Deputy CTO

Global University Systems (GUS) is focused on becoming one of the world’s most dynamic, inclusive, and diverse education organisations. GUS is an international network of higher education institutions, brought together by a shared passion for accessible, industry-relevant qualifications. This includes a portfolio of 30+ institutions around the world including universities in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and India.  

In order to achieve our goals for 2021 and beyond, GUS is looking to appoint a Deputy CTO to manage and develop the technology ecosystem for our centralised international business development office (IBD). Internationalisation is a key component of GUS’ growth plans and the IBD department plays a crucial role in the development of this strategy. This new role will work in close collaboration with the Group CTO and will be accountable to the Group VP, International.

The successful candidate will have strong leadership and stakeholder management experience combined with hands-on development and project management expertise within a technological and entrepreneurial environment. The ability to design, implement and deliver complex global technological projects is highly desirable.

Responsibilities:

• Follows the architecture, guidelines and policies dictated by the Global Technology department.
• Articulates IT’s business value by defining how IT will contribute to business goals, ensuring IT plans and operating models are integrated with the business planning process.
• Collaborates with enterprise architecture, information security and applications and infrastructure teams to produce optimal designs
• Oversees the development of appropriate governance frameworks, metrics and reporting mechanisms for IT systems to create value and manage risk
• Consults with internal business units or line-of-business leaders to assess and anticipate current and future information and technology requirements.
• Provides oversight and administrative direction in project management activities such as planning, management, reporting and risk identification for technology projects.
• Provides technical expertise in planning, execution, and leadership of program, projects, and initiatives.
• Leads the implementation of industry standards and development methodologies, including Agile and DevOps, to increase responsiveness and growth.
• Works with multiple stakeholders to assess the impact of proposed solutions, facilitate deployments and minimize disruption to services.
• Provides consultative support on business-led technology initiatives
• Provides program reporting and status to senior management
• Directs and oversees the management of the International Department IT budget process, costs, and resources for the IT organization.
• Oversees a strategic workforce plan’s development and implementation to maximize the current and future workforce’s effectiveness in light of strategic business priorities.

Person Specification:

Education Minimum Requirement

• Master’s degree in computer science/business informatics, or related field.

Required Skills

• Ability to develop technology strategic initiatives and oversee the development of long-term plans and proposals to support business objectives
• Ability to challenge, convince and manage multiple stakeholders
• Ability to effectively drive business, culture, and technology change in a dynamic and complex operating environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Full knowledge of project, risk and operations management
• Ability to formulate and allocate budgets
• Effective negotiation and vendor management skills
• Excellent facilitation, collaboration, negotiation, and presentation skills
• Ability to anticipate risks and devise solutions in the moment
• Strong knowledge of business objectives
• Excellent program/project management and team leadership skills.
• Proactive problem solver
• Focused and versatile team player who is comfortable under pressure, ambiguity, frequent change, or unpredictability

Experience

• Experience leading a technology organization with strong focus on development.
• Proven ability leveraging analytical and problem-solving skills in a fast-paced environment
• Experience developing architecture blueprints, strategies and roadmaps
• Experience in application and solution development
• Strong presentation, communication (written and verbal) skills, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to juggle and prioritize multiple tasks within a collaborative team environment