The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has tapped Sairah Ijaz to serve as acting chief information officer (CIO) as the agency searches for a permanent CIO.
Ijaz, who previously served as HUD’s deputy CIO, announced her new role in a LinkedIn post last week. She steps into the role after former CIO Beth Niblock – who served as CIO since July 2021 – moved to a new position as senior advisor for disaster management.
HUD posted the CIO job posting on USAJobs.gov in May and applications closed on June 14 – following a decision by the agency to move the CIO role to a career position.
“Exciting times at the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Thanks to the leadership at HUD, the CIO position is changing from political appointee to career [Senior Executive Service],” Niblock explained in a LinkedIn post last week.
An election year can often lead to shifting within the CIO offices across several Federal agencies. Many agency CIO positions are presidential appointees, while others are career SES positions that are filled by career employees.
Although the reason for HUD’s decision to move the CIO role to a career position isn’t entirely clear, Niblock said the move will be a positive for the agency and its Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO).
“HUD and OCIO will greatly benefit from this change,” Niblock said. “I couldn’t be more proud of Team OCIO and all they have accomplished in the last 3 years!”
