Salaries are attractive, from 70,000 to 250,000 euros gross per year. The missions are always different and full of the unexpected. However, the positions of IT production managers or directors of technology and information strategy – the two nomenclatures coexist and can be summed up by the English abbreviation CTO (Chief Technical Officer) – today represent a rare commodity. Even more so if a company wishes to recruit a woman for this oh so strategic function.
Sylvie Roche, president of the Club of Infrastructure and Production Managers (CRIP), does her best to attract young women into the nets of “her” profession. “CTOs are the technical architects. They set up computer networks, clouds, and are essential. It is thanks to them that everything works within a company, she explains to set the scene for her job. However, of the 13,000 CRIP members, only 4% are women CTOs! »
A disaster for the leader and more generally for the profession, which seeks to feminize. “For this year 2023, we are asking all CTOs to take on internships for young girls from 3rd grade in order to introduce them to our jobs around IT. It is vital ! We noticed, while they are better in mathematics and science, that they forbid themselves this type of path because of prejudices about technical professions. We have to break this geek image associated with his hoodie. We must evangelize the female public. »
Know how to manage the unexpected
If you have to have an engineering degree in your pocket and several years of experience before claiming a position as IT production manager, the latter then becomes one of the essential cogs in the evolution of your company. He puts strategic decisions to music by ensuring that teams, employees and clients benefit from the best solutions and that any problems can be resolved quickly.
This last point is also the favorite of Nicole Granjon, CTO of the PMU: “Our customers must have access to horse racing information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When there is an incident, I am like a Samu manager. I have to determine if it’s a minor ailment, something serious or an absolute emergency. Having perspective and keeping a cool head are two essential qualities”.
“It’s an exciting job,” says Sébastien Marle, CRIP, CTO at Matmut. He is responsible for 220 employees. “We guide the operational choices, have an important part of management but also make the choice of equipment. We are also on the lookout for technological innovations and go to big data shows, to CES in Las Vegas, to think tanks and meet suppliers. It is rewarding and varied. »
Cybersecurity is an important part of the job, even if it doesn’t take up most of the time. Sébastien Marle, too, is struggling to attract candidates: “We count 11% of women in our technical teams, it’s too few. We try by all means, but we don’t even receive CVs for the majority of positions. To reach parity, it will take another 15 years, provided that they start joining engineering schools now. »
She hires
“70 IT developer positions to take”
Nicole Granjon, CTO of PMU
She is passionate. She loves her job and recruits in her teams to train, perhaps one day, her successor within the PMU. Nicole Granjon is looking for a CV…
THE PROFILE. “We recruit people who have gone through engineering schools or have just left them. They must have already worked on operating systems in small or larger structures. People who are available, reliable and responsive. Not only does it take a bit of experience, but also a head on your shoulders. At PMU, there is also a notion of on-call duty because our customers must be able to access our site at all times. »
FEMINIZATION. “It brings a lot to have women in a team and it is sorely lacking in the IT sector. I really want to recruit but I receive few or no CVs. However, they can succeed even if they have children. Especially since teleworking has simplified many things. It can even go up to 4 days a week. »
COMPENSATION. “We have 10 positions on the production side, which are part of a more global trajectory of more than 70 others within the Tech Company PMU. This is why the remuneration, depending on experience, is between 40,000 and 70,000 euros gross per year. »