Atlassian Technical Strategy Director

We are seeking an experienced, strategic thinker and technically proficient Director of Atlassian Products to lead the setup, management, and optimization of our Atlassian suite. This role will ensure that our Atlassian tools, including Jira, Confluence, Jira Service Management, and others, are implemented correctly from the start and continuously improved to meet the evolving needs of our entire organization. Currently, at Ford, one of key business area is leveraging Atlassian products extensively and we are looking to extend that usage across the company (IT as well as Non-IT). Additionally, this role will be responsible for setting up a 24x7 global support organization, establishing a 'Hub and Spoke' model, and leading Hub activities.

Strategic Planning:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy for the deployment and management of Atlassian products across all business units.
• Align Atlassian product strategy with the company’s overall business goals and digital transformation initiatives.
• Advocate for the adoption of Atlassian tools as a central part of the organization’s collaboration and productivity strategy.
• Champion and make ‘System of work’ vision reality across Ford Motor Company – IT as well as various non-IT Ford employees (e.g. Manufacturing, product development engineers, Marketing/Sales, finance/credit/purchasing/HR staff)

Setup and Implementation:

• Lead the initial setup, configuration, and customization of Atlassian tools, ensuring best practices and security standards are followed.
• Design and implement complex workflows, custom fields, dashboards, and automation rules tailored to the needs of various departments, including EVDD (Electric Vehicles/software), FordPro (Commerial vehicles/services), HR, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Purchasing, Credit, FordDirect, IT Operations etc
• Oversee Cloud migration for Confluence (Ford is already using SaaS for rest of Atlassian products) and ensure seamless transition to Atlassian products with minimal disruption.

Technical Management and Optimization:

• Lead the team who will continuously monitor and optimize the performance, scalability, and reliability of Atlassian tools.
• Manage Atlassian product instances, including upgrades, patches, and maintenance tasks.
• Implement and enforce governance policies, standards, and procedures for the use of Atlassian products, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Develop and maintain integrations between Atlassian products and other enterprise systems such as CRM, ERP, and communication tools.
• Utilize scripting languages (e.g., Groovy, Python, JavaScript) and Atlassian APIs to automate tasks and enhance tool functionality.
• Configure and manage Atlassian plugins and marketplace add-ons to extend product capabilities.
• Perform regular audits of Atlassian environments to ensure data integrity, security, and compliance.
• Utilize Atlassian Access and other security tools to manage user access, and compliance.

Collaboration and Communication:

• Work closely with cross-functional teams, including IT, product development, project management, HR, Marketing, Sales, and Operations, to understand their requirements and provide tailored solutions.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all Atlassian-related inquiries and issues, providing expert guidance and support.
• Facilitate workshops, training sessions, and user group meetings to promote best practices and drive tool adoption.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement:

• Connect with other Fortune 500 companies and learn from their best practices and practical implementations
• Stay updated on the latest Atlassian product updates, features, plugins, and best practices.
• Propose and implement continuous improvements to existing workflows, processes, and tool configurations.
• Lead efforts in automating repetitive tasks and improving efficiency using Atlassian tools and third-party plugins.

Global Support Organization:

• Set up and manage a 24x7 global support organization to ensure round-the-clock availability and support for Atlassian products.
• Establish and maintain a 'Hub and Spoke' support model, with the Hub serving as the central point of expertise and coordination.
• Lead Hub activities, including incident management, problem resolution, and escalation processes.
• Coordinate with regional Spoke teams to ensure consistent support quality and knowledge sharing.

Team Leadership:

• Build and manage a team of Atlassian administrators, developers, support specialists, and collaborate with various Ford Spoke