Senior Director of Strategic Relations at Hayward in Berkeley Heights, NJ

Position Overview

The role of Strategic Relations is responsible for globalizing the company’s information by driving standard processes, frameworks and platforms that enable the company to deliver on digital growth initiatives. It is a senior-level, strategic business partner who shares ownership for both business strategy and business value results.

The role owns executive-level relationships and serves as a single point of focus, working to converge functions such as IT, HR, finance, etc. and create global standards and efficiencies. It oversees the PMO and the intake and flow of work through the IT function, as well as teams of Strategic, Regional and Practical partners who collaborate to drive business value and create an efficient supply chain.

It oversees the capture and creation of best practices across the business and implements them globally, ensuring all deployed digital strategies create real business value through the alignment of technology and business interests and post-implementation assessments.

The role actively partners with business peers to determine strategic direction, then works to identify ways in which IT can support and advance business objectives. By partnering with strategic business functions it drives ownership and accountability for business strategy into IT, and empowers the functions with dedicated IT resources.

Additionally, the role shapes business demand into supply by 1) partnering with appropriate resources to facilitate the creation of idea documents, business cases, and value plans; 2) ensuring value optimization and communication; and 3) enabling continuous improvement in all areas and people around them.

Responsibilities

Major Tasks and Responsibilities

• Coach business leaders and enable them to articulate their function’s (i.e. technology, people, etc.) needs and requirements to their respective partner to advance business performance.
• Partner with enterprise architecture to develop and maintain multi-year business capability roadmaps.
• Partner with business transformation teams (change management) to ensure effective business transformation for all initiatives.
• Oversee the intake process (flow of work into the IT function) and project/program/portfolio management organization (PMO) to ensure a healthy and well-managed initiative portfolio.
• Partner with senior leadership to plan new joint initiatives, evaluate proposals, and determine how they fit into business capability roadmaps and priorities.
• Think strategically by identifying business function opportunities and building a partnering organization to build and leverage them. Implement metrics to measure adoption and work with senior leadership to develop future roadmap and opportunities.
• Identify and integrate business partners’ long-range plans into business capability roadmaps and priorities, as appropriate. Brief stakeholders on business partner plans.
• Focus on business value rather than solutions to develop ideas, including digital awareness, risk assessments, business continuity, and business capability requirements.
• Build and manage the relationship team to ensure convergence and strategic partnering with the business partner team, including working closely with senior leadership as executive sponsors for each business partner.
• Advocate for an awareness and focus on business partner strategic plans.
• Correlate business value and priorities to planning activities and goal-setting.
• Ensure that project/program managers of business partner projects are knowledgeable about the business partner and their objectives; engage as a project/program stakeholder, including evaluating project efforts and progress against joint strategic plans and objectives.
• Be creative and innovative with regards to your knowledge and awareness of industry trends and digital advances as they relate to new opportunities and business needs.
• Evaluate joint initiatives as they relate to corporate strategy to ensure convergence and opportunities for measurable success.
• At a business unit level, own the functional operating and project/program budget, and perform accurate budgeting and forecasting across operations and projects or programs.
• Common Responsibilities
• - Develop and manage to capital and expense budgets.
• - Negotiate and administer service agreements and contracts with vendors.
• - Stay abreast of trends and regulations to ensure effectiveness and compliance.
• - Stay updated on new business developments and technology changes.
• - Identify and recommend system and process enhancements to improve the business.

Qualifications

Requirements / Qualifications

• A demonstrated ability to lead people and get results through others.
• An ability to think ahead and plan over a 12-24 month time span.
• The ability to organize and manage multiple priorities.
• Problem analysis and resolution at both a strategic and functional level.
• A strong commitment to employee training and development.
• Demonstrated and broad customer orientation.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Experience building high performing teams and acting as a strong team player.

Experience / Training / Education

A Bachelor’s degree or higher from a four-year college or university in computer science, information technology or related field and 12+ years of experience in complex project management and/or business process management, and 10+ years as a people manager is required to successfully perform this job; or equivalent combination of education and