Director of IT Strategy and Value Realization
Horizon Services, LLC, Newark, Delaware, United States, 19711
Director of IT Strategy and Value Realization
Role Summary
Horizons is hiring a Director, IT Strategy and Value Realization to ensure our highest-priority, IT-enabled initiatives deliver measurable business outcomes‑on time, on budget, and with sustained adoption. This leader will run the operating system for transformation: portfolio governance, financial discipline, vendor performance, executive communications, change enablement, and benefits realization.
This is a highly cross‑functional role partnering with business leaders, Finance, IT, and external vendors to translate strategy into executable roadmaps and measurable results.
What You'll Own (Core Responsibilities) 1) Overall team cadence
Establish and run enterprise review forums (KPI/metrics, contract and vendor performance, portfolio health, and post‑initiative value realization).
Design and maintain the executive operating cadence across weekly, monthly, and quarterly touchpoints‑town halls, leadership reviews, steering committees, and executive readouts-driving timely decisions, accountability, and follow‑through.
Produce executive‑ready scorecards and briefings that synthesize progress, risks, decisions required, and cross‑team dependencies.
2) Strategy, Business Partnership, and Roadmap Translation
Partner with Finance and HR business leaders to translate business goals into sequenced roadmaps (what changes, why now, expected outcomes, and what it costs).
Shape and challenge demand: ensure initiatives are properly sized, prioritized, and resourced based on enterprise capacity and ROI.
Create crisp executive narratives for decisions: options, tradeoffs, risks, investment asks, and expected benefits.
3) Financial Management & Value Realization
Own end‑to‑end OPEX and CAPEX budget management for the portfolio: annual planning, in‑year reforecasting, funding allocations, and spend governance.
Partner with Finance to manage CAPEX governance (capitalization alignment, timing, and reporting) and ensure consistent treatment of costs across initiatives.
Track actuals vs. budget/forecast across OPEX and CAPEX, including commitments and accruals; explain variances, surface risks early, and recommend course corrections or reallocations.
Connect spend to outcomes by maintaining a consistent value tracking approach‑KPIs, measurement plans, validation of realized benefits, and identification of value leakage.
4) Vendor Management & Commercial Discipline
Manage performance across strategic vendors (SIs, SaaS providers, managed services): KPIs, deliverables, SLAs, and escalation.
Lead contract and renewal support with Procurement/Legal: scope clarity, pricing protection, change orders, and performance remedies.
Establish vendor governance: quarterly business reviews, scorecards, and accountability for outcomes (not activity).
5) Communications & Change Management
Build and execute change plans for major programs: stakeholder mapping, communications plans, training approach, readiness checks, and adoption metrics.
Ensure "go‑live" includes adoption enablement and business process changes‑so value is realized, not just delivered.
Drive transparent executive communication: what's on track, what's at risk, and what decisions are needed.
Outcomes & Measures of Success (First 6-12 Months)
Portfolio health: % initiatives with clear scope, owner, timeline, and measurable KPIs; on‑time/on‑budget delivery improvement.
Value delivery: quantified benefits realized vs. committed, with Finance validation; reduction in "benefits leakage."
Cost discipline: improved run/change visibility; reduced vendor spend waste; fewer change orders and delivery surprises.
Business satisfaction: improved stakeholder confidence and clarity (predictability + transparency).
Adoption: usage/adoption KPIs met for key platforms; measurable process compliance improvements post‑launch.
What You'll Bring (Qualifications)
8-15+ years leading transformation programs, PMO/portfolio governance, or strategy execution: ideally in services, distributed operations, or complex multi‑stakeholder environments.
Demonstrated ability to run executive governance and deliver measurable outcomes, not just project artifacts.
Strong financial fluency: business cases, ROI models, run/change, cost transparency, and value tracking with Finance.
Proven vendor management capability: commercial discipline, performance management, and executive‑level vendor governance.
Change leadership: ability to drive adoption through communications, training, and stakeholder engagement.
Executive‑ready communication: crisp writing, clear storylines, confident facilitation, and structured problem‑solving.
Preferred / Differentiators
Experience in field operations, multi‑location service businesses, or high‑velocity operating environments.
Background partnering closely with IT leadership (applications, data, cyber) and translating technical delivery into business outcomes.
Familiarity with modern portfolio tools (Jira/ADO/Smartsheet/Planview), financial tracking, and KPI dashboards.
Operating Principles (How We Work)
Outcomes over activity: value realized beats milestones achieved.
Truth over comfort: early escalation and clear tradeoffs.
Simple and repeatable: lightweight processes that scale.
One team: business, IT, finance, and vendors aligned to shared goals.
Reporting & Scope
Reports to: CIO
Partners closely with: Finance, Operations, Marketing, Sales, and IT delivery leaders
Scope: enterprise portfolio of IT‑enabled initiatives and vendor delivery performance
#J-18808-Ljbffr
This is a highly cross‑functional role partnering with business leaders, Finance, IT, and external vendors to translate strategy into executable roadmaps and measurable results.
What You'll Own (Core Responsibilities) 1) Overall team cadence
Establish and run enterprise review forums (KPI/metrics, contract and vendor performance, portfolio health, and post‑initiative value realization).
Design and maintain the executive operating cadence across weekly, monthly, and quarterly touchpoints‑town halls, leadership reviews, steering committees, and executive readouts-driving timely decisions, accountability, and follow‑through.
Produce executive‑ready scorecards and briefings that synthesize progress, risks, decisions required, and cross‑team dependencies.
2) Strategy, Business Partnership, and Roadmap Translation
Partner with Finance and HR business leaders to translate business goals into sequenced roadmaps (what changes, why now, expected outcomes, and what it costs).
Shape and challenge demand: ensure initiatives are properly sized, prioritized, and resourced based on enterprise capacity and ROI.
Create crisp executive narratives for decisions: options, tradeoffs, risks, investment asks, and expected benefits.
3) Financial Management & Value Realization
Own end‑to‑end OPEX and CAPEX budget management for the portfolio: annual planning, in‑year reforecasting, funding allocations, and spend governance.
Partner with Finance to manage CAPEX governance (capitalization alignment, timing, and reporting) and ensure consistent treatment of costs across initiatives.
Track actuals vs. budget/forecast across OPEX and CAPEX, including commitments and accruals; explain variances, surface risks early, and recommend course corrections or reallocations.
Connect spend to outcomes by maintaining a consistent value tracking approach‑KPIs, measurement plans, validation of realized benefits, and identification of value leakage.
4) Vendor Management & Commercial Discipline
Manage performance across strategic vendors (SIs, SaaS providers, managed services): KPIs, deliverables, SLAs, and escalation.
Lead contract and renewal support with Procurement/Legal: scope clarity, pricing protection, change orders, and performance remedies.
Establish vendor governance: quarterly business reviews, scorecards, and accountability for outcomes (not activity).
5) Communications & Change Management
Build and execute change plans for major programs: stakeholder mapping, communications plans, training approach, readiness checks, and adoption metrics.
Ensure "go‑live" includes adoption enablement and business process changes‑so value is realized, not just delivered.
Drive transparent executive communication: what's on track, what's at risk, and what decisions are needed.
Outcomes & Measures of Success (First 6-12 Months)
Portfolio health: % initiatives with clear scope, owner, timeline, and measurable KPIs; on‑time/on‑budget delivery improvement.
Value delivery: quantified benefits realized vs. committed, with Finance validation; reduction in "benefits leakage."
Cost discipline: improved run/change visibility; reduced vendor spend waste; fewer change orders and delivery surprises.
Business satisfaction: improved stakeholder confidence and clarity (predictability + transparency).
Adoption: usage/adoption KPIs met for key platforms; measurable process compliance improvements post‑launch.
What You'll Bring (Qualifications)
8-15+ years leading transformation programs, PMO/portfolio governance, or strategy execution: ideally in services, distributed operations, or complex multi‑stakeholder environments.
Demonstrated ability to run executive governance and deliver measurable outcomes, not just project artifacts.
Strong financial fluency: business cases, ROI models, run/change, cost transparency, and value tracking with Finance.
Proven vendor management capability: commercial discipline, performance management, and executive‑level vendor governance.
Change leadership: ability to drive adoption through communications, training, and stakeholder engagement.
Executive‑ready communication: crisp writing, clear storylines, confident facilitation, and structured problem‑solving.
Preferred / Differentiators
Experience in field operations, multi‑location service businesses, or high‑velocity operating environments.
Background partnering closely with IT leadership (applications, data, cyber) and translating technical delivery into business outcomes.
Familiarity with modern portfolio tools (Jira/ADO/Smartsheet/Planview), financial tracking, and KPI dashboards.
Operating Principles (How We Work)
Outcomes over activity: value realized beats milestones achieved.
Truth over comfort: early escalation and clear tradeoffs.
Simple and repeatable: lightweight processes that scale.
One team: business, IT, finance, and vendors aligned to shared goals.
Reporting & Scope
Reports to: CIO
Partners closely with: Finance, Operations, Marketing, Sales, and IT delivery leaders
Scope: enterprise portfolio of IT‑enabled initiatives and vendor delivery performance
#J-18808-Ljbffr