Senior Manager, CIO Process Excellence

Job Description

What you'll be doing

• Manage a team of IT professionals including agile practitioners, fostering an environment of continuous improvement and collaboration.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive process documentation for all stages of the development lifecycle, ensuring alignment with business objectives.

• Own the development and maturation of CIO org operating model including working with delivery teams to ensure viability and scale.

• Drive the adoption and maturity of agile/scrum processes across development teams, promoting agility and rapid delivery of high-quality software products.

• Oversee the selection, implementation, and management of Strategy, Portfolio, and Operational tools, ensuring they meet the needs of the organization while optimizing productivity and efficiency.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand workflow challenges and identify process improvements that can enhance throughput and reduce time-to-market for various initiatives.

• Lead regular process reviews and facilitate retrospectives to gather feedback from stakeholders, and use this data to refine and optimize solution delivery and management processes.

• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track process health, team performance, and the overall success of development initiatives.

• Serve as an escalation point for process and tooling issues, actively troubleshoot problems and facilitate resolution.

• Stay informed of emerging technologies and process methodologies, and evaluate their potential benefits for adoption within the Zendesk ecosystem.

• Mentor and develop staff through formal and informal channels, providing guidance on career growth and professional development.

What you bring to the role

Zendesk is seeking an experienced leader to play a key role within our CIO department. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in process design, implementation, and measurement, along with a deep understanding of the development life cycles including agile/scrum processes. They will be responsible for overseeing the selection and implementation of tools that support our IT operations and development practices. This role demands strategic oversight, technical expertise, and excellent leadership skills to drive improvements and deliver high-quality technology solutions that align with Zendesk’s mission of improving customer engagement and fostering better customer relationships.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. 

• 10+ years of experience in technology solution development and implementation, with at least 3 years in a management role managing complex software development projects.

• Experience in product management operating models, roles & responsibilities, and agile transformation

• Experience working in Product-driven environments

• Extensive knowledge of software development processes, including agile/scrum, with a proven track record of implementing process improvements.

• Experience with tool selection and implementation, and an understanding of how tools can drive efficiency in a technical landscape.

• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to motivate, influence, and drive excellence within high-performing teams.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of working with executives, technical staff, and external partners.

• Analytical mindset with a problem-solving orientation and ability to make data-driven decisions.

• Ability to travel 10% of the time

Preferred Qualifications:

• A master’s degree is preferred.

• Certification in Project Management (PMP), Scrum (CSM), or similar credentials is a plus.

Where We Work:

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving o