The City and County of Honolulu Data Office is Growing!
Do you love working with data as much as we do, and want to apply that passion towards helping our community? We are excited to share that our partner Kira Chuchom, Chief Data Officer (CDO) at the City & County of Honolulu’s Office of the Mayor and Managing Director, is seeking data enthusiasts to join her team!
Assessing and Building Capacity
Over the past sixteen months, Kira has accomplished much to improve the data environment within the City & County of Honolulu. Her initial focus was on ecosystem review and initial data maturity assessments for key areas of local government including the Department of Permitting and Planning, the Department of Human Resources, and housing programs and capabilities in response to the administration’s prioritization of homelessness as a key issue.
Based on the results of these assessments, Kira has prioritized increasing data literacy across the County by establishing a data community of practice composed of members from all city departments and agencies. This group meets twice a month to share knowledge, improve skills, foster collaboration, and ensure relevance and applicability with respect to data. Kira also engaged with Microsoft to train over 100 City employees across multiple departments and agencies in using Power BI, a data visualization tool, to create and publish dashboards and reports.
As the initial CDO for the City & County of Honolulu, she designed the City’s data governance framework, which will be operationalized over the next few months along with AI usage guidance and policies. Additionally, Kira published the initial City Data Plan, a data strategy that addresses key impact areas of data culture, governance, best practices, integration, capacity, and up-skilling across the City and County.
Data in Action: Kōkua Command Center to Address Homelessness
Beyond her direct impact, Kira also works with state and nonprofit stakeholders to support the pressing challenge of homelessness within the City and County of Honolulu. She designed and delivered, from concept to reality, the Kōkua Command Center. This lightweight mobile web application enables first responders and outreach personnel to find and reserve beds for homeless individuals and families at HONU or other shelters. Kōkua Command Center showcases how data sharing can be leveraged within and across city agencies, as well as with state agencies, nonprofits, and other programs engaged in managing homelessness and/or providing services for the homeless/houseless community.
Join the City and County’s Data Team
To build on the momentum Kira has created and to support ongoing engagement with various stakeholders, she is looking to add a Data Governance Analyst and Data Scientist to her team. These roles will provide much needed internal data capacity boosts that will be leveraged to support initiatives across the county.
Applications for the Data Governance Analyst and Data Scientist will be accepted until the positions are filled. Interested candidates are asked to send a one page cover letter and current resume to cdoffice@honolulu.gov.