We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Director of Application Support to oversee the support operations for our critical business applications. This role is crucial in ensuring the seamless functionality of our vendor-provided portfolio management, trading, risk management, ERP, market data, investment accounting, and back-office platforms. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in financial services, exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to manage a 24x6 support team effectively.
The primary responsibilities of the Director are to oversee the internal technology Application Support team. You will lead IT Business Systems Analyst teams, provide world class IT support for our third-party platforms, design and implement scalable and efficient IT support processes, and identify and eliminate security and business continuity risks.
Essential activities:
Lead and manage a team of application support professionals providing 24x6 support for third-party portfolio management, trading, risk management, ERP, market data, investment accounting, and back-office platforms.
Develop and implement support strategies, processes, and best practices to ensure high availability and performance of all supported applications.
Set strategy and direction for IT support services to include best practices for service teams and to improve processes for automation and efficiency.
Act as the subject matter expert for developing service processes and strategies; build and support business cases for expansion of Jira Service Desk use or new functionality.
Manage vendor relationships and ensure third-party support services align with organizational needs and standards and monitor that vendor SLAs are being met.
Oversee incident management and problem resolution with respect to all our third-party platforms, ensuring timely and effective responses to application issues and minimizing downtime.
Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including portfolio managers, traders, risk analysts, and back-office personnel, to understand their needs and ensure applications continuously meet their requirements.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure the support team meets or exceeds performance expectations and report on internal SLAs on a team by team and platform by platform basis.
Conduct regular performance reviews and provide ongoing training and development opportunities for the support team.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance support processes, reduce incidents, and improve overall application reliability and user satisfaction.
Maintain comprehensive documentation of support processes, incidents, and resolutions.
Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies to ensure the application support function remains cutting-edge and effective.
The ideal candidate:
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Finance, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
Minimum of 15 years of experience in application support within the financial services industry, with at least 10 years in a leadership role.
In-depth knowledge of portfolio management, trading, risk management, ERP, market data, investment accounting, and back-office systems. Specifically deep knowledge of SimCorp, Charles River, Bloomberg, Rimes, MarkitEDM, Factset, AWS, Azure, VMWare, Investment Accounting Platforms, Jira Service Desk, Workday,and Blackrock toolsets are preferred.
Strong understanding of ITIL frameworks and best practices.
Strong understanding of DevOps and Agile practices.
Experience supporting platforms running both on-prem and in the cloud.
Proven track record of managing and leading high-performing support teams in a 24x6 environment.
Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think strategically and analytically.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
Experience with vendor management and contract negotiations.
Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.