POSITION PURPOSE:
This is a senior level position that is critical to the success of daily operations and strategic projects for the entire organization with matrix alignment to onshore tower heads and direct reporting to the Assistant General Manager of the company. The Technology Director leads a core group of managers and engineers that are responsible for the offshore team that builds and supports a portfolio of technologies servicing Call Centres, online ecommerce fulfilment, Shopper experience and merchandising. Candidates must be experienced in the various application components and best practices related to customer facing technology and architecture.
The Customer tech group must have proven senior leadership experience working with technical professionals, as well as our business facing colleagues in other IT areas including other IT teams - Cloud, DevOps, Network Infrastructure, ITSM, Architecture, Planning and Delivery and the Application Development teams. Provides input on ways to improve our processes, best practices and policies. Must have strong communication and relationship building skills with the ability to discuss and present information and issues across a wide variety of individuals and groups (inside and outside of IT). A practiced demonstrable background of Retail business acumen is also necessary.
JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Provide effective oversight of the day-to-day operations of the Customer tech enablement group including system availability, reporting service levels, defining and tracking IT operational metrics, and status reports for senior management.
- Oversee and prioritize associated tactical projects and strategic initiatives.
- Coordinate the analysis and troubleshooting of performance and availability of all systems across the enterprise.
- Provide overall management and leadership to areas including platform and hosting, application middleware, databases, service management, portfolio management, project delivery and field services.
- Facilitate cross-team collaboration across technical disciplines, as well as, across business units.
- Manage Infra Services relationship with the Business and other cross functional teams.
- Ensures high availability of critical business systems.
- Direct, coach, and mentor Infra Leadership team in their activities, as well as, supporting business projects.
- Contribute to the development of IT departmental strategies to align with the overall business strategy.
- Provide direction to the entire Infrastructure Services Organization and help determine high level priorities and business requirements.
- Develop and manage operational and project budgets according to plan and maintain strong alignment with the business and operational requirements of onshore teams.
- Ensure partnership with the onshore product and applications teams in delivering business value and maintain the quality of day-to-day Information Technology service delivery to the organization, using the follow-the-sun model.
- Develop training, staffing, career and professional development plans for members of the team.
- Ensure that there is a high level of employee engagement from the Customer Tech Group.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Requires 15+ years of experience as a proven Senior IT Leader in a large, enterprise environment.
- Bachelor's degree in related field while Master's degree is a plus.
- Requires a proven track record of strong technical leadership of application services.
- Experience in supporting Private or Public Cloud (e.g., Azure)
- Information Technology experience to include one or more of the following: Enterprise applications, solution architecture, Cloud Management, Enterprise Systems Management, Network and/or Systems Integration.
- Knowledge in DevOps, Scrum/Kanban and Agile workflow methodologies
- Have a thorough understanding of Project Management, Service Management, and Service Delivery excellence.
- ITIL or project management experience is preferred.
- Previous retail experience desired
- Demonstrates a high level of energy, results driven and able to work under pressure with tight delivery deadlines.
- Demonstrates strategic thinking skills and maturity in tackling complex problems, dealing with technical, interpersonal, and process.
- Must have experience leading teams through and managing complex technology and organizational transition.
- Ability to effectively influence and communicate with Sr. IT and Business Management in setting strategy, enterprise priorities and adding increased value through the delivery of Data Center Services
- Proven track record of strategic leadership and driving organizational transformation.
- Strong interpersonal skills and multi-faceted communications
- Demonstrated ability to effectively build relationships, influence, mentor and obtain results through a diverse team.
- Proven financial acumen and business acumen relative to budget development, management and business case development.
- Must be proactive in understanding and staying up to date with the current and upcoming projects and operational issues. Must stay up to date with industry technology trends and applicability of software/hardware solutions.
