Our client is seeking a Head of IT who will be pivotal in leading our technology initiatives. This cross-company leadership position will be responsible for partnering to align company’s technology with business strategy, resources, and technical infrastructure. You will develop and spearhead the IT & cybersecurity strategy and roadmap. Responsible for establishing IT and information/cyber security policies, procedures, and governance for the IT team. This new position within the organization will be tasked with managing and scaling the company’s information systems and technology infrastructure while driving the protection of the IT infrastructure, networks, and systems from potential threats. While building the cloud-native technology to scale, you will also be tasked with establishing best practices for risk management, incident response, and data privacy.

Position Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership:
• Set the mission and vision of the IT organization to foster a business-oriented culture and mindset to develop the organization-wide IT strategy roadmap aligned with the vision of leadership and business direction.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive IT strategy that aligns with the company's goals and objectives.
• Establish robust IT policies, procedures, standards, security, and governance mechanisms to drive seamless operations with effective maintenance of enterprise architecture, applications, and infrastructure while securing from security threats.
• Provide visionary leadership to drive technological innovation, growth, and efficiency within the pharmaceutical industry.
• Define and execute a robust cybersecurity roadmap to significantly improve the overall risk posture of company through technology, policy, and end user training.

Information Security and Compliance:
• Partner with senior leadership and business functions to identify and implement appropriate scalable capabilities. You will hire, mentor, retain, and build a talented team of architects, engineers, business analysts, security analysts, engineers, and managers.
• Oversee information security and compliance efforts, ensuring the highest levels of data protection and adherence to pharmaceutical industry regulations and standards, including FDA and other global regulatory authorities.
• Drive efforts toward achieving transformation and automation in business operations, infrastructure operations, integrations, and full transparency across all other technology initiatives.
• Implement comprehensive security protocols to safeguard sensitive research data, patient information, and proprietary data.
• Form a Security Council that will collectively represent the business and help prioritize activities and where everyone owns a role in security.

Enterprise Infrastructure and Systems:
• Lead the planning, deployment, and maintenance of IT infrastructure, applications, and systems, ensuring optimal performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Identify opportunities for technology adoption and integration to enhance research, development, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure cloud migration is seamless and secure, including cloud backups, that all systems function with as few points of failure as possible, and that control/risk measures are sufficient.
• Lead the overall design of company’s information technology systems from a cloud-native perspective.
• Develop and deploy an executive dashboard to monitor all real-time threats to the company across its enterprise functions, systems, facilities, and products. You will also evaluate the risk tradeoff between building protection systems versus buying off-the-shelf security monitoring tools.
• Act as the designated point of contact for all escalations and resolutions for any malicious incident.

Team Management:
• Build and manage a skilled and efficient IT team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration.
• Provide mentorship and professional development opportunities to team members.
• Define IT governance and performance metrics for the function and implement industry best practices to ensure the function’s objectives are delivered through a highly motivated and engaged team.
• Formulate a robust IT risk management framework at the business level and drive effective deployment.
• Budget and Resource Management:
• Manage the IT department's budget, optimizing resource allocation for maximum cost-effectiveness.
• Foster collaboration with other departments to ensure technology supports business needs.

Skills

• Exceptional leadership, communication, and collaboration skills, with a talent for working with cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated success in enhancing information security, data integrity, and managing complex IT projects across an entire organization.
• Strategic mindset, accountable and innovative thinker with the ability to work independently and collaboratively.