Director, Application Development

Job Description

The nation's leading administrator of long term care insurance services is looking for YOU.This is your opportunity to join a company with a culture that promotes respect for people, integrity, learning and initiative.

WE ARE THE KIND OF EMPLOYER YOU DESERVE.

LTCG is a leading provider of business process outsourcing for the insurance industry, managing over 1.3 million long-term care policies for the nation's largest insurers. We also provide clients with unique risk management insight built upon our proprietary long term care databases.

The Director, Application Development is responsible for leading and directing application development teams of LTCG. The Director must provide strategic leadership to the IT group and drive technology-enabled business enhancements to LTCG.

1. Organization Leadership. Directs the application development organization with responsibility for strategic technology direction, project delivery, and resource allocation (including budget and personnel). Profit Loss budget responsibility for IT teams within the group, including working with Finance and the CIO on financial reporting and projections.

1. Staff Management. Hires, organizes, trains, develops, and motivates department staff for high productivity. Avoids conflict through communication of policy and expectations and addresses conflicts by resolving escalations. Encourages continual employee personal development through training and ongoing performance appraisal process. Fosters open team communication at all levels. Responsible for proactive and effective performance management, including coaching, mentoring and disciplinary action, when required.

1. Project Execution. Accountable for successful delivery of software development projects for clients and internal stakeholders. Projects include client billable, capital development, and expense work.

1. Process Improvement. Leads the definition and implementation of appropriate practices and standards, ensuring necessary standards and procedures are in place, followed, and maintained. Develops measures and metrics for monitoring software development performance. Establishes and reinforces a culture of continuous process improvement.

1. Stakeholder Collaboration. Engages proactively with business executives and management in defining technology priorities and projects, enabling business improvement, and solving problems. Works effectively with business stakeholders (Account Management, Operations, Finance, Business Development and external clients) to ensure that all technical solutions are aligned with business needs.

1. Client Management. Interacts with external clients to understand client requests, communicate client-related plans, and address delivery issues. Proactively and effectively engages clients, at the executive and management levels, in all aspects of complex projects including managing expectations, preparing estimates, negotiating statements of work, and resolving complex project delivery challenges.

1. Product Management. Develops short- and long-term goals, objectives, and plans for software development teams. Manages multiple software platforms (software products), which includes strategic direction and continual technology innovation in support of business priorities. Proactively identifies, cost justifies, and executes opportunities to improve business performance through technology innovation.

1. Financial Management. Creates and manages to annual budget and quarterly financial forecasts (and related capacity plans) that are aligned with the needs of the business, including projects (expense, capital development, and client billable), support work, overhead, and capital expenditures.

1. IT Governance. Collaborates with other IT functional leaders to set overall IT direction and deliver projects that span business areas in a cost-effective way that complies with enterprise standards and processes. Teams with peers and business leaders to manage an effective IT governance framework.

1. Functional Leadership. Serves as a thought leader and technical resource for the business in the area of application development. This includes managing multi-platform software development teams with greater than 70 FTE, implementing best practices and standards, and representing the IT organization to key clients. Keeps abreast of new industry and technology developments through contacts with educational institutions, professional organizations, publications and industry shows. Defines and implements standards and procedures that span the SDLC (including development, change management, quality assurance and software testing, production support and professional services management). Drives innovation into the organization.

1. Information Security. Teams with Enterprise Security Risk Management and the CIO to ensure adherence to information security, corporate governance, enterprise architecture, and process standards.

1. Performs other duties as assigned.

Key deliverables of the Director, Application Development include, but are not limited to:

• Delivering software-development projects according to specification, schedule, and budget
• Ensuring high client satisfaction for related systems and projects
• Producing financial results (P L) within budgeted thresholds
• Formulating and cost-justifying multi-year software road maps and related capital budgets
• Demonstrating the business value of IT Capital Expense projects
• Building and leading a highly-motivated team of software professionals
• Ensuring proper delivery from external vendors
• Ensuring IT compliance with legal requirements

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and typically requires 10 or more years of IT experience and at least five years of management responsibility.
• Extensive knowledge of the application development field with advanced leadership skills
• Demonstrated ability to effectively supervise, motivate and direct technical personnel
• Extensive experience in various SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) methodologies such as waterfall, agile, etc.
• A SME on Development concepts, processes, and methods that can be utilized within those methodologies.
• Development expertise on various application platforms; client-server, web based, transactional, data warehouse, and packaged software.
• Solid understanding of Development tools and how to apply them to projects and platforms.
• Experience developing and leading Development roadmaps on complex projects.
• Ability to interpret Development trends as a foundation for creating and delivering Development solutions.
• Ability to evaluate/identify/guide/mentor other Development professionals.
• Ability to conceptualize, document, and educate personnel on the efficiencies, benefits, and value of Development best testing practices.
• A strong passion and desire for excellence in product reliability, quality, and customer satisfaction.
• Exceptional management skills to effectively manage multiple projects and effectively deploy resources in a multi-functional environment.
• Superior interpersonal skills who can engage projects and/or staff to understand visions, issues, and needs.
• Maintains a positive "can-do" attitude along with being creative, flexible, and adaptive.
• Ability to challenge organizational norms and lead change initiatives.
• Previous experience with application development best practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent negotiation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree(s) in computer science, engineering, and/or management
• Microsoft .NET development experience
• Product management expertise (software)
• Project management experience
• Vendor management skills
• Experience leading a multi-platform development organization
• Experience reengineering client/server applications to distributed web (3-tier) architecture
• Experience working with external clients directly
• Understanding of business rules management systems (BRMS)
• Experience with offshore development
• Experience in IT production support
• Understanding of IT infrastructure in relation to software performance
• Strategic-thinking acumen and planning skills
• P L responsibility