The Government will appoint civil servant and IT strategist Barry Lowry as chief information officer next April.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform confirmed that the Top Level Appointments Commission has recommended Mr Lowry for the job.

An IT professional, Mr Lowry has worked for the Northern Ireland Civil Service for more than 30 years, where his career spanned health, education and agriculture.

Mr Lowry designed its shared services centre and most recently he worked as its senior policy adviser. In 2011, his peers voted him Northern Ireland IT Professional of the Year.

Mr Lowry will be responsible for implementing the Government’s own IT strategy across all departments, making the role critical to efforts to streamline the civil service.

He will be the third individual to hold the post in as many years. The previous incumbents were Michael McGrath and Bill McCluggage, who previously worked with Mr Lowry.