Senior Director, IT Operations

Role Summary

The Sr. Director, IT Operations provides enterprise leadership for end-to-end IT Operations, spanning applications, cloud/infrastructure, data & analytics, AI/ML enablement, and end-user experience. They orchestrate IT governance, portfolio and financial management, vendor performance, ITIL-based service management, and executive communications; ensure secure, compliant (SOX/GxP), and scalable services for R&D, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Legal; establish the rhythm of business with transparent metrics and brief the ELT/Board on performance, risk, and investment trade-offs; and build cross-functional partnerships to deliver measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Own and run the IT operating cadence (LT meetings, quarterly business reviews, portfolio reviews, decision and action logs), ensuring crisp follow-through and accountability.
• Lead IT service management (incident, problem, change, request, knowledge) and continuous improvement, serving as process owner and champion for ITIL practices.
• Oversee the IT project/portfolio pipeline in partnership with PMs and functional leads; ensure intake, prioritization, resource/capacity planning, and benefits realization are transparent and data-driven.
• Drive IT financial management in partnership with Finance: annual planning, forecast accuracy, OpEx/CapEx tracking, vendor/SOW oversight, and TCO optimization.
• Coordinate enterprise compliance activities impacting IT (e.g., SOX ITGCs, GxP/CSV controls, data integrity, privacy), partnering with Quality, Internal Audit, and Security.
• Monitor service reliability and risk (SLAs/OLAs, availability, DR/BCP readiness); lead post-incident reviews and drive corrective/preventive actions.
• Establish and publish IT KPIs/OKRs and executive dashboards; translate technical performance into business outcomes for the ELT and key stakeholders.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives; prepare briefs, board/ELT materials, and communications that enable timely decisions.
• Manage vendor ecosystem (MSPs, SaaS/IaaS providers, professional services): performance reviews, renewals, RFPs, and commercial negotiations in partnership with Procurement/Legal.
• Lead or supervise a small team (e.g., IT operations managers/analysts and/or PMs) and provide dotted-line leadership to managed service partners.
• Champion change management and adoption for new services and standards; ensure clear stakeholder engagement across R&D, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Legal.
• Identify and standardize critical IT processes; simplify and document procedures to support scalability and audit readiness.
• Advance a culture of safety, security, compliance, and customer service within IT; model inclusive leadership and coach team members.

Specialized Knowledge & Skills

• Deep knowledge of IT operations and service management frameworks (ITIL v4); experience with ITSM platforms (e.g., ServiceNow) and automation.
• Strong portfolio/PMO, governance, and financial acumen (budgeting, forecasting, TCO, business cases).
• Familiarity with life-sciences regulatory context: GxP/CSV (e.g., 21 CFR Part 11, Annex 11, GAMP 5), SOX ITGCs, data integrity, and audit readiness.
• Excellent executive communication, storytelling, and slide writing; able to distill complexity into clear options and recommendations.
• Influences without authority; drives alignment among executives and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Analytical problem-solver with command of metrics, dashboards, and root-cause analysis; comfortable with ambiguity and rapid context-switching.
• Vendor and contract management, SOW development, and performance governance.
• Change leadership and organizational effectiveness skills; builds team capability and fosters continuous improvement.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field.
• Advanced degree (MBA or related) preferred.
• Relevant certifications preferred: ITIL v4, PMP/PRINCE2; COBIT and/or SAFe a plus.

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive IT experience with significant time in IT operations/service management and/or IT PMO; 4+ years in a leadership role.
• Demonstrated success operating as a chief-of-staff or equivalent strategic operator for a technology executive.
• Experience in biotech/pharma or other regulated industries strongly preferred.
• Track record leading cross-functional portfolios, improving SLAs/OLAs, and maturing ITIL processes.
• Hands-on experience with IT financial management, vendor/SOW oversight, and contract negotiations.
• Proven ability to prepare executive materials and drive decisions with data and clear tradeoffs.