UL

Director, IT Strategy & Transformation

UL • $171K — $228K *
Information Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 15+ years in senior technology roles, especially in large organizations
  • Bachelor's degree in a tech-related field; advanced degree preferred
  • Strong grasp of architecture frameworks and their application
  • Experience in leading digital and organizational transformation
  • Solid understanding of key business processes impacting performance
  • Deep knowledge of current and emerging technology trends
  • Demonstrated leadership, technical, and business acumen

Responsibilities

  • Define and lead a multi-year IT transformation roadmap
  • Transition IT toward product/service/platform-based models and agile workflows
  • Drive organizational change and foster a transformative culture
  • Establish clear links between strategy, execution, and value realization
  • Define and enforce enterprise technology standards and security protocols
  • Identify and scale emerging technologies like AI and automation
  • Partner with architecture teams to govern solution design and platform strategies

Benefits

  • Health benefits including medical, dental, and vision
  • Wellness benefits for mental and financial health
  • Retirement savings plans (401K)
  • Paid time off including 20 vacation days, holidays, and sick leave
  • Annual bonus compensation and RSU grants
  • Flexibility through remote work options
Full Job Description
Job Description

The IT Director, IT Strategy & Transformation drives the definition and execution of enterprise technology strategy, with a strong focus on transforming the IT organization into a modern, business-aligned, product- and platform-driven function. This role ensures technology investments, standards, and architectures enable scalability, resilience, and measurable business value.

The Director partners with business and IT leadership to shape long-term strategy, establish enterprise technology standards, and advance capabilities across AI, data, cloud, and digital platforms-while embedding business architecture principles to tightly align technology with business outcomes.

Requires a deep understanding of both technology and business strategy, exceptional leadership skills and the ability to partner and foster a collaborative environment. This role, reporting to the CIO, will lead through influence.

Responsibilities

  • Define and lead a multi-year IT transformation roadmap to modernize capabilities, operating model, and delivery approach
  • Transition IT toward product/service/platform-based delivery models and agile ways of working
  • Drive organizational change, including roles, skills, governance, and culture
  • Establish a clear linkage between strategy, execution, and value realization
  • Define and enforce enterprise technology standards across platforms, tools, integrations, and security
  • Partner with architecture teams to govern solution design and ensure alignment with target-state architecture
  • Lead or influence adoption of industry frameworks such as TOGAF, TBM and domain-driven design principles
  • Rationalize applications and technologies to reduce complexity and technical debt
  • Identify, evaluate, and scale emerging technologies (e.g., AI, automation, advanced analytics)
  • Establish innovation pipelines, pilots, and partnerships
  • Balance experimentation with enterprise scalability and risk management
  • Develop and execute strategies, such as cloud (public, private, hybrid), including migration, optimization, and cost governance
  • Partner across IT to define platform strategies (e.g., data platforms, integration platforms, developer platforms) to enable reuse and speed
  • Partner with engineering teams to embed DevSecOps and automation practices
  • Integrate business architecture practices to map capabilities, value streams, and customer journeys
  • Align technology investments to business capabilities and strategic priorities
  • Facilitate capability-based planning and prioritization
  • Ensure traceability from business strategy to technology execution and outcomes
  • Design and evolve the IT operating model, including governance, funding, and service delivery structures
  • Define KPIs, OKRs, and maturity models to measure transformation progress
  • Partner to drive strategic portfolio management, including prioritization, sequencing, and funding of initiatives
  • Establish governance forums to ensure alignment, transparency, and accountability
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders on technology strategy and transformation
  • Translate complex technology concepts into clear business outcomes
  • Build alignment across business and IT leadership


Qualifications

  • Proven experience in a senior technology role, ideally with a large and complex organization. 15+ years of progressively responsible IT experience and leadership roles, including IT strategy, integration management and application development.
  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, engineering or a related field; an MS, MBA or related advanced degree is a plus.
  • Strong understanding of architecture frameworks and their application in business strategy
  • Experience successfully leading digital and/or organizational transformation initiatives that meet the objectives of excellence in a diverse global business environment.
  • Strong business awareness, a sound understanding of key business processes (e.g., order to cash, purchase to pay) and the way they impact business performance.
  • Deep knowledge of current and emerging technology trends.
  • Must have demonstrated leadership ability, technical and business acumen, and industry knowledge.
  • Strategic leader and builder of vision and bridges can energize the appropriate teams in the organization.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, interpersonal and collaborative skills, with the ability to engage and influence senior executives.
  • The ability to communicate technology solutions including the technology policy, plans and roadmaps to nontechnical audiences at various hierarchical levels, ranging from board members to technical specialists.
  • Ability to lead, mentor and develop the architecture team to achieve tactical and strategic goals.
  • Excellent analytical skills, evaluative and problem-solving abilities
  • A strategic thinker focused on continuous improvement.
  • Financial/budget management, resource management
  • Ability to work within a complex and often ambiguous environment.
  • Ability to provide recommendations on complex issues and navigate conflict.


Total Rewards:
We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. The estimated salary range for this position is $171,500- $228,600 and is based on multiple factors, including job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, as well as other factors. This position is eligible for annual bonus compensation with a target payout of 30% of the base salary and a 30% RSU grant. This position also provides health benefits such as medical, dental and vision; wellness benefits such as mental and financial health; and retirement savings (401K) commensurate with the standard rewards offered in each individual location or country. We also provide full-time employees with paid time off including vacation (20 days), holidays including 3 floating holidays (12 days) and sick time off (72 hours).

About UL

UL is a global safety certification company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. It was founded in 1894 and has been providing safety testing, inspection, and certification services for over 125 years. UL operates in over 100 countries and has more than 14,000 employees worldwide. The company's mission is to promote safe living and working environments by advancing safety science. UL's services cover a wide range of industries, including consumer products, industrial equipment, building materials, and more.
Learn more about UL
Size
14,700 employees
Industry
Founded
1900

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