At
Safe-Guard Products International, we put our clients' and employees' needs first to support the company vision to provide products and solutions to the motor vehicle industry that protect consumers from the perils of ownership.
Our products complement manufacturers' warranties both during and after the factory warranty period.
Position Overview:
The
Chief Information Officer (CIO) serves as the senior-most technology executive for Safe-Guard with overall responsibility for leading the enterprise technology organization. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the CIO is responsible for the strategic direction and tactical delivery of all technology systems and solutions. They will regularly present to the Safe-Guards senior leadership team and board of directors. The CIO leads the continued shaping of an organization critical in delivering a best-in-class, business-enabling technology platform that effectively serves the various needs across Safe-Guard’s customer base and staff. They will lead the creation of an organization that combines both core and digital capabilities, ensuring alignment to the overall Safe-Guard business strategy and the delivery of a holistic experience across all platforms. On the front end, the CIO leads the development of new digital products and collaboration tools leveraging data and analytics techniques that will enable more efficient, seamless connections and interactions with customers and employees. The CIO creates the strategy and execution of holistic, easy-to-use tools, platforms, and other touchpoints, across all customer-facing platforms. On the efficiency front, the CIO will lead an overall evaluation of Safe-Guard’s current technology platform, creating a common set of processes and systems, and understanding which platforms and tools to maintain in-house and where to leverage outside resources. They will understand how to transition legacy systems and platforms and to evaluate build vs. buy trade-offs. These initiatives must be executed in a transparent manner where the CIO can offer solutions and clearly explain the costs and trade-offs to stakeholders.
Overall, they will balance the priorities of integrating and optimizing systems in a cost-sensitive manner, while focusing on unique and differentiated digital and technology innovations. In addition, a key aspect of this position will be the creation of a compelling work environment where staff can develop innovative, leading-edge technical skills, strong mentorship and advancement opportunities, and be actively rewarded and recognized for their innovations and achievements. The CIO will understand what future technology skillsets are required for Safe-Guard to stay competitive and create the necessary talent structure and pipeline for the IT organization. At the executive leadership level, the CIO collaborates with peers and business leadership to identify opportunities for technology innovation and act as internal change leader in order to grow Safe-Guard’s market leadership position. The CIO will be a thought leader and a strong voice at the executive table, working to help define the business processes and the associated technical architecture that will help the company achieve its vision and goals Candidate Profile
Our Ideal Candidate:
- The ideal candidate is an exceptional technology and business leader with strong commercial acumen, customer service philosophy and a track record of driving a business-technology agenda.
- The CIO will possess a strong executive presence and senior level influencing skills with an extensive track record in helping drive a transformation of legacy processes, digital products, and services.
- Experience in the financial services sector is not a requirement, but ideal candidates will possess experience in industries and organizations with high transaction/high availability needs and advanced customer-facing platforms.
- Ideal candidates will also have operated within multi-divisional organizations and understand how to work with business leaders to effectively distribute IT resources between corporate and business unit groups while looking for ways to centralize common systems.
- Overall, the CIO must be a proven leader in applying technological change to improve business processes and performance in an enterprise with a mix of legacy and digital technology platforms.
Position Requirements:
- Must demonstrate an ability to build effective internal and external relationships – at both the customer level and corporate center – and be able to engage with individuals at all levels of the organization.
- They will be well respected technology visionaries with the ability to create a long-term view of technology’s impact on the business, translate that vision into a workable technical design and strategy, and then communicate that view to non-technical audiences in an effective manner.
- This individual will possess decisive yet collaborative problem-solving skills in driving initiatives successfully across companies of significant scale.
- They will be a financially astute, business savvy leader who drives all technology projects with a focus on the business’ goals and return on investment.
- Prior experience leading significant change management initiatives is essential.
