Regional IT Director - MENA

Job description / Role

Reports To:
• VP-Corporate Information Technology
• Regional Finance Director

The Main Purpose of the role:
Director IT, MENA is to ensure the streamlined operation of all IT operations in alignment with the business objectives of the organization. Responsible to plan, coordinate, direct, and design all IT activities relevant to the MENA Region. The position is also responsible to set the strategic direction for IT in line with mid & long term business objectives.

The main areas of responsibility:
• Ensure optimal use, maintenance & administration of IT Infrastructure
• Lowering cost of operations through IT enablement
• Implementation of agreed solutions within budget and alignment with IT strategy
• Ensure system uptime and business continuity
• Monthly IT Financials review and control
• IT articulation and delivery of long-term Regional & Corporate strategy
• Ensure security of all IT equipment
• Ensure streamlined multi-tiered backups
• Ensure new cost effective technologies are implemented
• Manage, monitor and guide team members assigned on a constant basis
• Ensure optimal service levels in line with Corporate IT directives
• Ensure strict compliance to corporate IT policy & guidelines/SOX compliance through ITGC controls, Incident & Change Order management
• Optimization of Capex and Opex purchases, building relations with third party suppliers
• Ownership of outsourcing decisions for hosting hardware and software solutions, including the development and management of third party service providers of critical applications
• Negotiation, Management and Development of robust SLAs and monitoring performance against Service Levels
• Leading businesses in providing IT solutions, which includes areas of business process automation, enhancements to online customer experience and introduction of State of Art Solutions
• Quality assurance of strategic IT projects including ERP's
• Change Management & Stakeholder Management

Dimensions of the Job (targets):
• Report to the Director Finance, MENA and complete tasks assigned in a timely & professional way
• Manage the infrastructure projects/day to day requirements of the regional business as necessary. This includes all hardware, software, networks, and back-ups for the region.
• Ensure all projects are implemented in accordance with the agreed plan and remain on time and within budget.
• Time manage all responsibilities to ensure that they are completed in order of their priority within the business. Priorities should be agreed in advance with both local and regional management.
• Ensure that IT staff within administrative management is focused and allocated tasks in line with the yearly IT objectives set for them.
• Regularly coach, guide and evaluate IT team members
• Ensure that all infrastructure & application projects comply with local and global controls and requirements.
• Ensure that Company policies for procurement, contracts, and capital authorization are complied with for all activities.
• Plan contract renewals and changes well in advance of deadlines.
• Ensure that post implementation reviews are conducted and that support and guidance is provided to users.
• Ensure regular and informative status reports are provided to local and regional management.
• Ensure that all relevant parties are up to date with regard to the ongoing progress of day to day activities and particular projects
• Ensure that disaster recovery strategies are in place, and that off-site back up of data files is maintained and restorable when required.
• Ensure the creation and maintenance of relevant infrastructure & applications documentation in line with Regional & Corporate standards.
• Negotiate with suppliers for goods and services necessary for projects in hand, together with ongoing support and maintenance
• Track Service Levels Provided by 3rd parties and provide detailed report to business leadership when requested.
• Keep track of idle assets across the regional and provide recommendation for disposals to the relevant finance department.
• Assist in the annual budgeting process by estimating IT costs and expenditures.
• Allocate effort and resources to ensure downtime of any system is kept to a minimum, and pre plan and communicate planned downtime to minimize business disruption.
• Undertake problem resolution initiatives with area of responsibility to ensure that the number of “incidents” are reduced.
• Keep abreast of developments in the technology and make recommendations where appropriate to ensure the region remains up to date with latest trends
• Undertake other tasks within the IT department as and where necessary as instructed by local, regional, or Corporate management.
• Maintain IT asset inventory for the entire region & track warranties, useful life and maintain spares and backup equipment at all times.
• Ensure security of all equipment including server rooms.
• Keep a backup in place for any emergent situation.

Department interaction:
• Supports IT internal users in all departments
• Regional IT staff
• Cross regional IT staff
• Interacts with Corporate IT
• Manages 3rd parties and maintains a relationship with IT-Vendors

Flexibility in having to carry out a range of different tasks:
• Any changes/updates have to go through Corporate for approval

Work allocation, review and approval:
• Departments request new systems or advise of problems
• Corporate review and approve

Decision Making Authority:
• Decide when to upgrade to new versions of hardware platforms
• Set IT Direction on New Technologies to be implemented
• Propose and evaluate software solutions to provide automation for daily business needs
• Provide advice and direction for software selection within the region
• Manage IT budgets
• Manage 3rd party IT contracts to optimize cost and efficiencies

Challenges typically faced:
• Need to constantly stay aligned with country/business priorities and IT resource commitments
• Business priorities and expectations must be constantly managed
• Maintaining control over multiple software applications utilized around the Region
• Remotely manage and stay in close communication with countries with no IT presence
• Resource Turnover Management and succession planning

Requirements

• SAP Expertise in Project Management, Change Management
• Data Center setup & administration expertise
• Understanding of IT Network working and implementation
• Good understanding of Cloud/hosting technologies
• Understanding of Virtualized Infrastructures
• Good understanding of servers, security, firewalls, routing, LANs, WANs & other commonly deployed IT infrastructure domains
• Good understanding of disaster recovery and back up plans, technologies and procedures
• Understanding of Installation, maintenance and repair of operating systems and computer hardware components
• Good understanding of VOIP technologies, Setup & Maintenance

Unusual features of the job:
• Travel across region
• Has to be available at all times
• High degree of flexibility to changing business needs and adaptability to diverse requirements and geographies is required
• The position is challenging and requires the ability to manage multiple tasks in parallel

About the Company

BAC Middle East - the longest established professional recruitment consultancy in the UAE. Established in 1979, we have been at the forefront of the region's recruitment industry for 40 years and were the first firm of our type in the world to achieve ISO9001 certification: a reflection of our constant emphasis on quality and customer satisfaction.

With our well-developed infrastructure and staff strength, we are able to assist you with recruitment needs ranging from junior professionals through to middle and senior management, whatever your industry sector.

BAC's proven regional experience and resources can help ensure that you recruit the best available candidates and enjoy the many advantages of a managed recruitment process.