Apps Service Delivery Director - Operations Director in New York, NY

Position Overview
The Regional Operations Director - is responsible for the design, implementation, configuration, management, and support for a Global Media Firm's global applications platforms in the Americas region. These platforms currently include Collaboration (SharePoint 2007/2010), Business Intelligence (MicroStrategy, SSRS), Web/Applications hosting (IIS, .NET), Integration (BizTalk, TFS), and Data Services (MS SQL Server, SSIS, SSAS). The incumbent will manage a regional team of specialists on each platform. This role is focused on application service delivery, not NOC/datacenter operations.
The Regional Operations Director will be the primary interface between the regional applications teams and the regional infrastructure teams. The ideal candidate will have a combination of hands-on technology leadership, service delivery, and application support experience. He/she will possess both a broad skillset of technical knowledge within the supported platforms, and the interpersonal and communications skills necessary to establish productive business relationships.
Responsibilities
Lead and supervise a regional team of specialists (both engineers and administrators) to design, implement, and support the organization’s enterprise systems and applications
Serve as the primary intermediary between the NTAM/LTAM regional applications teams and the regional infrastructure team
Interface directly with senior technology executives, application owners, program managers, infrastructure directors, and solution architects
Serve as a member of the regional Project Review Board, which oversees approved projects and ensures that best practices for design/implementation/support are being followed
Serve as the regional escalation point for high priority production issues and resolution efforts
Work closely with the Global Operations Director and Regional Operations Directors in EMEA and APAC on setting and implementing the overall strategy for the global operations team
Lead process improvement efforts with regard to release management, project planning, monitoring, and support
Manage budget and staffing needs for key projects
Interface directly with vendors and suppliers, both on and off-shore
Evaluate emerging products, technologies and services
Skills and Experience
Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10 years of experience in systems administration/engineering/architecture is required. Computer Science or similar degree level qualification is a plus
Strong leadership skills, supervisory experience and resource management skills are essential
Strong organizational, multi-tasking, and coordination skills are essential
Strong work ethic and passion for technology is essential
Strong interpersonal and presentation skills. The ability to create productive business relationships is essential
Demonstrated experience in the implementation of standardized processes such as ITIL, particularly in the areas of release management and application support is required
Ability to interact internally and externally with executive level management, requiring negotiation of potentially critical matters
7+ years of experience designing, implementing and supporting distributed applications in a complex global environment is essential
5+ years of hands-on experience with one or more of the supported global application platforms is required
Strong knowledge of directory services, including Active Directory and LDAP, and authentication protocols (Kerberos, NTLM, claims) is required
Strong understanding of IT infrastructure technologies (networking, messaging, storage, virtualization, server hardware) is required
Strong financial management skills in budgeting, forecasting, and cost control is preferred