IT Director

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the world’s leading marine ecolabelling and certification program for wild fisheries. The organisation's mission is to reverse the decline in global fish stocks, to deliver quantifiable improvements in marine conservation and thereby help to secure the livelihoods of those involved in the global fishing industry.  The MSC is recognized internationally as a groundbreaking and credible solution to the serious environmental problem of overfishing.

Further Information

The IT Director will be responsible for efficient delivery of IT (including telephony) services to the MSC, including the organisation’s programme of IT projects, change management and operational support.  Working with the Director of Resources, they will lead the strategic alignment of the technology, systems and information services required by the MSC to enable and support the delivery of the organisation’s Integrated Strategic Plan. 

They will lead the implementation of the MSC’s IT Strategy 2012, planning, developing and delivering a programme of IT short, medium and long-term initiatives, focused on providing both new and enhanced applications and services designed to meet business needs; and develop and evolve new IT strategies in the future. 

One of the primary responsibilities of the role will be the development and maintenance of an Enterprise Architecture, IT Strategy Roadmap, Investment Plan and Definition Document, ensuring the provision of IT applications and tools (within agreed budgetary constraints) which allow the MSC to operate effectively and efficiently.  This will involve continuous review of the IT applications and services provided globally to ensure that the strategy continues to meet the needs of the MSC, and that there is sufficient robustness and flexibility to support the organisation’s evolving activities.  Development and maintenance of relevant policies and procedures will also be required to ensure the successful delivery of the strategy. 

Alongside the strategic elements of the role, the post holder will be expected to be directly involved (hands on) in day to day operational IT activities (including project delivery), and will therefore need relevant technical skills and abilities, and the ability to prioritise appropriately, to be successful in the position. The IT Director will lead a small team, managing and motivating these staff to ensure the delivery of high quality IT services, projects and tools for the organisation.  In particular, they will work closely with the Senior Office Manager, who is currently responsible for management of the provision of day-to-day IT and telephony services (first and second-line support) for the organisation.  In a timeline to be agreed with the Director of Resources, these responsibilities will transfer to the IT Director, who will then have accountability for all aspects of IT services at the MSC. 

The post holder will need to establish effective working relationships with all MSC managers and staff across all regions to enable the development and delivery of IT services and projects.  They will also need to develop effective working relationships with third-party suppliers and contractors, and will be encouraged to develop connections with their external peers in similar organisations to enable learning from best practice elsewhere. The post holder will need to set and manage IT budgets (working with the Finance department and the Senior Office Manager), monitoring expenditure and costs against delivered and realised benefits as the programme progresses. Their role will entail the procurement of new software, hardware and third-party consultancy support, in accordance with proper procedures and best practice. This is a new role for the MSC and it provides a great opportunity for the right individual to make a significant contribution towards the delivery of MSC’s mission.

Skills and Experience Required

Technical Knowledge and Experience

• Demonstrated relevant senior level business and technology experience, leading IT teams comprising a range of abilities and capacities.
• Proven experience of strategic development and operational delivery of all aspects of IT services, ranging from user support, infrastructure and policy development, and delivery of new IT initiatives.
• Ability to determine the architectural implications of business requirements.
• Significant experience of business case, financial and cost-modelling development.
• Significant experience of change management within IT services, including successful project management and of managing major implementations and upgrades of hardware and software.
• Experience in defining and implementing effective polices across all aspects of IT, and in particular, in relation to security and information governance.
• Practical knowledge of establishing and maintaining arrangements for disaster recovery and business continuity for IT systems and applications.
• Proven ability to analyse issues and problems and provide solutions to these, both in terms of understanding business need, and identifying the causes of problems with IT applications, infrastructure, hardware and software.
• Extensive experience of leading and managing IT teams, in particular to deliver first and second line support services, and to develop, implement and support IT applications and tools in a complex environment.
• Strategic understanding of applying IT to meet business need, and detailed knowledge of emerging technologies and developments in computing.
• Demonstrated experience of procurement and vendor management, particularly in the initiation and management of tenders, contract negotiation, and relationship management with the providers of IT products and services.
• Excellent working knowledge of MS products, including SharePoint.
• Numerical aptitude, with IT financial management and budget management experience.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent; relevant professional technical IT/IS qualification desirable, as is a professional managerial qualification.
• Evidence of continuing technical and/or systems development education.
  
  Project and Change Management
  
  

• Demonstrated high level of experience in project management, including delivery, risk management and evaluation.
• Strong track record of on-time, on-budget and to-specification delivery of projects.
• Experience in change management processes, including business and financial awareness of the impact of changes, and how to manage these.
• Demonstrated experience in financial management, including financial and cost-modelling development and monitoring expenditure for a diverse range of projects.
• Ability to make decisions in a rapidly changing environment.
  
  Relationship Management
  
  

• Demonstrated experience in leading and managing teams, including teams of specialist staff and also project teams which include staff with whom there is no supervisory relationship.
• Evidence of ability to successfully manage relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, suppliers and collaborators, with a people-centred approach to business and work essential. 
• Strong focus on delivery of excellent customer services (including expectation management), and ability to instil this in team members.
• Demonstrated cultural awareness and sensitivity to the diversity of values, views and approaches to issues relevant to the MSC, its staff and its work.

Application process

To find out more and to apply for this role, please follow the link below and contact someone from the Gatenby and Sanderson recruitment agency:

http://www.gatenbysanderson.com/ Please note that the deadline for this role is on the 16th September 2013.