IT Operations Zone Leader

Lockton IT is tranfroaming its operating model to provide level 2 engineeirng support for all of its operating properties across the globe. The new operating model divides the globe into 3 regions or zones covering support for the zones. Lockton is currently seeking to fill the role of Operations leader supporting the Americas (North, Central, Sout, and the CArribean). The Leader will report to the SVP of Global Operations and is a key member of of the global IT Operations leadership team. This role will have two peers that will provide similiar support in the other two Zones across the globe. Zone 1 will lead operations for Australia , New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Singapore. Zone 2 will lead operations for UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Zone 3 will lead operations for Canada, North, Central, South America and the Carribean. The Operations Leader is responsible for ensuring operational excellence across the globe and must continue to adjust and support scalable operations to meet aggressive company growth. This leader must have strong vendor management experience and be effective in a highly matrixed global organization. They will work closely with each country's local IT leaders and other regional operation leaders to ensure a seamless operation across all time zones 24 x 7 x 365. Candidates must have the ability to develop rapport and strong relationships with each country's local IT leader, vendors and executive leadership in a multi-cultural environment. The candidate must have demosntrated experience managing a global vendor ensuring service level expectations are met for each region. The candidate must be a hands-on leader capable of navigating internal networks and building consensus across teams.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure the global systems environment (i.e. Microsoft 365, MS Azure, Salesforce, etc.) is available for all of Lockton's global regions.
• Work with local IT leaders in the Zone to understand pain points and address any issues with the vendor.
• Work with IT leaders in the Zone to drive efficiancies to the operating model. Champion those changes with the other Zone leaders to create a consistent IT Operations model.
• Participates in the creation of a multi-year operation strategy aligned with the overall IT strategic direction. This role must have a strong relationship with the engineering team and supply timely feedback on operational problem management findings.
• Responsible for managing a global outsourced vendor delivering level 2 support and operations services across the globe. They must be the advocate with the vendor for all of Lockton's regions and ensure the vendor is delivering world class services.
• Implement/manage efficient operational processes and standards measured by key performance indicators.
• Create a strong and trusted relationship with the IT Leaders in the zone they support and with the dedicated, delegated and shared resources from the operations 3 rd party vendor.
• This position has the primary responsibility to handle the in-country service desk coordination to and from the 3rd party operations vendor. They must ensure communication back and forth is timely , accurate and with the correct level of detail.

Leadership Responsibilities:

• Engaged partner on the IT leadership team, challenging norms and driving the organization to deliver on commitments.
• Build and maintain relationships with in-country IT leaders, vendors, key business executives and their teams, developing a clear understanding of business needs and priorities.
• Proven ability to drive change across an organization.
• Mentor and motivate teams to achieve productivity and engagement.
• Outstanding communication and negotiation skills.
• Self-starter with a willingness to jump in and drive solutions and/or resolution to problems.
• Ability to engage at all levels within an organization.
• Proven ability to lead at an executive level.
• Oversee operations expenses and budgeting to help the organization optimize costs and benefits.
• Manage contracts and relations with vendors, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Problem solving mindset, analytical mind capable of breaking problems down and engage teams to find solutions.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years' experience successfully leading IT operations teams.
• Demonstrated expereince getting work done through a vendor.
• Minimum of 5 years' experience working in a global operations environment.
• Proven ability to lead in a matrixed environment with multi-vendor delivery model.
• Excellent listening skills with ability to translate business needs into technology solutions.
• Diverse background across IT disciplines.
• Open-minded, self-starter with a passion to learn.
• Capable of being hands-on when needed.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and consultative skills to work effectively with vendors, clients, peers, and IT management and staff.
• This position will support a global team and the candidate must be able to travel globally.
• Must be willing take courses to learn Spanish or already have fluency. Understanding of Portuguese is a plus.