Director of Technological Innovation

Director of Technological Innovation

Job Summary

The Director is responsible to direct the development of innovative solutions driven by technology to advance the Councils value chain contribution to the digital transformation of regions education landscape. Specifically, the incumbent is responsible for the development and management of all facets of the Councils Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services (infrastructure, operations and applications) and provides advice to executive management and multiple teams (internal and external). Assesses current and anticipated business needs related to technology and makes critical decisions regarding project definition, engagement of resources and implementing solutions that will allow the CXC to evolve. Accountable for the planning, design, development, testing, implementation, operations, administration and maintenance of ICT business solutions. Provides short- and long-term strategic direction and analytical support and directs business plan development to execute initiatives. Identifies both short- and long-term technological solutions and translates requirements and benefits to other relevant stakeholders.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Accountable for the development of CXC's ICT vision, strategy, roadmap and policies, ensuring that information and communication technology resources are managed in a way that supports the mission of the organisation and the priorities established by the Council.
• Directs and manages all aspects of the planning, design, development, testing and implementation of the organisations enterprise network and services ecosystem, including infrastructure, operating systems and applications.
• Directs and manages all aspects of the operations, administration and maintenance of the organisations enterprise network and services ecosystem, including infrastructure, operating systems and applications.
• Controls the information and data integrity for all IS functions of the organisation, including: enterprise architecture, storage, telephony, data security, communication network (voice and data) and all infrastructure engineering; ensures all data is reliable and secure.
• Manages vendor relations and monitors and manages the execution and performance of vendor contracts.
• General Duties.
• Performs any other related duties assigned from time to time by any duly authorized person.

Required Activities

Accountable for the development of CXC's ICT vision, strategy, roadmap and policies, ensuring that information and communication technology resources are managed in a way that supports the mission of the organisation and the priorities established by the Council.

• Creates a vision for ICT within the organisation, communicates it to employees and leads and motivates the team to achieve the vision. 
• Plans and develops the ICT strategy for the organization, which identifies the future direction of the use of technology within the organisation to drive efficiencies and considers infrastructure, computing resources, software tools, security, monitoring and budgetary requirements.
• Ensures current and planned technical architecture, and operations/support structures are aligned with the CXCs strategic plan and objectives, by identifying opportunities for the appropriate and cost-effective investment in IS systems and resources.
• Establishes and promotes a best-practice approach and model for technology operations, project execution, release management, service delivery, systems integration to deliver the highest quality services to internal and external customers.
• Serves as Chairman of the Information Services Steering Committee, an internal management team charged with directing, reviewing, and approving CXCs IT strategic plans, overseeing major initiatives, and allocating resources.
• Manages and develops technology resources to ensure that technology investments support the organisations strategic plan and priorities in order to maximize departmental and institutional productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness in a cost-effective manner.
• Advises senior management on the application and use of ICT to provide excellent services working closely with the senior management team to overcome business challenges with the use of technology.
• Advises senior management on emerging technologies and digital trends that are relevant to CXCs goals and evolving needs.
• Supports operating units in conceptualizing, developing, and launching technology-based products and services and ensures that adequate technical and human resources are available to deliver the new products and services efficiently.

Directs and manages all aspects of the planning, design, development, testing and implementation of the organisations enterprise network and services ecosystem, including infrastructure, operating systems and applications.

• Develops plans and budgets in light of internal work needs and operating units approved projects.
• Oversees analysis and evaluation of staffing requirements to fulfill business requirements including directing the evaluation of make vs. buy decisions as they relate to outsourcing vs. in-house provisioning and identifying and developing strategic partnerships with key IT suppliers, licenses and contracts, vendors and consultant organisations.
• Advises and leads on CXC's business intelligence initiatives including cross-functional collaboration to map data governance and define executive and departmental visual dashboards.
• Be a champion of change, applies a structured methodology and leads change management activities. Ensures project plans are prepared and implemented to achieve the desired outcomes. 
• Controls and manages ISDs project resources and budget.

Directs and manages all aspects of the operations, administration and maintenance of the organisations enterprise network and services ecosystem, including infrastructure, operating systems and applications.

• Delivers service availability at or greater than 99.9% uptime; Ensures availability of necessary application systems to support business and operation needs.
• Establishes and measures IT performance relative to cost, value creation and customer satisfaction in the key areas of operating systems, telecommunications, network management, desktop support and service desk.
• Ensures ISD can detect and address issues to continue to improve availability, latency, and performance of systems and applications.
• Leads and coordinates the procurement, design, installation, and maintenance of all computing resources, and the supplies necessary to keep systems operable and fully functional.
• Oversees ITIL service operations and transitions activities, including incident management, problem management, request management, knowledge management, change management, and configuration management.
• Evaluates and implements relevant new tools and service management frameworks.

Controls the information and data integrity for all IS functions of the organisation, including: enterprise architecture, storage, telephony, data security, communication network (voice and data) and all infrastructure engineering; ensures all data is reliable and secure.

• Establishes comprehensive enterprise-wide information security standards and cybersecurity protocols to ensure the integrity, confidentiality and availability of relevant data.
• Protects the company and its operations against IT risks, including unauthorized access to information, data integrity problems, loss of processing capability, and poor service levels.
• Accountable for the development, implementation, management and continued improvement of an enterprise-wide disaster recovery and business continuity plan.

Manages vendor relations and monitors and manages the execution and performance of vendor contracts.

• Manages relationships with external consultants and vendors, and ensures maintenance of all licensing/contract agreements; solicits bids for contracts and evaluates outside services as appropriate; serves as liaison with both internal and external constituents of IT.
• Reviews, recommends and oversees all vendors and managed service agreements for computing, telecommunications, application lifecycle management, professional services and infrastructure.
• Oversees and participates in IT vendor contract negotiations for all technology related equipment, services, third-party software licensing and system requirements.

General Duties

• Oversees the Information Services Department, ensuring the on-going development and implementation of the Information Technology strategies which supports the Councils objectives.
• Manages employee performance by establishing clear goals and expectations, tracking progress against the goals, ensuring timely feedback, and addressing performance problems and issues promptly.
• Manages and develops direct reporting staff.
• Performs any other related duties as may be assigned by any duly authorized person from time to time.

Qualifications & Experience 

• A master's degree in Management Information Systems, Computer Science, Computer Engineering or in a related ICT discipline from a recognized university.
• MBA or advanced degree in a related field, Computer Engineering is preferred.
• Experience managing to an Agile/SCRUM Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodologies required.
• IT Service Management (ITIL) professional certification is required.
• Project Management Professional Certification (PMP) or equivalent project management certification preferred.
• A minimum of 15 years of significant related work experience as a CIO, CTO or equivalent position in technology management, aligning technology and resources with new lines of business opportunities with comparable responsibilities.
• Proven experience leading an agile development organization.
• Experience leading ICT services (development and support) organizations with over 10 employees.
• Experience managing and sponsoring complex projects with internal and external stakeholders.

Core Competencies 

• Passion for technology and proven leadership, management, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Must be driven, confident and organized. 
• Must possess strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Must be collaborative, innovative, decisive; a strong results orientation and strategic in thinking, communicating and approach.
• Displays a high level of business acumen and professionalism; maintains a professional customer-focused attitude at all times, even during situations of disagreement or crisis.
• Experienced in effectively coordinating and executing multiple tasks simultaneously and efficiently while working with conflicting priorities in a fast-paced environment; ability to prioritize work and meet deadlines.
• Must be ethical, lead by example and be able to insist on and expect high standards of quality and productivity from their teams and external vendors.
• Leadership skills.
• Contract management skills.
• Skills in budget preparation and management and the ability to adhere to and operate within budgetary guidelines.

Organisational Relationships

• The Registrar/CEO
• The Pro-Registrar/DCEO
• Directors
• Senior Management team
  

External Contacts

• CARICOM ICT Representatives
• Ministries of Education
• Vendors
• Contractors