Prime Minister's department loses longtime CIO

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) has lost its chief information officer of more than six years, Nathan Heeney.

Heeney left the information services assistant secretary role in February after a brief stint as the department’s acting first assistant secretary for technology and business services.

He took up that interim role in December, with director Samantha Portelli in turn taking the vacated CIO role on an acting basis.

But PM&C last week put out the call for a new permanent CIO to lead the information services branch, covering both IT and security duties.

A spokesperson told iTnews that Heeney left the department in late January, after two months of the acting arrangements.

Heeney first joined PM&C from the federal Department of Education in 2013.

He stepped into the CIO role when former chief Radi Kovacevic left for the former Digital Transformation Office in early 2016.

The new CIO is expected to take charge of the department’s “strategic, operational and technical IT objectives, including compliance with whole-of-government IT security requirements”.

The senior executive service band one level executive will “lead the build, procurement and delivery of integrated ICT systems, services and products” across the department and its satellite sites.

Satellite sites include Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices, Kirribilli House in Sydney and the Lodge in Canberra.

“The branch supports protected and unclassified operating environments for the department and a number of the portfolio agencies which includes staff in locations across Australia,” the job ad states.

“This includes the provision of a number of support services including helpdesks, voice services, mobile devices, business applications, IT infrastructure, websites, and other online platforms.

“The branch also manages a range of contracts with government and non-government service providers that support the department’s operating environments.”

Update 3:36pm: Since publication, Heeney has announced his new position as acting first assistant secretary digital reform, biosecurity at the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment.