Senior Director, IT Production Support

Job Description Summary

As the Senior Director, IT-Production Support, you’ll define and execute the strategic vision for Level 2 application and operational support, ensuring our systems are reliable, efficient, and aligned with business goals. You’ll drive operational excellence through robust KPIs and SLAs, and champion continuous improvement across teams and processes.

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the long-term vision for Level 2 application and operational support, ensuring alignment with overall company strategy and business goals.
• Establish and communicate strategic and operational initiatives that support divisional objectives.

Operational Excellence

• Provide strategic oversight for all L2 application and operational support activities, driving reliability, accuracy, and efficiency across business systems and applications.
• Develop and enforce critical KPIs, service level agreements (SLAs), and performance standards for the L1/L2 operational support organization.
• Own release, deployment, incident, problem, and change management for all business applications, ensuring seamless execution and minimal disruption.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with infrastructure, database, and monitoring teams to ensure end-to-end application stability
• Serve as the escalation point for L2 and L3 application issues, aligning infrastructure and application teams during outages for rapid resolution.
• Manage strategic relationships with third-party vendors and service providers to optimize support operations.
• Balance and prioritize competing system demands by collaborating with multiple departments, ensuring business needs are met efficiently and effectively.

Continuous Improvement

• Champion best practices and process improvements, leveraging frameworks such as ITIL and SDLC, and applying cost-benefit analyses to all initiatives.
• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) and ensure permanent solutions are implemented to minimize downtime and enhance system stability.
• Own and maintain application support runbooks, knowledge base, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Resource & Team Development

• Plan and manage budgets, resource allocation, and cost-control measures to maximize efficiency and address current and future needs.
• Lead staffing, development, performance evaluations, and career planning for the department, fostering a culture of innovation, growth, and accountability.
• Create and implement staff training plans and career pathways to build a high-performing support organization.

Performance Monitoring

• Monitor and report on application performance, KPIs, and SLA adherence, ensuring transparency and accountability in support operations.
• Proactively expand knowledge and seek best practices in the area of responsibility to maintain a competitive edge.

• Education:
  
  Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. A Master’s degree is highly preferred.
• Experience:
  
  A minimum of 10–15 years of progressive experience in application support, with at least 8 years in a senior leadership role overseeing a large-scale or global team.
• Leadership skills:
  Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with a proven ability to lead multi-level, multi-faceted teams and influence across organizational boundaries.
• Communication
  
  Skills:
  
  Exceptional communicator with advanced verbal, written, and presentation skills; able to translate complex technical information for diverse audiences, including executives and business partners.
• Technical expertise:
  Deep understanding of IT service management (ITSM) and project management frameworks like ITIL, as well as modern software development lifecycle (SDLC) methodologies.
• Business acumen:
  Strong strategic planning, financial management, and analytical skills, with the ability to connect support operations to overall business outcomes.

• MBA preferred.
• Comfortable with ambiguity, takes initiative, and is driven to succeed.
• Exceptional communicator - including verbal, written, and presentation skills.
• Strong negotiation skills in working with external entities.
• Networks throughout AEGON to develop relationships, share…