The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is searching for a chief data officer (CDO) who will also serve as the agency’s responsible AI official (RAIO) and chief AI officer (CAIO), according to a USAJOBS posting.
The application will close on Jan. 10.
“The Chief Data Officer serves as a principal advisor to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director and the Executive Director for Human Capital Data Management and Modernization and is responsible for human capital data across the Federal enterprise and within OPM,” the job posting reads. “The position is aligned with and supports implementation of the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 and GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 and plays a critical role partnering with agencies across the Federal government.”
OPM’s opening comes after the agency’s CDO since October 2021, Ted Kaouk, moved to the CDO role at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in December.
OPM’s job posting states that the CDO will be responsible for “championing a culture of data and evidence-based decision making across the federal enterprise through leading the development and delivery of human capital data products and services government-wide and leading insight-driven, data analytics initiatives” as well as “leading a team within OPM and developing and assigning data related roles and responsibilities, promoting employee development in data access and analysis, and executing a Strategic Data Plan.”
The USAJOBS posting also states that OPM’s CDO will serve as the agency’s RAIO, as well as CAIO under President Biden’s recent AI executive order (EO).
Following the Biden administration’s wide-ranging AI EO, several Federal agencies have begun to appoint people to the new CAIO position – though they don’t need to formally name someone until 60 days after the Office of Management and Budget finalizes guidance for Federal agency use of AI.
The RAIO role was established under a 2020 Trump administration EO on AI, though its associated responsibilities are supposed to be subsumed under the CAIO role.
