability to respond to changing member and business needs
• Promote an enterprise mindset in which technology and innovation are viewed as strategic business capabilities rather than isolated technical functions

Technology Operations & Enterprise Architecture

• Provide executive oversight for enterprise infrastructure, applications, cloud services, networks, end-user technology, enterprise architecture, integrations, and technology operations
• Ensure technology platforms and services are secure, reliable, scalable, well-governed, and aligned with organizational priorities
• Establish standards for architecture, system lifecycle management, change management, technical documentation, and service delivery
• Guide technology modernization efforts and reduce unnecessary complexity, duplication, and technical debt
• Ensure technology operations deliver responsive, dependable service to team members and support uninterrupted member service
• Oversee planning for system capacity, resilience, performance, and long-term sustainability

Cybersecurity, Resilience & Technology Risk

• Provide executive leadership for cybersecurity, information security, business continuity, disaster recovery, technology risk, and incident response
• Establish a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that protects member information, organizational assets, and critical business operations
• Ensure technology and security practices comply with applicable financial institution regulations, industry standards, organizational policies, and risk-management expectations
• Maintain clear governance, accountability, and reporting for cyber risk, technology risk, third-party risk, and operational resilience
• Communicate material risks, emerging threats, incidents, and mitigation strategies to executive leadership and the Board
• Promote a strong culture of security awareness and shared accountability throughout the organization
• Ensure business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities are regularly evaluated, tested, and improved

Innovation, Artificial Intelligence & Automation

• Champion responsible innovation through emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, automation, digital tools, and process improvement
• Establish governance for the ethical, secure, compliant, and effective use of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
• Partner with leaders to identify high-value opportunities that reduce manual effort, improve decision-making, strengthen service, and increase organizational capacity
• Develop evaluation criteria and implementation practices that prioritize measurable business value over technology novelty
• Support experimentation, learning, and thoughtful adoption while managing operational, regulatory, privacy, cybersecurity, and reputational risks
• Encourage scalable solutions that improve both employee and member experiences
• Build an organizational culture that welcomes innovation while maintaining disciplined risk management and accountability

Data Strategy, Governance & Analytics

• Establish and advance the enterprise data strategy, governance framework, ownership model, and analytics capabilities
• Promote accurate, accessible, secure, and well-managed data as a strategic organizational asset
• Clarify accountability for data quality, stewardship, privacy, lineage, access, and appropriate use
• Strengthen the credit union’s ability to use reporting, analytics, and insights in strategic and operational decision-making
• Partner with business leaders to improve data literacy and encourage evidence-based decisions
• Ensure data platforms and analytics investments support organizational priorities and deliver meaningful business value
• Guide the development of scalable data capabilities that support innovation, automation, performance measurement, and long-term growth

Member & Employee Experience Enablement

• Ensure technology strategy supports simple, reliable, and effective member and employee experiences
• Partner with operational and member-facing leaders to identify friction points and improve technology-enabled processes
• Balance innovation with usability, accessibility, operational practicality, and member trust
• Support digital capabilities that strengthen service delivery across branch, contact center, online, mobile, and internal channels
• Measure the impact of technology initiatives on productivity, service quality, adoption, satisfaction, and organizational performance
• Promote solutions that enable team members to serve members confidently and efficiently

Financial Stewardship & Vendor Strategy

• Develop and manage technology operating and capital budgets in alignment with strategic priorities
• Establish disciplined practices for investment planning, prioritization, forecasting, cost management, and benefit realization
• Evaluate total cost of ownership, organizational impact, risk, scalability, and measurable value when making technology decisions
• Oversee strategic vendor relationships, contract performance, service delivery, and third-party technology risk
• Ensure vendors are held accountable for security, reliability, performance, compliance, and contractual commitments
• Identify opportunities to optimize spending, consolidate platforms, improve vendor performance, and strengthen return on investment
• Provide clear reporting to executive leadership and the Board regarding technology investments, risks, performance, and strategic initiatives

People Leadership & Organizational Capability

• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing Technology and Innovation team
• Establish clear expectations, priorities, decision rights, accountability, and performance standards
• Build leadership depth, succession readiness, technical capability, and career development pathways within the function
• Create an environment that promotes collaboration, curiosity, innovation, ownership, and continuous learning
• Coach leaders and team members to connect technical work with member value and organizational outcomes
• Attract, retain, and develop talent capable of supporting the credit union’s evolving technology and innovation needs
• Promote strong partnerships between technology professionals, business leaders, and operational teams

Governance, Communication & Board Partnership

• Provide timely, clear, and meaningful updates to the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors
• Translate complex technical, cybersecurity, data, and innovation topics into understandable business language
• Establish governance structures that support sound decisions, prioritization, accountability, and transparency
• Present technology strategy, major investments, cybersecurity posture, transformation progress, risks, performance measures, and emerging opportunities
• Ensure leadership has the information necessary to make informed decisions regarding technology and organizational risk
• Maintain strong relationships with regulators, auditors, industry partners, technology providers, and other key stakeholders

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role is demonstrated when:

• Technology strategy is clearly aligned with organizational priorities and long-term growth
• Enterprise systems and infrastructure are secure, reliable, resilient, and scalable
• Cybersecurity, business continuity, disaster recovery, and technology risk programs remain strong, current, and examination-ready
• Strategic technology and transformation initiatives are delivered with measurable business impact
• Automation and process improvement reduce manual effort, increase capacity, and strengthen operational efficiency
• Data is accurate, governed, accessible, and increasingly used to support decision-making
• Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are adopted responsibly and deliver practical organizational value
• Employee technology experiences are dependable, effective, and supportive of strong member service
• Technology investments demonstrate sound financial stewardship and measurable return
• Vendor relationships are well-governed and consistently meet performance, security, compliance, and service expectations
• Technology and Innovation team members are engaged, capable, accountable, and prepared for future leadership needs
• Executive leaders and the Board receive clear, timely, and actionable information regarding technology strategy, performance, risk, and opportunity

QualificationsEducation

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field required
• Master’s degree in a related discipline preferred
• Equivalent combinations of advanced education and directly relevant executive experience may be considered

Experience

• 10–15 years of progressively responsible experience in technology, cybersecurity, innovation, digital transformation, data, or related functions
• Minimum of seven years in a senior or executive leadership role
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise technology strategy, cybersecurity, organizational transformation, and