Innovation, Data, And Enterprise AI Assistant Division Director (Assistant Division Director DIT)

Fairfax County•Fairfax (Ej32), VA

15h•Hybrid

About The Position

Fairfax County’s Innovation Division within the Department of Information Technology seeks an experienced technical leader to serve as Assistant Director. Working alongside the Chief Director of Innovation, the role serves as a principal strategist and senior advisor for county-wide innovation, data, and enterprise AI transformation. The position oversees strategic outreach, community engagement, governance frameworks, and unified technology services, and works to reduce departmental silos and establish enterprise compliance standards. The Assistant Division Director guides enterprise data and artificial intelligence initiatives, advises executive leadership and elected officials on technology trends and investments, builds regional partnerships, and develops ethical AI frameworks. The role also cultivates an internal culture of innovation through practitioner networks, workforce training, and technical upskilling. This is a hybrid position requiring at least 40% onsite work at the Fairfax County Government Center. The appointee must complete a criminal background check and credit check to the satisfaction of the employer. Work is generally sedentary in a normal office environment, with duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations. Selection includes a panel interview and may include an exercise. Bilingual candidates are encouraged to apply.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
Five years of progressively responsible experience applying information technology to meet the needs of a government or business organization.
Two years of supervisory experience.
Completion of a criminal background check and credit check to the satisfaction of the employer.
Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Senior management experience leading enterprise technology strategy, cross-agency program governance, and multidisciplinary technical teams in a large organization.
Experience designing and implementing data governance frameworks, ethical AI policies, and regulatory compliance standards for cloud, database, or spatial platforms.
Experience managing organizational change, including establishing technical Communities of Practice, enterprise training pipelines, or professional upskilling programs.
Experience collaborating with executive leadership, elected officials, academic partners, vendors, and regional jurisdictions.
Familiarity with enterprise data frameworks, generative AI deployments, low-code application solutions, and GIS ecosystems.
Experience working within the operational, political, and compliance structures of local, state, or federal government.
Bilingual in English and another language.

Responsibilities

Formulate and drive the Enterprise Data and AI Governance Charter to establish a unified, secure, and mature data ecosystem across Fairfax County agencies.
Establish ethical frameworks, operational policies, and compliance standards for responsible use of data, AI, and GIS assets while protecting privacy and security.
Design and enforce risk management protocols for emerging AI technologies, large language models, and machine learning integrations.
Engage county agencies, technology vendors, and industry experts to identify operational challenges and align central technology strategies with department goals.
Partner with academic institutions and neighboring jurisdictions on collaborative research, external expertise, and regional technical talent pipelines.
Lead regional listening tours and stakeholder workshops to gather feedback, promote user-centered digital transformation, and encourage modern technology adoption.
Cultivate and lead a county-wide Data and AI community, connecting, supporting, mentoring, and upskilling technical practitioners across departments.
Develop and execute workforce training and upskilling frameworks to build employees’ technical capacity and guide organizational change management.
Organize internal and public Innovation Roadshows to showcase use cases, demonstrate technical capabilities, and encourage collaboration.
Advise executive leadership and elected officials on emerging technology trends, long-term technical roadmaps, and strategic investment priorities.
Perform other duties as required to support Innovation Division efforts.