Senior Technology Officer For Commercial Software And Technology##King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States

The Senior Technology Officer (STO) reports directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in the Office of the CTO and is responsible for the administration and management of the company's software and technology development as part of the company's hybrid business model, the organization and administration of the Office of the CTO and supports the development and communication of the company's technology vision where new products and services are identified, piloted, and developed in response to industry trends, customer requirements, and competitive positioning. This individual will support the development of the technology strategies that increase revenue and performs ROI analysis principally through management of technology pilots, products, and services. Additionally, this role supports the management intellectual property embedded in Vertex's software products and services. In supporting the CTO, this role has a long-term fiduciary responsibility for aligning Vertex's business strategy with its technology portfolio and evangelizing within and outside the company.

This role works closely with the heads of the following areas within Vertex's Commercial software Development organization, emerging Technology, Product Technology Management, Software Engineering, and Program Management.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Operational excellence running a multi-product, multi-technology software development and technology organization, reporting to the Chief Technology Officer.

• Manage the analysis, design, development, implementation, and support of Vertex applications (products) to ensure and/or maintain alignment with current requirements and future strategies.

• Builds and maintains relationships with product management, sales, business development, consulting, marketing, and support

• Builds and maintains team collaboration among leadership in emerging technology, product technology management, software engineering and program management.

• Ensure the on-time, on-budget completion of project deliverables, adhering to standards such as DevOps, Agile, SCRUM and SAFe.

• Ensure clarity and understanding of complexities of software development regarding the multiple deployment models and business models that the commercial software participates in for Vertex's long-term strategic growth (hybrid company that has both SaaS and on-premise solutions ranging from COBOL to Cloud).

• Take a consultative approach with strong relationship building ability, coordination, and strategy development among the software development and product management teams.

• Prioritize and coordinate development team activities for multiple initiatives of varying complexity in order to meet client demands while maintaining defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and technical stewardship over platform applications.

• Oversee the selection process of required development, testing, and implementation tools, involving input from relevant development support groups in order to provide the final tools selection recommendation to the CTO.

• Interface with third party vendors to understand and validate the vendor technical architectures to ensure they are aligned with enterprise standards.

• Lead project and team meetings, interacting, and collaborating with team members and other departments, when appropriate to define accountabilities, communicate the status of work items, and discuss barriers to the delivery of work.

• Participate in the development and implementation of financial and strategic planning activities.

• Promote quality and productivity improvements through involvement in the development of improved procedures, process innovations and changes which support the strategic direction.

• Continually assess the internal and external environment for leading best practices and innovation.

• Provide administrative oversight and problem resolution guidance.

• Serve as a key member of the Commercial Software and Technology leadership team. Educate and work collaboratively with all members of the leadership team in order to facilitate informed technology decisions.

• Lead or participate in other projects or duties.

• Occasional travel required.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage and coach team leaders and staff on all personnel related processes including: selection, performance management, employee relations, compensation and rewards, employee development, etc.

• Own attainment of high employee satisfaction and retention; leads development of programs and initiatives within group to attain high employee satisfaction.

• Prepare and manage budget as assigned; analyzes variances and initiates corrective actions to maximize operational performance.

• Determine appropriate resourcing of staff in order to achieve goals and objectives.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Firsthand experience in supervising software solutions development.

• Strong project management skills and management of development, maintenance and support teams.

• Expert understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Quality Assurance requirements, and software development control and release procedures, especially driven DevOps, Agile and SAFe methods, tools and techniques.

• Expert managing application development at scale, employing SDLC methodologies including agile and scrum.

• Experience with commercial software in both on premise and SaaS solutions (hybrid product portfolio).

• Expert understanding of relevant and emerging technologies and industry directions.

• Ability to actively communicate, inspire and motivate all levels of staff.

• Ability to work independently with initiative and flexibility to manage high volume work flow and concurrent activities/deliverables.

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data and metrics to back up assumptions and recommendations.

• Flawless attention to detail.

• Experience with using data and customer insights to influence decisions.

• Exceptional cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.

• Ability to prioritize and manage work in a fast-paced environment.

• Understand customer goals, business requirements, technical constraints, and be able to work within project parameters.

• Ability to apply professional concepts, experience and company objectives in order to perform an in-depth analysis of situations or data to resolve complex issues in creative ways.

• Ability to work without supervision. Wide latitude for independent decision making.

• Ability to network with key contacts outside own area of expertise.

• Ability to listen and understand information and communicate the same.

• Must possess strong interpersonal, organizational, presentation and facilitation skills.

• Must be results oriented and customer focused.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office packages.

• Sufficient knowledge of business communication, including telephone, voicemail, and e-mail and operations of office machines, such as photocopier, scanner, and fax.

EDUCATION, TRAINING:

• Minimum undergraduate degree in technology or related field; ideally an advanced degree in technology or management.

• Minimum of 15 years of experience in the technology (IT) field with 7 in an executive-level position.

• Minimum of 7 years of experience with DevOps, Agile and SAFe methods, tools and techniques.

• Proven track record of development and delivery of multiple complex technology solutions, required.

Other Qualifications The Winning Way behaviors that all Vertex employees need in order to meet the expectations of each other, our customers, and our partners.

• Communicate with Clarity

• Be clear, concise and actionable. Be relentlessly constructive. Seek and provide meaningful feedback.

• Act with Urgency

• Adopt an agile mentality - frequent iterations, improved speed, resilience. 80/20 rule better is the enemy of done. Don't spend hours when minutes are enough.

• Work with Purpose

• Exhibit a "We Can" mindset. Results outweigh effort. Everyone understands how their role contributes. Set aside personal objectives for team results.

• Drive to Decision

• Cut the swirl with defined deadlines and decision points. Be clear on individual accountability and decision authority. Guided by a commitment to and accountability for customer outcomes.

• Own the Outcome

• Defined milestones, commitments and intended results. Assess your work in context, if you're unsure, ask. Demonstrate unwavering support for decisions.

COMMENTS:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals in this position. Other functions may be assigned, and management retains the right to add or change the duties at any time.

Vertex is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

While performing the duties of this job, the work environment may require an individual to be able to sit or be stationary at a computer and use computers for extended periods of time and move freely around the building. Travel may be required.