Head of IT & Cloud

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ref: LP127-1872

Job description / Role

Employment: Full Time

Our client is a holding company with considerable investments in the real estate industry in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Asia, the United States and China. The company has as well investments in the stock market in 25 countries. They are currently looking for a Head of It and Cloud to be based in Riyadh

Job brief

We are looking for an experienced IT and cloud Director to oversee all IT (Information Technology) functions in our company. You will be in charge of a team of IT managers and manage the company’s technology operations and the implementation of new IT systems and policies. An excellent IT director is very knowledgeable in IT and computer systems. They have a solid technical background while able to manage and motivate people. The ideal candidate will be experienced in creating and implementing IT policies and systems that will meet objectives.

The goal is to ensure IT systems and people are effective and functioning within the limits of budget, time and specifications of the company.
Cloud deployment managers coordinate the implementation of cloud-based systems, which allow users to utilize the Internet to store and access data and programs. They serve as liaisons between business executives and technical workers, first meeting with the executives to assess their needs and objectives and then communicating that information to the cloud deployment team.

This role will also be responsible for the management of the Cloud Operations team including management of resources, planning, allocation and prioritizing of projects and ensuring customer issues are responded to in line with cloud customer agreements. The Cloud Operations Manager will act as an escalation point in Huntsville for Cloud related issues, ensuring that incidents and requests are handled according to agreed procedures and documentation of the supported components is available and in an appropriate form for those providing support. Identify recurring issues and work with teams for ongoing resolution. Creating and maintaining support documentation. The selected candidate should understand Intergraph application issues, reproduce and demonstrate the issue to appropriate teams; have the ability to coordinate operational activities across numerous Cloud and external organizations. Proactively manage changes in project scope, identify potential crises, and devise contingency plans as well as operate in a continuous improvement delivery methodology.

Duties & Responsibilities
• Oversee all technology operations (e.g. network security) and evaluate them according to established goals
• Devise and establish IT policies and systems to support the implementation of strategies set by upper management
• Analyze the business requirements of all departments to determine their technology needs
• Purchase efficient and cost effective technological equipment and software
• Inspect the use of technological equipment and software to ensure functionality and efficiency
• Identify the need for upgrades, configurations or new systems and report to upper management
• Coordinate IT managers and supervise computer scientists, technicians and other professionals to provide guidance
• Control budget and report on expenditure
• Assist in building relationships with vendors and creating cost-efficient contracts
• Working closely with Project Manager(s) to ensure resource is available for ongoing projects.
• Provide reports and proposals for improvement to specialists, users and managers
• Ensure that appropriate action is taken to anticipate, investigate and resolve problems in systems and services. Ensure that such problems are fully documented within the relevant reporting system(s). Coordinate the implementation of agreed remedies and preventative measures. Analyses of patterns and trends.
• Ensure SLA targets are understood and are met
• Track performance against metrics improvement goals
• Ensure key performance indicators are measured, monitored and reported and service improvement initiatives are identified and agreed with the customer service manager.
• Escalation of issues to appropriate product and cloud teams senior management where the customer is affected
• Day to day management of a team including regular appraisals, training, and overall leadership
• Define and measure success metrics and monitor change progress
• Manage the planning, auditing and education of change activities
• Cultivate and maintain open communication and constructive collaboration between key stakeholders from the Engineering Management, Product Development, Operations and Customer Support
• Participate in customer meetings and bring proactive solutions to customer problems
• Manage team members in a globally distributed environment

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience:
• Proven experience as IT director or similar role
• Experience in analysis, implementation and evaluation of IT systems and their specifications
• Sound understanding of computer systems (hardware/software), networks etc.
• Experience in controlling information technology budget
• Excellent organizational and leadership skills
• Outstanding communication abilities
• Knowledge of one or more computer programming languages, like C, Java, Python or Ruby
• Expertise with cloud networking and security technologies
• Understanding of the products and services offered by various cloud providers.
• BSc/BA in computer science, engineering or relevant field; MSc/MA will be a plus

About the Company

Propel Consult delivers a service in step with the needs of both our client companies and candidates. Our ability to add value to all levels of recruitment stems from our wholehearted belief in providing a professional service to both parties. We have built relationships with many leading indigenous and mulitnational organisations throughout the Middle East and internationally in countries such as UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and many more. Concentrating our resources has created 5 distinct specialist divisions: