IT Services & Operations Director

Role Overview

Jeddah Central Development Company is seeking an IT Services & Operations Director to join their team in Jeddah. This full-time role involves overseeing and strategically aligning IT services, operations, data, service, and network management initiatives. The Director will be instrumental in driving operational excellence, enhancing data integrity, and supporting the organization’s technological growth and innovation plans.

Strategic IT Leadership

• Develop and direct the implementation of the department strategy, ensuring alignment with divisional strategy, JCDC’s vision, mission, and corporate objectives.
• Provide subject matter expertise for the assigned domain, offering counsel to JCDC leadership on related areas to facilitate strategic achievement.
• Manage the effective achievement of assigned objectives by leading the section, setting individual goals, managing performance, and developing staff.
• Lead talent development initiatives for the assigned section, collaborating with technical experts to ensure talent availability meets business requirements.
• Lead the management of change through continuous improvement of department systems, processes, and practices, considering global standards and business environment changes.

Core IT Operations and Service Management

• Drive the review and evaluation of existing IT Services & Operations designs within JCDC, introducing relevant improvement initiatives.
• Lead the design and implementation of business continuity and disaster recovery plans for the Technology sector.
• Oversee the design and implementation of servers, virtualization, operating systems, database systems, storage, backup, and archiving systems.
• Manage the provision of third-level technical and IT support to employees, ensuring operational efficiency across the IT and Digital department.
• Lead the implementation of technological solutions to provide IT Services as a Service (IaaS).
• Design and oversee the maintenance of testing platforms that reflect the current live environment of critical systems.
• Lead the evaluation, design, and execution of testing tools and methodologies, including capacity management, database tuning, optimization, and periodic health checks.
• Monitor and manage data center infrastructure, ensuring high availability, performance, and reliability.
• Implement and maintain robust security measures within the data center, optimize energy usage, and conduct capacity planning.
• Lead departmental operations and partner with executive leadership to provide technical and business guidance.
• Review and monitor the quality of project deliverables, oversee service tracking, and ensure processes are adhered to.
• Develop measurements and reporting mechanisms to track progress and identify service process corrections.
• Oversee the Network Management department, ensuring network services are monitored, maintained, and operational in line with JCDC standards.
• Lead a team responsible for network design, connectivity, security analysis, implementation, and standards coordination.
• Verify effective execution of changes to infrastructure and platforms within agreed timeframes.
• Drive the writing of a network recovery plan.

Financial Oversight and Governance

• Oversee the consolidation and recommendation of the department budget, monitoring financial performance against the budget.
• Develop and lead the implementation of the department’s policies, systems, processes, procedures, and controls to ensure compliance and cost-effective service delivery.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field from a reputable university.
• Master’s degree preferred.

Experience Requirements

• A minimum of 12 years of experience in a similar field.
• At least 3 years of experience in a managerial role.