CTO Hiring Rubric
Note: This sample assumes that the CTO is responsible for all six areas listed in our Finding a Chief Talent Officer article. You should tailor them based on your how you have scoped the CTO role.
Candidate: _________________________
Interviewer: ____________________________
Date: _________________
Please rate candidate on scale of 1-4 based on whether they hit our bar in each specific must-have:
4 = Definitely Yes/Rockstar in this area
3 = Probably Yes
2 = Probably No
1 = Big Red Flag
NOTE: The numbers are a rough guide – we care more about your impressions, questions + thoughts on overall fit, particular strengths +/or flags than we do about the numbers; they’re just a helpful shorthand. Ultimately, hiring managers will make final decisions weighing various needs + trade-offs.
Overall recommendation: ______________________________________
Must-have (These describe our bar. This is not the highest ideal, it’s a description of the fundamentals on the theory that we can teach people beyond this) |
1-4 |
Comments/Examples/Evidence
Please note 1-2 examples of what you saw< |
Follow-up Questions (if any) |
Vision, problem solving + systems thinking
- Able to develop and communicate a vision for growing and developing our talent, and to devise creative, pragmatic solutions and strong systems to help us move forward on difficult challenges, including organizational/ management policies and practices that may yield inequitable outcomes.
- Has a bias for action and avoids getting/staying stuck.
- Can articulate how to turn vision into a concrete multi-year action plan.
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High bar + discerning eye for talent:
- Has seen first-hand the difference between good candidates and great, and has seen how hiring mistakes are made and the ways that that impacts organizations.
- Able to discern between candidates who talk a good game and those, including hidden gems, who can actually deliver, and to set up systems that mitigate bias in doing so.
- Able to think strategically about how to cultivate relationships to find the candidates we need, and engage effectively internally to generate and improve ideas.
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Racial equity + inclusion competency:
- Experience successfully devising creative, concrete, and pragmatic ways to address or prevent potential equity challenges, including in organizational and management policies, systems, and practices
- Wrestles with complexities faced by senior leaders and identifies impacts of internal equity & inclusion issues on staff. Exercises excellent judgment in assessing trade-offs and finding strategic third way approaches or mitigations, and can prioritize solutions for maximum impact
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Management alignment and experience:
- Shares our approach to management and has enough experience managing people, including building teams that are inclusive of people with marginalized identities.
- Can translate their experience into concrete plans for staff development, retention etc.
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Project Management:
- Can oversee a variety of talent-related projects.
- Can come up with the requirement outlines and collaborate with others to put together realistic project plans.
- Can see projects through to completion on-scope and within time and budget constraints.
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Relationship-building + interpersonal skills:
Able to quickly build strong relationships across identities and lines of power – with staff internally as well as prospective candidates and connectors in the field (including winning over folks running organizations at the executive level). |
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Other Prior experience in the progressive advocacy, educational equity, or broader nonprofit arenas is a plus, but not a requirement. |
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Other comments |
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