Information Technology & Operations Director

Island Finance•San Juan, PR

About The Position

The Director of Information Technology and Operations position provides the leadership, management, and vision necessary to ensure that the company has appropriate IT resources (systems, infrastructure, personnel, operating procedures, internal controls, contractors, etc.), and customer services to support the operations and growth of Island Finance, and that those resources are managed effectively. The position accomplishes this through a respectful, constructive, and energetic style, guided by the mission and core values of the company.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and proven experience in IT – preferably a master’s degree from a recognized university or college.
Suggested Minimum Experience: Extensive background (10–15+ years in IT, 7–10 years in financial services, and 5+ years leading cloud operations and cybersecurity).
Proficiency in major cloud service providers like AWS, Azure, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
Project management skills
Effective oral and written communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Work under pressure
Problems solving
Performance appraisal
Decision making
Negotiation skills
Organization
Delegate
Ethics
Strong leadership
Strategic planning and problem-solving skills
Proficiency in cybersecurity, data management, and financial technologies.

Nice To Haves

Relevant certifications such as ITIL, CompTIA+, CISSP, CISM, or PMP can be advantageous.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement IT and Operations strategies that align with the institution's goals.
Identify technology needs and make recommendations to business decision-makers
Act as the liaison with leaders and users from other business divisions to guarantee the efficiency of technology, project management, and customer services.
Provide leadership, vision, and direction to their team, including performance execution.
Develop, implement, and maintain the policies and standards of information.
Enforce the compliance of policies, procedures, and participate in internal/external audits.
Ensure the efficient operation of all IT systems, including hardware, software, networks, and cloud infrastructure.
Oversee the IT/Customer Services budget, ensuring cost-effective solutions.
Revise and approve department invoices.
Evaluate the purchases of new equipment or solutions for the organization.
Manage relationships with external vendors and negotiate contracts.
Maintain contact and closely monitor technology suppliers.
Ensure that all IT practices, including contract development, renewal, and execution, comply with relevant regulations and standards.
Follow up projects and personnel meetings.
Maintain robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive financial data.
IT Strategy and Leadership: Portfolio management and digital transformation, IT governance, OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), executive communication with the Board and regulators.
Cloud Architecture (100% cloud): Design and operation of multi-region/multi-cloud IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and SaaS (Software as a Service); resilience RTO (Recovery Time Objective), RPO (Recovery Point Objective), FinOps (Cloud Financial Operations), automation, observability through APM (Application Performance Monitoring), logging, and tracing.
Continuous Development and Delivery: Modern SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle), Agile/SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery), SRE (Site Reliability Engineering), automated QA (Quality Assurance), DevSecOps (Development, Security and Operations) practices, and integration through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)/microservices.
Cybersecurity and Continuity: Frameworks such as NIST CSF (National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework), ISO 27001 (Information Security Management Standard), Zero Trust, IAM (Identity and Access Management)/PAM (Privileged Access Management), EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)/XDR (Extended Detection and Response), SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)/SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response), DLP (Data Loss Prevention), vulnerability management, incident response, and tested DR (Disaster Recovery) / BCP (Business Continuity Plan).
Financial and Regulatory Compliance: Practical understanding of GLBA (Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act), FFIEC (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council), OCIF (Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions — PR)/FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), SOX-ITGC (Sarbanes–Oxley — IT General Controls), BSA (Bank Secrecy Act)/AML (Anti-Money Laundering)/KYC (Know Your Customer).
Financial Business Expertise: Consumer credit products, origination and underwriting, servicing and collections, fraud, pricing, CECL (Current Expected Losses), and regulatory reporting.
Customer Experience (CX) / Contact Center: Omnichannel operations (voice/chat/app/web), IVR (Interactive Voice Response), QA (Quality Assurance), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), automation (bots), metrics, and journey design.
Data and Analytics: Data governance and quality, data warehouse, BI (Business Intelligence)/Analytics, risk modeling, and protection of sensitive data.
Third-Party and Contract Management: RFI (Request for Information)/RFP (Request for Proposal), due diligence and TPRM (Third-Party Risk Management), negotiation of MSAs (Master Service Agreements), SLAs (Service Level Agreements)/SOWs (Statements of Work), and licensing; performance and vendor risk management.