Principal Advisory Director - Infrastructure & Operations

Position Purpose

The Principal Advisory Director, Infrastructure & Operations provides measurable value to members (clients) through high-quality research including, but not limited to core infrastructure strategies and roadmaps, cloud technology and operations, service desk management and operations, disaster recovery and business continuity planning, end user computing, operations process management and governance, etc., as well as through video calls and facilitating workshops. This role is responsible for developing infrastructure and operations methodologies and research content and helps grow the scope of advisory services that we provide to our research members.

If you are passionate about being a thought partner of infrastructure and operations leaders accountable for technology services and developing tools and methods to support them, then we would love to hear from you!

Duties & Responsibilities

• Using your knowledge and experience to help IT Management take a leading role in guiding their organizations towards success through thought-provoking research and best-practice deliverables via Advisory calls.
• Using practical experience and knowledge to help IT Management cultivate Infrastructure & Operations strategies.
• Identifying technology trends and proposing research topics.
• Advising IT management on how to best fulfill their mandates and show back value to the business through calls and facilitation of workshops. 
• Enabling IT Management with the tools and methods that they need to support the business both strategically and operationally. 
• Participate in development of research. 
• Completing primary & secondary research. 
• Design and build of research content for publication, in keeping with established research process & quality guidelines. 
• Successful execution on commitments agreed upon in workshop Statements of Work (SOW) and in alignment to expectations negotiated with clients. 
• Provide verbal & written information to Info-Tech Consulting teams as needed. 
• Provide recommendations to Sales Representatives/Directors on potential client workshops and other means of client engagement.
• Respond & provide written collateral to Sales Representatives/Directors and Global Services (formerly Executive Services) staff in a timely manner. 
• Design and build of high-quality keynote/other presentations, and successful delivery of presentations as needed.

Areas of focus for this role includes:

• Advisory. 
• Guiding clients within the SME topics (calls)
• Writing and publishing research designed to provide our members with what they need to be world-class CIOs.
• Participate with Research topic writing and insights
• Utilization. Leverage our research to assist Info-Tech members through the process of executing on their key initiatives. Maximize utilization through a series of structured calls, structured one-week workshops, or custom consulting engagements.
• Service Quality. Provide measurable value to our clients through the various services provided: research, calls, workshops, and consulting.
• Account Renewal Rate. Work jointly with account managers to reengage customers with low service levels through targeted campaigns and outreach.  
• Commercial Results. Identify opportunities to provide value to clients through workshops and consulting engagements and work with our commercial teams to define the scope and project outcomes.  

 Education and Experience

• Undergraduate degree preferred (business or technology).
• Professional certifications in AWS or Azure Cloud, DRP/BCP, relevant vendor certifications) is beneficial
• Practical experience (10+ years) working in one or more of the following domains necessary:
  • Cloud and Core infrastructure (AWS, AZURE, GCP, Network Infrastructure)
  • Microsoft/Office 365 management
  • Enterprise Network Design and Implementation
  • VOIP (Cloud/On-Prem - nice to have)

• Infrastructure & Operations Strategy Skills; demonstrated understanding and application of IT operations principles and processes, infrastructure architecture, and core infrastructure technology knowledge.
• General IT Domain Knowledge; detailed level of knowledge across multiple IT domain areas, and general knowledge across all domains; understanding of business and IT capability, strategy, and governance.
• Insight Generation: ability to analyze data and member experiences in a way that enables the uncovering of new insights; Ability to frame problems or solutions in a new or unique way that resonates with our member base
• Opportunity Identification and Definition; ability to identify opportunities where we can add additional value to our members through our extended services (e.g. workshops or consulting); ability to work with members to define project background, context and desired outcomes
• Presentation and facilitation experience demonstrated through prior client-facing workshops, training sessions, and consulting engagements.
• History of strong relationship building and management skills. Experience gaining and maintaining trusted advisor status with senior management and C-level executives.              
• Travel Requirement: Must be flexible and have ability to travel frequently to deliver workshops onsite at client locations both within and outside of North America, when it is safe to do so. 
• Visa Requirement: Must be eligible to obtain appropriate work Visa for cross-border work within North America and globally.
• Work Hours Requirements: Must be available for after-hours work periodically to service APAC clients.

Skills

• Contributes to an environment in which all employees feel a sense of belonging, valued for their differences, and empowered to participate and contribute freely.
• Domain Expertise. Must have strong knowledge of some combination of core infrastructure architecture, cloud IaaS/PaaS administration and management, IT operations, end user computing, service management.
• Client Interaction and Facilitation. Ability to build rapport and communicate effectively with clients both virtually and in-person, when safe to do so.
• Event Speaking. Ability to develop keynote/other presentations that will be delivered credibly, articulately, and confidently at Info-Tech’s own events or at external events and conferences.
• Knowledge Application, Problem Solving & Decision Making. Can make relevant recommendations on next steps and helpful resources in response to indirect and direct cues and topics discussed during member interactions. Uses critical thinking to evaluate problems, gather information, understand causes, and identify best possible solutions. Invests time in planning, discovery, and reflection to drive better decisions and more efficient implementations.
• Project Management. Manage project scope and report on project progress within a timely manner.  Ability to manage client expectations.
• Writing Ability. Ability to craft and word deliverables in a clear and concise manner. Achieve an aesthetically appealing outcome that is polished and professional.
• Business Development. Generate advisory sales leads from interactions with clients, whether during analyst calls or during project work, and proposing Info-Tech Research Group’s services to fulfill Member’s needs.
• Apply primary and secondary research, along with superior analytical and written communication skills, to lead the team in producing high-quality, published research for our members.
• Managing Through Change & Uncertainty. Adjusts thinking and behavior to resiliently face change and uses experience to fuel growth. Embraces failure as a learning opportunity for themselves and others. Enables the process of change and transition while helping others deal with the effects of change.
• Dynamic Learning Mindset. Continuously seeks opportunities to learn, questions the applicability of past approaches in the current environment, owns growth, and embraces failure as a learning opportunity.

Info-Tech Research Group of companies is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected status or characteristic including Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Disability/Veteran and are pleased to consider all qualified applicants. To that end, upon request, ITRG will ensure, to the extent possible, that accommodation be made available to applicants throughout the recruitment and hiring process.

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