February 16, 2023

IT- Head of Infrastructure & Operations

Locations: Baton Rouge, LA; Cedar Rapids, IA; Rosemont/Chicago, IL; Remote/WFH

Kuvare Corporate Management is searching for a Head of Infrastructure and Operations to help lead the IT team.  The Head of Infrastructure and Operations role has oversight over both the strategy and daily operation of the Kuvare platforms & systems and is accountable to ensure that a diverse enterprise technology infrastructure is stable, secure, and optimized in terms of agility and cost. In addition, the role will have oversight over the Service Desk function that supports the on-boarding, off-boarding, and daily support for 350+ employees (and growing). This role will collaborate closely with key business & technology leaders and stakeholders to ensure the Infrastructure and Operations strategy aligns to the business requirements.

We require the person filling the role to

  • Have a strong, charismatic presence, and they should be comfortable engaging and communicating at any level across the organization (from the front-line to senior leadership).
  • Have previous leadership experience (direct and/or matrix) in a similar role in a similarly complex environment.
  • Have previous experience with Cloud-Based Infrastructure (preferably Azure), Business Continuity Planning & Disaster Recovery, Change Management, and IT Governance Frameworks (ITIL, COBIT, etc.).
  • Have previous experience implementing and leading a DevOps practice serving application and infrastructure teams, preferably with Azure DevOps.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategy & Planning

  • Develop and maintain an instrumentation strategy.
  • Develop and maintain Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) strategy.
  • Collaborate and maintain a security and compliance plan.
  • Build and manage a source control framework.
  • Facilitate communication and collaboration between product teams.
  • Define and implement continuous integration.
  • Define and implement a continuous delivery and release management strategy.
  • Design and implement short- and long-term strategic plans to ensure Infrastructure, DevOps, and Service Desk capacity meets existing and future requirements.
  • Drive the development, implementation, and maintenance of policies, procedures, and associated training plans for Infrastructure, DevOps, and Service Desk Capabilities.
  • Participate in the development of technology strategies in collaboration with the business & technology leadership teams.
  • Conduct research and make recommendations on products, services, protocols, and standards in support of all Infrastructure, DevOps, and Service Desk future state capabilities.
  • Periodically review and reset service level agreements with business & technology partners for Infrastructure, DevOps, and Delivery and Service Desk Capabilities.

Acquisition & Deployment

  • Collaborate with the Vendor Management Office to prepare RFPs, bid proposals, contracts, scope of work requirements, and other documentation for Infrastructure and Service Desk initiatives.
  • Collaborate with the Vendor Management Office to negotiate with solution providers and contractors to secure Infrastructure-specific products and services.
  • Support the planning and deployment of Infrastructure platforms and systems.

Operational Management

  • Manage and set priorities for the design, maintenance, development, and evaluation of all infrastructure systems, including LANs, WANs, Internet, intranet, security, wireless implementations, telephony, etc.
  • Drive feasibility studies for upgrade projects, improvements, and conversions.
  • Drive the philosophy of hardware and software standards in conjunction with technology owners and stakeholders.
  • Drive testing network performance and provide network performance statistics and reports.
  • Manage operational costs including conducting near- and long-term financial forecasts for expanded functionality/user base.
  • Establish and maintain regular written and in-person communications with the organization’s executives, decision-makers, stakeholders, department heads, and end users regarding pertinent infrastructure activities.
  • Drive practice of technology asset management, including maintenance of component inventory and related documentation.
  • Direct and administrate a contingent of technology team members including hiring, evaluating performance, terminating for lack of performance, etc.

Upon request, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Requirements

Knowledge and Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, computer engineering, system analysis, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
  • 10 or more years of IT and business/industry work experience including systems lifecycle management, infrastructure planning, service desk management, and operations.
  • Leadership experience in managing cross-functional teams and projects and influencing senior business & technology leaders.
  • Leadership experience in managing a Service Desk environment, including the on-boarding, off-boarding, and on-going support of a diverse business operating model that spans multiple locations.
  • Previous exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environments.
  • Strong technical knowledge of network and PC operating systems.
  • Strong technical knowledge of network hardware, protocols, and standards.
  • Strong technical knowledge of communication and telephony platforms.
  • Proven experience in IT infrastructure planning and development.
  • Strong understanding of human resource management principles, practices, and procedures.
  • Strong understanding of project management principles.

Skills/Competencies

  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Excellent presentation and interpersonal skills.
  • Exceptional customer service orientation, and the ability to present ideas in business-friendly and user-friendly language.
  • Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment - maintain professionalism under pressure.
  • People in this role must be extremely good problem solvers and have strong technical ability and communication skills. They must be able to deal with ambiguity and be able to understand and provide solutions to complex problems.
  • Strong leadership skills.
  • Ability to conduct and direct research into IT issues and products as required.
  • Ability to perform general mathematical calculations for the purpose of creating business cases, budgets, and so on.
  • Highly self-motivated and directed.
  • Keen attention to detail.
  • Extensive experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

Work Conditions

  • Normal office working environment, with flexibility to work remotely
  • Occasional evening and weekend hours to meet deadlines
  • Travel is required
  • Ability to sit and read from a computer screen for extended periods of time
  • Ability to type, document, or draw on a whiteboard while simultaneously leading meetings
  • Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, power tools, and to handle other computer components.
  • Occasional inspection of cables in floors and ceilings.
  • Lifting and transporting of moderately heavy objects, such as computers and peripherals.

Kuvare company is an equal opportunity employer that makes hiring decisions based on merit, qualifications, and the business need. We are dedicated to a policy of nondiscrimination in employment on any basis including age, sex, color, race, creed, national origin, religious persuasion, marital status, political belief, or disability that does not prohibit performance of essential job functions. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply.

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