Senior Director, IT Strategic Relationships

Summary

In this newly created position, the Senior Director, IT Strategic Relationships will set the direction for the IT Business Relationship Management team and establish an IT Strategic Supplier Management program. Key responsibilities include building and maintaining relationships with internal business partners and IT strategic suppliers, ensuring business solutions align with NYPA's VISION2030 and IT strategies, and creating efficient processes for monitoring and reporting on IT suppliers' performance, including financial insights and cost optimization opportunities. This senior leadership role reports directly to the VP, Technology Business Management Office and will be a member of the IT senior leadership team.

This position will build a strong team to influence and maintain internal relationships from executive level through to day-to-day operational functions. This role will establish deeper partnerships with IT strategic suppliers, develop executive level relationships, review performance to identify potentially problematic trends, and align suppliers to NYPA’s VISION2030 and IT strategies. Additionally, this role will present IT strategic supplier value performance, strategic initiatives and project statuses to Senior Leadership, Executive Committee (EMC), and Board of Trustees and forecast future needs, consequences and trends using facts and data.

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Responsibilities

• Serve as the leadership-level point of contact between IT strategic suppliers and internal partners including all IT functions that utilize IT supplier services and solutions.
• Develop, deepen, and maintain trusted and collaborative relationships with business partners to ensure IT is seen as a valued partner and appropriately involved in technology related business decisions and investment prioritization.
• Oversee and report on the IT project portfolios of NYPA business units and act as an escalation point and advocate for business customers. 
• Partner with Strategic Supplier Management (SSM) to establish, implement and oversee an IT strategic supplier performance program that motivates suppliers and is focused on achieving organizational objectives through formal Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs). Assess and mitigate financial, operational and compliance risks 
• Establish and maintain QBR schedule and standing agendas, including performance evaluation, strategic alignment, future planning and risk management, and continuous improvement and feedback,  
• Manage employees including performance management, salary administration, succession planning and workload balancing. Identify and recommend solutions to develop staff and build team to meet NYPA needs.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong hands-on leadership skills and the ability to work with all levels within the organization including executive management
• Broad knowledge of the IT industry; products and services provided by technology vendors
• Familiarity with relevant regulatory and industry requirements, working knowledge of contract management and negotiation
• Understanding of the entire vendor life cycle (sourcing, procurement, vendor management), and how internal roles interact and operate throughout the duration of vendor engagements
• Solid grasp of financial concepts, such as depreciation schedules, total cost of ownership
• Ability to influence without authority and collaborate with internal clients and stakeholders
• Strong presentation skills with deep business and financial acumen 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with senior level executives, strong interpersonal and program management skills 
• Highly analytical with strong problem-solving skills, ability to quickly build strong cross-functional relationships to align on actions and resourcing 
• Ability to adapt and navigate the organization through complex and diverse situations; comfortable with ambiguity
   

Education, Experience and Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; preferably in technology, business, finance, strategy execution or another relevant field
• A Master of Business Administration (MBA) or other advanced degree preferred 
• Minimum 10 years of experience in customer/strategic management or related field
• Minimum of 3 years of experience managing employees/leading a team 
• Prior experience managing business relationships and handling portfolio prioritization  
• Proven experience in successful management of vendors/third parties, including, but not limited to, strategy, policies, performance, vendor risk, relationships, contracts, and issue/ dispute resolution. 
• Proven experience in educating Executive Office, C-Suite, and Board on translating partner engagement and value realization with alignme