Senior Director, Technology Leader

Independence Pet Group•Chicago, IL

1d•$172,103 - $252,008•Onsite

About The Position

Independence Pet Holdings is a corporate holding company established in 2021, managing a diverse portfolio of pet health brands and services. They focus on simplifying the pet parenting journey and improving pet well-being through solutions like insurance, education, and lost recovery services. The company operates with a full stack of resources, capital, and services to support pet parents across North America through a multi-brand and omni-channel approach. The Senior Director will lead a multi-brand business unit, driving consolidated roadmaps, tracking, budget, and delivery of all technology projects. This role involves aligning technology execution with business outcomes, managing roadmaps (including standardizing environments), owning communication and change management for large initiatives, and ensuring effective prioritization, execution, and ROI measurement of key initiatives. The position requires collaboration and influence with multiple stakeholders to deploy robust enterprise-wide technology projects that meet long-term business goals. This role is pivotal in driving the organization's technology strategy and ensuring alignment with business goals, offering an opportunity to influence the long-term direction of technology at a high level.

Requirements

Forward-thinking strategist skilled in devising and operationalizing a technology strategy across multiple operating entities
A storyteller who translates technical concepts into business terms and articulates the value of technology investments to stakeholders
Commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability in managing the organization’s technology
Flexible and adaptable to respond to evolving technology challenges and organizational needs
A change agent that fosters a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, encouraging experimentation, and adapting to evolving circumstances and environment
An authentic and tenacious leader who leans in to partnering with peers and is a collaborative team leader who is steadfast in leading by example
Exemplary organizational skills coupled with proactive initiative-taking meticulous attention to detail, and adept time management, flourishing in a dynamic and rapidly evolving environment
Acts as a culture ambassador, living our organizational values
Proven ability to lead and manage both onshore and offshore teams, ensuring seamless collaboration and execution of technology projects. This includes strategic oversight, cross-cultural leadership, communication and coordination, performance management, resource allocation, and risk management.
Proven experience 15+ years in project management, strategy, communication, and operations in a technology-driven global organizations
Experience driving internal development teams and external partners to deliver business outcomes using agile methodologies
Strong understanding of technology project lifecycles, portfolio management, and best practices in delivering large-scale technology initiatives
Strong understanding of financial management, including budgeting, ROI analysis, and investment prioritization for technology projects.
Experience with vendor management in an outsourced or managed service environment
Exceptional analytical skills, with the ability to track and report on roadmaps, business cases, and ROI
Strong leadership with the ability to influence and collaborate with cross-functional teams across different geographical locations
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively present complex information to senior executives and stakeholders
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field

Nice To Haves

Experience with M&A or PE environment is desirable

Responsibilities

Align technology execution to business outcomes
Drive roadmaps including moving environments onto a companywide standard
Own communication and change management for large initiatives
Ensure that key initiatives are prioritized, executed, and ROI measured effectively
Track project progress and financials against approved roadmap
Partner with technology leadership and other executives to define and communicate the long-term technology roadmaps aligned with the company’s business goals and market opportunities
Lead planning efforts to ensure that technology investments are future-proof, scalable, and capable of supporting business growth and transformation
Identify emerging technologies and industry trends, advising leadership on their potential impact on the business and shaping the organization’s technology roadmap
Develop and maintain comprehensive, technology road maps that align with both current and future business needs
Drive the planning and prioritization of key technology initiatives across the organization, ensuring that resources are optimally allocated and aligned with strategic goals
Work with business units to understand their strategic objectives and translate those into actionable technological plans and solutions
Oversee the portfolio of technology projects, ensuring alignment with business outcomes and proper resource allocation
Evaluate project performance, track key performance indicators (KPIs), and adjust course as necessary to ensure timely delivery and alignment with overall strategy
Identify risks within the portfolio and collaborate with project managers and business leaders to mitigate or resolve issues
Foster close collaboration between the technology team and other business units (e.g., Product, Operations, Marketing, Sales) to ensure alignment and successful execution of technology initiatives
Act as a liaison between technical and non-technical teams, ensuring clear communication of technology strategy and priorities to senior business leaders
Drive integration of technological initiatives across the business, ensuring that systems and processes work cohesively to support overall business objectives
Work closely with Procurement and Finance team to develop and manage the technology budget, ensuring effective allocation of resources to strategic priorities
Analyze the financial impact of technology initiatives, providing recommendations on investment and cost optimization strategies
Ensure the effective management of technology investments to deliver maximum return on investment (ROI)
Develop a set of key metrics and performance indicators to track the progress and success of technology initiatives and investments
Provide regular strategic updates to the CTO, executive leadership, and other stakeholders, using data and analytics to communicate progress, risks, and outcomes
Use insights from reporting and metrics to refine strategy and drive continuous improvement across the organization
Support the CTO and leadership team in M&A activities by evaluating potential technology synergies, assessing integration opportunities, and providing strategic guidance on technology-related aspects of acquisitions
Lead the development of integration plans that align acquired technologies with the broader organizational strategy
Lead change management activities required to roll out and adopt technology projects to ensure effective return on investment
Drive communication to ensure stakeholders across the portfolio of companies are kept aware of the latest developments and buy into the technology project impacts
Lead and manage both onshore and offshore teams, ensuring seamless collaboration and execution of technology projects. This includes strategic oversight, cross-cultural leadership, communication and coordination, performance management, resource allocation, and risk management.