Head of ITClosing date for receipt of applications is Friday (14/03) at 17:00Agency support not required for this roleAbout Pepper Advantage Ireland: Pepper Advantage Ireland has been instrumental in
helping Irish individuals, businesses and investors navigate their financial
journey since 2012. We manage over €20bn worth of assets and have a skilled
team of more than 600 people across Dublin and Shannon. We’re here to service
loans and mortgages which includes processing loan payments and when needed,
working with customers to resolve late payments or assist with financial
difficulties.As part of the international Pepper Advantage Group, we
combine local knowledge with global expertise. With operations across the UK,
Europe and South East Asia, we employ over 3,500 people and have over €50bn in
assets under management.About this role: The Head of IT is responsible for the
company’s core IT infrastructure, that is the physical network infrastructure,
connectivity, telephony, all hardware and server installations, desktop and
server operating systems and workplace collaboration tools such as email, word
processing and file sharing. Embedded in
the role is the management of appropriate technical security measures to ensure
the protection of the company’s data and computer systems. This role would also look after the
Transformation and Project aspects of the company. The Head of IT will be a
member of the Pepper Ireland Executive Committee.The successful candidate will have a strong
background in IT operations management in the financial services industry, as
well as excellent project and change governance leadership, communication, and
interpersonal skills. They will also
have a deep understanding of IT infrastructure, security, and vendor
management, as well as knowledge of ITIL and other IT service management frameworks.This is a senior role for a candidate with
extensive experience who can ensure we deliver a high level of services, as
well as excellent leadership, communication and interpersonal skills. The candidate will report into the Ireland
CEO with a dotted line into the Global CIO and will also have responsibility
for a number of direct reports.Location: Dublin & Shannon (as required)Type of Contract:
PermanentKey
Responsibilities:IT InfrastructureDeliver and effective management
of resilient IT infrastructure required to operate the company. IT infrastructure refers to:The physical cabling of the company’s premises and the associated network hardware such as firewalls, racks, routers and switches.Secure connectivity to the Internet, third party service providers and external workersAll IT related hardware, such as servers, workstations, laptops, printers and scannersServer and desktop operating systems and other software platforms, such as database platforms, web servers and load balancersAll telephony related services including desktop and portable handsets, call centre technology and reporting, and unified communication cloud technologiesWorkplace collaboration tools, email & contact management, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and project management tools, and other specialist software packages required Drive the selection of appropriate technologies to support the company’s objectivesInstallation and ongoing management of appropriate technologies to support the company’s objectivesManage the licencing of all company software, ensuring the IT platform is appropriately licencedManagement of third party relationships related to the provision, support and maintenance of the IT infrastructureSecurityDelivery and effective management
of security controls as set in the Information Security Policy, and the
operation of security technologies and controls required by the company to
mitigate IT risks. Security operations
to include but not limited toIdentity management, authentication and authorisation to network resourcesMalware protectionDeployment of security patches and KRI reporting of estate patch coverageFirewall configurationEmail and cloud protection technologies such as data loss prevention tools, spam filtering tools and cloud access security brokersConduct simulated phishing campaigns to improve threat awarenessStaff on-boarding and leaversDelivery of KRI reporting to support the company in its management of riskWork closely with the Chief Information Security Officer who reports into the Head of IT in respect of Pepper Ireland’s Information Security matters, to identify, evaluate and implement appropriate security technologies that align with industry best practice and Global requirementsTransformationResponsibilities for Transformation and Change within the Irish Pepper businessManage resources across the business as appropriate to ensure deliveryAct as a representative of the Pepper Executive, playing a lead role in the introduction and development of a continuous improvement change culture in the business Setting the strategic direction and vision of the department, ensuring alignment to Pepper Advantage business Goals & ObjectivesResponsibility for the performance and budget of the department against company PRF targets, reporting out progress to senior stakeholders in the businessSupport the global initiatives and Global CIO to embed and migrate onto the Prism modules Manage the team to define and create change/transformation management methodologies, processes, governance and template documentsCreate new or amend existing Policies and Procedures as required to meet the requirements of new/updated regulations/legislation, obtaining relevant approvals, implement and rollout under direction from the Pepper Executive Overseeing the production of comprehensive reporting and management information on all changes and projects, as well as tracking their progress to ensure alignment with the strategic direction and vision of the department Lead/support internal and client facing change meetings at appropriate frequencies for topics involved Interact directly with Pepper Ireland clients and senior stakeholders to ensure the communication of change is coordinated and effectiveSupport the CEO and other Senior Management in business development activities with potential clients, as required Oversight of the department to ensure change is delivered with set SLAs, performance improvement plans to be created and managed should SLAs not be metContribute and drive actions to embed a regulatory culture within the businessCreate, support and coordinate the preparation of internal & external communications and documentationPro-actively identify opportunities for digital growth and staying up to date with industry standardsPrepare any support materials, analysis or reports required for corporate development efforts Act as a subject matter expert, supporting client acquisition and retention activities Leadership & Team
DevelopmentManage a team of IT and networking
and support professionals to assist with the role requirementsManage the team to deliver a defined, responsive, controlled and measured service to the business for the logging and processing of support requests and IT incidentsProvide customer satisfaction metrics in relation to the processing of support requestsInnovation and
Continual ImprovementEstablish, monitor, and maintain
systems security policies and processes which ensure full regulatory compliance
and cutting-edge cyber securityMonitor external technological developments and drive innovation across the business ensuring continuous improvement, and maintaining focus and momentumDeliver management information for the business to enable the measurement, monitoring and improvement of performance.Disaster RecoveryEnsure a robust IT governance
framework, including policies and procedures and roles and responsibilities, to
deliver our business strategies and effectively manage IT risksDevelop, implement, and maintain the IT risk management framework (including business continuity and disaster recovery programs, IT security and operational risk)Oversee outsourcing relationships and manage vendor relationships with affiliated and third-party IT service providers and suppliersEnsure the required governance structures are in place to record and report on all project and program risks to all stakeholders in an appropriate mannerEnsure risks are regularly reviewed and that appropriate risk mitigation plans are in placeEnsure risks are escalated to the appropriate stakeholders as they materialiseOffice 365/AzureManage to the ongoing deployment and maintenance of the O365 and Azure
platformsEnsure appropriate skills are maintained within the support teamManagement DutiesEstablishing and maintaining appropriate internal control safeguardsInteract with other managers to provide project management expertise to
deliver changeConsider Customer and Client and outcomes in all aspects of strategic
planningFinancial ManagementEnsure the processes are in place
to estimate costs and get the required project approvals at the outset of a
projectEnsure the processes are in place to track costsEnsure any deviations from the approved project budgets are reportedEnsure the required governance structures are in place to report project costs to relevant stakeholders in an appropriate mannerSkills & Experience Degree in Financial Services / IT / Computer Science / Engineering or related discipline. (Essential; MSc/MA will be preferred)Minimum 10+ year’s financial services industry experience in an IT leadership/Project or Program Management senior role with team management and development experience and a strong track record of stakeholder management including reporting to senior stakeholders. (Essential; Executive-level experience preferred)Excellent knowledge of IT systems and infrastructure (essential)Background in designing/developing IT systems and planning IT implementation (essential)Solid understanding of data analysis, budgeting, and business operations (essential)Knowledge/experience of working within a regulated and/or banking industry (essential)ITIL (desirable)Knowledge of the regulatory framework governing Residential and Commercial loans in Ireland as governed by CBI (desirable)Process Improvement experience with exposure to Lean and Six Sigma methods (desirable)Strong end to end operations and management experience across lending products including Residential and Commercial Mortgages (desirable)Experience working with institutional clients (desirable)Experience in vendor and 3rd party management including relationship management, contract management, resource capacity planning and management, solution delivery management (desirable)Knowledge of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud IT environments (ideally Microsoft centric)Knowledge and/or understanding of cloud native application architecturesKnowledge of IT infrastructure, security, and vendor managementKnowledge of ITIL and other IT service management frameworksExperience leading and driving continuous improvement of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments.Deep understanding of IT operations management in the financial services industry, including trends, regulations, and best practices.Knowledge of Dimensions Access Accounting and Phoebus (desirable) CompetenciesTechnical CompetenciesEnterprise software development (essential)Business intelligence and analytics (essential)Budget Management (essential)Project and Task Management (essential)Virtualisation (VMWare) (desirable)Cloud Computing (desirable)Data Warehouse / Data Lakes (desirable)Behavioural/Interpersonal CompetenciesSuperior analytical and problem-solving capabilitiesExcelled judgement & decision-making abilitiesA strong strategic and business mindsetStrong leadership skills. Able to motive and inspire the IT team and build a first-class IT and Change functionOutstanding communication and interpersonal abilitiesRegulatory
Requirements for this Role:Fitness
& Probity Please
note that this role is a Fitness and Probity Standards Impacted role and has
been classified as a PCF Pre Approved Controlled Function and Controlled
Function (CF) This has
been designated a PCF49 Role and is pre-approved by the Central Bank of
Ireland. This has
been designated a CF1 and CF2 Role as described below.CF1 Ability to exercise a significant influence on the conduct of the affairs of a regulated financial service providerCF2 Ensuring, controlling or monitoring compliance by a regulated financial service provider with its relevant obligationsPCF49 – Over all responsibility for managing the firm’s information and communications technology which the firm relies upon.You will
be required to agree to abide by the Fitness & Probity Standards and
complete all required due diligence checks.IAF: Conduct Standards Please
note the Common Conduct Standards apply to this role. They
impose a set of conduct obligations on individuals carrying out CFs within
Pepper. These standards are prescribed in the Individual Accountability
Framework and subject to regulatory reporting for non-compliance.The
standards are: Acting with honesty and integrity; Acting with due, skill, care and diligence; Cooperating in good faith and without delay with the Central Bank and other relevant regulatory authorities; Acting in the best interests of customers and treating them fairly and professionally; andOperating in compliance with standards of market conduct and trading venue rules. IAF: Additional
Conduct Standards Please
note as you hold a PCF role in addition to the Common Conduct Standards your
role is also subject to the Additional Common Conduct Standards. They impose an additional set of enhanced
obligations on individuals carrying out PCF roles within Pepper.These
standards are prescribed in the Individual Accountability Framework and
subject to regulatory reporting for non-compliance. The
additional expected standards are: that the business of the regulated financial service provider is controlled effectively.that the business of the regulated financial service provider is conducted in accordance with its obligations under financial services legislation.that any delegated tasks are assigned to an appropriate person with effective oversight.that any information of which the Bank would reasonably expect notice in respect of the business of the regulated financial service provider is disclosed promptly and appropriately to the BankPepper is an equal opportunity employer.Role Profiles are subject to change in line with business needs.For more information on this role please email recruitment@peppergroup.ie