Applied Systems, Inc., a worldwide leader in insurance technology, is currently searching for a Director, Cloud Operations to join our team. As the Director, Cloud Operations, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and executing Applied’s global SaaS strategy. You will be responsible for assessing Global Cloud operations processes and procedures to ensure the delivery of operational excellence to our internal and external customers.

The Cloud Services team is responsible for the design, implementation, and management of technologies that enables Applied Systems to deliver reliable and highly available Cloud solutions to its worldwide customers. Cloud Services manages compute, storage, networking, security, virtualization, operating system, and application layers across four self-managed data centers in the US, Canada, UK, and Public Cloud providers GCP, AWS, and Azure. The Cloud Services staff is globally distributed, ensuring 24/7/365 coverage. 

What You Will Do 

• Partner with the SVP of Cloud Services to successfully develop and execute on Global Cloud and CX department strategy 

• Provide leadership, promote understanding, and achieve buy-in around transformational work being done to improve customer experience and operational excellence 

• Drive key department initiatives and provide regular progress updates to department leadership, addressing root causes and owning solutions 

• Contribute to weekly Cloud Services management and change review board meetings 

• Collaborate across Cloud teams and more broadly across departments (i.e. Information Security, Corporate IT, Customer Experience and other internal teams) to ensure the success of department initiatives and goals, support escalation, rapid response problem resolution and solution collaboration 

• Ensure the Applied Cloud exhibits the highest level of performance, stability, availability, security, and data integrity 

• Conduct detailed needs analysis and gap assessments to identify areas for improvement and provide direction and recommendations for optimizing processes and workflows 

• Establish service levels and provide ongoing measurement, metrics, reporting and dashboards of the effectiveness, performance and customer satisfaction of all services, hold team accountable to meeting those standards  

• Strategize with Cloud Leadership to meet department goals, lead process improvements and documentation efforts, collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify and address customer pain points, and enhance resource effectiveness through standardization, automation, and implementation of new technologies 

• Ability to work after hours and on weekends when required and/or necessary

• Pursue a program of self-development in continuing education, staying abreast of changes in Applied Systems’ software, technology, and the industry 

• Recruit, hire, onboard, coach, and retain high performing cloud operations leaders and teams 

• Accelerate skill development and adoption of new technologies, fostering an environment on continuous learning for the Cloud Operations team

• Guide prioritization across teams and demonstrate adaptability in resource alignment and realignment based on business needs 

• Define and cascade goals to ensure teams deliver business results based on company objectives each year

• ​​Performs other duties as assigned by immediate manager or management team

What You’ll Need to Succeed 

• 10+ years related work experience and/or an equivalent combination 

• Experience leading a global operations 24x7 team across multiple time zones and geographies 

• Experience building, leading, and optimizing operations teams 

• Proven leadership, influencing, and negotiating skills in a highly matrixed environment

• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills

• Experience in building high-performing teams with a strong service-oriented focus for a multi-national organization

• Proven experience in building a strong process-oriented operation, focusing on delivering high efficiencies and customer satisfaction 

• Highly detail-oriented with the ability to multi-task and prioritize work to ensure timely delivery

• Proven experience in managing profit and loss statements, budgeting, and financial forecasting 

• Considerable experience in successfully implementing changes at a team level and across the enterprise

• Demonstrated experience in leading and managing large-scale infrastructure or application deployments in an enterprise environment 

• Ownership or experience working in a NOC supporting a 24x7x365 environment 

• Possess domain knowledge of common information security management frameworks and regulatory requirements and applicable standards such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI, Sarbox, etc 

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both business and technical audiences 

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team within Cloud Services and across the business

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 

• Excellent project and program management skills and techniques 
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related degree, or commensurate experience
  • We proudly support and encourage people with military experience, as well as military spouses, to apply

Additionally, you may also have: 

• Hardware and operating system(s) knowledge/exposure via work or educational pursuits 
• Understanding of various database and server infrastructure practices and modern technology used in enterprise software applications  

What You’ll Gain

Benefits from Day One

• Health insurance plans, dental, and vision
• Wellness incentives
• 401(k) and/or RRSP retirement savings plans with employer match

Work-Life Balance

• Competitive paid vacation time and a free day for your birthday
• Personal/sick time
• Paid holidays
• Flex Time
• Paid parental leave (U.S. candidates)
• Volunteer time off

Empowering Career Growth and Success – We invest in talent, care about our people and are empowered by the results of our work. We grow our teams from within and give our employees opportunities to advance.

What We Value

We strive for excellence at every turn to be the best at what we do. We invest in talent, care about our people and are empowered by the results of our work. We fulfil the promise of insurance – safeguarding and protecting what matters most in people’s lives. And there is no more important job than that.

Our focus on the workforce, workplace and marketplace gives us a qualified individual in an environment in which they can be productive while we maintain our position in the industry. To help drive that change toward a vibrant, modern workplace, we have employee-driven networks with commonalities in ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and military status.

Who We Are

Applied Systems is the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and the innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest agency and brokerage management systems provider, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. By automating the insurance lifecycle, Applied’s people and products enable millions of people worldwide to safeguard and protect what matters most.

For 40 years, Applied Systems has led an industry we helped to create with a mission to continuously improve the business of insurance. From partnerships, acquisitions, and insurance innovation initiatives, Applied has focused on efforts to be the indispensable partner in our industry.

It’s an exciting time at Applied. You can do big things here, in an environment that supports creative thinking and bold ideas. Visit http://www.AppliedSystems.com for more information on how you can challenge what’s possible.

EEO Statement 

Applied Systems is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. Diversity and Inclusion is a business imperative and is a part of building our brand and reputation. At Applied, we don’t discriminate, and we are committed to recruit, develop, retain, and promote regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.

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