IT Operations Manager

About this role

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery and continuous improvement of IT operations and support services across key systems within The Hartford International.
• Manage and prioritise the system enhancement pipeline in partnership with business stakeholders, balancing operational requirements with available resources.
• Provide subject matter expertise on core business systems, their functionality and the data held within them.
• Establish and monitor operational performance metrics, including service response times, system performance and user satisfaction, and recommend improvements where required.
• Take local ownership of infrastructure and desktop support services, working with Group IT and shared-services teams to maintain effective service delivery.
• Manage the IT operational budget and provide appropriate reporting and insight.
• Deliver BCP and DR services by working with colleagues across Group IT, Operations and Cyber teams Cyber.
• Oversee IT production deployments and ensure that appropriate release, testing and reconciliation processes are followed.
• Coordinate the delivery of IT security and training services in partnership with Group IT functions.
• Manage IT vendors, contracts and service performance to ensure the organisation receives value from its contractual arrangements.
• Coordinate and support IT risk, audit and other regulatory requirements, ensuring compliance with The Hartford’s policies, procedures and SOX controls.
• Coordinate local infrastructure projects within the Group Infrastructure function.
• Align service management processes and standards with the Group shared services teams.
• Implement and develop effective software development, application support and operational support frameworks.
• Maintain responsibility for producing high-quality and accurate solutions by implementing robust testing and reconciliation processes.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation covering application environments, dataflows, support processes, roles and responsibilities.
• Act as a senior escalation point for business-critical production incidents and ensure issues are managed through to resolution.
• Lead and develop IT teams, including recruitment, objective setting, coaching, training, performance management and workload prioritisation.
• Ensure applications are transitioned effectively into the production environment, with clear maintenance and support arrangements, escalation processes and vendor accountability.
• Develop and maintain a subject matter expert across internal systems, third party systems and relevant market platforms.
• Build effective relationships with business stakeholders, Group technology teams, software vendors and external service providers.
• Remain informed about relevant technology, industry and regulatory developments, sharing and implementing appropriate ideas and best practice across the IT department.
• Technical Skills
• IT operations leadership and service delivery.
• Business systems support and enhancement delivery.
• Prioritisation and management of enhancement pipelines.
• Operational metrics, performance monitoring and continuous improvement.
• IT risk, audit, security and regulatory compliance.
• Vendor, contract and budget management.
• BCP, DR, cyber and production incident management.
• Software deployment, testing and production transition processes.
• Working knowledge of infrastructure and desktop support services.
• Behavioural Skills
• Strong people leadership, coaching and resource-management skills.
• Effective stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to prioritise competing operational and business requirements.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• Ability to remain calm and provide direction during business-critical incidents.
• Commercial awareness and effective vendor management.
• A proactive approach to continuous improvement and service quality.
• Experience & Qualifications
• Significant technology experience, preferably in the insurance industry.
• Substantial experience leading IT operations, application support or service-delivery teams.
• Demonstrable people-management experience, including objective setting, coaching and performance management.
• Experience managing IT vendors, contracts and operational budgets.
• Experience of IT risk, audit, security, regulatory and control environments.

About Hartford Financial

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