This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.
Role Description:
As Head of Application Services you will report directly into the Chief Information Officer (CIO), working closely with the Chief Operating Officer, Commercial, Personal and Specialty Managing Directors and their leadership teams, Chief Transformation Officer, and all Heads of Change, as well as senior stakeholders both across the UK and other OEs.
You will be accountable for the governance and management of the services provided for our outsourced applications in the Allianz Holdings IT application estate; to ensure a timely and high-quality service is provided.
This includes responsibility for the demand and development of applications and IT services from Allianz Holdings into Allianz Technology, strategic direction, ensuring alignment with Group standards, whilst maximising value from the IT spend.
Key Accountabilities:
Leadership and Strategy
1. Engage with Holdings Executives to understand internal business requirements and strategies; ensuring the roadmap for Application Services supports those requirements both today and for the future.
2. As a primary member of the IT Leadership team, shapes IT strategy and future roadmap taking into account both business as well as Group strategies, working closely with the Head of Enterprise Architecture and Strategy.
3. Deputise for the CIO (as and when required) in Holdings Executive meetings as the accountable Head of Application Services.
4. Maintain and manage the relationship between IT and the business for all aspects of applications, services, emerging technologies and demand management, supporting the CIO.
5. Represent IT in wider Holdings Leadership Meetings, providing updates and action plans to CIO, COO, and CISO.
6. Provide strategic direction and leadership for the Application Services function.
7. Work closely with the CIO, Managing Directors of Business Areas, Head of Enterprise Architecture and Strategy, and Head of IT Portfolio to drive IT initiatives and projects.
8. Being proactive and a visible member of the IT senior leadership team, maintaining a broad view of all IT disciplines and developments in the industry.
9. Providing a level of oversight and support for programmes and projects and their associated deliverables.
10. Establishing and managing standards for all key aspects of technology.
11. Promote, gain sponsorship of and implement new technology processes or capabilities that drive benefit for the UK OE.
Application Services
1. Work closely with the IT Portfolio team to monitor the different projects and ensure expected outcomes are delivered on time.
2. Work with Enterprise Architecture and Strategy, and IT Product Management teams to monitor the services provided for the full application landscape as well as reviewing legacy applications and how they are being maintained and modernised.
3. Collaborate with our suppliers to ensure that the services they provide for their applications meet the UK OE's needs and are maintaining and developing applications.
4. Negotiate with vendors, outsourcers, and contractors where required.
5. Govern and oversee all outsourced application development teams and work with the Head of IT Service Delivery to ensure stability across all IT services.
6. Work with the IT Business Services team to ensure changes are production ready prior to deployment and implementation including the relevant controls, checks, acceptance testing and sign off.
IT Business Partnering and Demand Management
1. Accountable for the IT Business Partnering and Demand Management strategies, ensuring requirements, demand and roadmaps for both IT change and run are clearly understood and delivered by our outsourced IT service providers.
Emerging Tech
1. Be the Emerging Tech and Innovation evangelist for the OE, keeping up with the latest market trends.
2. Define and maintain the Emerging Tech strategy, working closely with the Enterprise Architecture and Strategy, and Group to ensure alignment to IT and Group strategies.
3. Deliver recommendations and proposals to the OpsIT Leadership team, the Executive Committees and other forums; ensuring proposals are driven forward.
Quality Assurance
1. Ensure the implementation of the QA strategy aligned with organisational goals; holding accountability for the overall QA function, ensuring high standards and best practices.
2. Guide the adoption of new QA tools and methods, staying updated on industry trends as well as driving process improvements and ensuring compliance with standards and regulations.
Stakeholder Engagement
1. Foster strong cross functional partnerships with Allianz Technology, Group, vendors, Managing Directors of business areas.
2. Build and maintain strong relationships with business stakeholders to understand their needs and ensure that applications and services deliver value.
3. Collaborate closely with Allianz Technology and other third parties to ensure the seamless delivery and support of applications and services.
4. Act as a key point of contact (including escalations) for applications, services, emerging technologies, IT QA and demand related matters across the organisation.
Team Management
1. Lead, mentor, inspire, motivate, and develop a diverse team made up of the Application Services, IT Business Partner and Demand Management, and the IT Quality Assurance team, fostering collaboration and creating a positive work environment for all team members.
2. Drive a high performance culture, ensuring we have the best and most engaged people who work collaboratively to deliver value to the business.
3. Provide guidance, feedback, and coaching to ensure continuous improvement and high-quality delivery of IT products and services; explore and implement new and existing ways of working to keep skills and approaches relevant and enhance team capabilities.
4. Oversee team size and structure, optimising resource allocation and ensuring efficient resource utilisation.
Governance, Compliance, Risk and Control
1. Accountable for the delivery of Application Services reporting into IT Management Board and beyond. This includes IT Steering Board (quarterly), Risk Committees (monthly/quarterly) and Executive Committee (monthly), and may include ad hoc Board papers.
2. Ensure that IT applications and services comply with relevant regulations, standards, and best practices.
3. Implement robust governance processes to manage risks and ensure the security and integrity of IT systems.
4. Manage all risks associated within the area of Application Services; ensuring strong governance and compliance.
5. Accountability for the delivery of all Regulatory and Group Controls for the respective areas of application services, quality assurance, emerging technologies and demand management; ensuring non-compliant areas have associated action plans and are driven to completion.
6. Partner with Internal Audit and 2nd Line Risk, ensuring all Application Services audit findings are addressed with strong management responses and committed delivery dates.
Financial Management
1. Contribute to the annual budget via the planning dialogue, and monitor and report on relevant aspects of the IT budget.
2. Ensure that IT applications and services are delivered within budget and provide value for money; whilst maintaining compliance.
3. Financial responsibility of IT applications including total cost of ownership, and how this can be optimised.
4. Manage expenditure to ensure this remains within budget, seeking prior authorisation for any additional unbudgeted expenditure.
Experience:
1. Extensive experience operating at a senior level in IT within a regulated industry.
2. Extensive experience in supplier relations and supplier assurance.
3. Understanding of outsource vendor governance and management practices.
4. Experience in IT contract and license management and negotiation.
5. Understanding of IT security management processes, practices and technology.
Technical Skills:
1. Able to demonstrate leadership experience
2. Able to demonstrate mastery of the managing the trade-offs that may be necessary between concept and delivery.
3. Commercially savvy -able to work with suppliers and other Allianz teams to deliver the best value for Allianz overall.
4. Commercial and general Insurance knowledge.
5. Broad and deep technology, systems integration knowledge.
6. Deep understanding of solutions available in the market.
7. Deep understanding of IT risk management processes.
8. Management of third party service providers - both onshore and offshore.
9. IT contract & License management and negotiation.
10. Extensive experience of ITIL disciplines
11. Management and governance of IT outsourced and offshore third-parties, in particular for application development and service provision.
12. Extensive experience and understanding of development and application standards, including
13. Extensive experience and understanding of system testing approaches, methods and tools
14. Extensive experience of configuration management processes and disciplines
15. Extensive understanding and experience or IT service introduction methods, disciplines, tools and reporting.
What We Will Offer You
Recognised and rewarded for a job well done, we have a range of flexible benefits for you to choose from- so you can pick a package that's perfect for you. We also offer flexible working options, global career opportunities across the wider Allianz Group, and fantastic career development and training. That's on top of enjoying all the benefits you'd expect from the world's number one insurance brand, including:
1. Company Car Allowance
2. Flexible buy/sell holiday options
3. Hybrid working.
4. Annual performance related bonus
5. Contributory pension scheme
6. Development days
7. A discount up to 50% on a range of insurance products including car, home and pet
8. Retail discounts
Our Ways of Working
Do you need some flexibility with the hours you work? Let us know as part of your application and if it's right for our customers, our business and for you, then we'll do everything we can to make it happen. Here at Allianz, we are signatories of the ABIs flexible working charter. We believe in supporting hybrid work patterns, which balance the needs of our customers, with your personal circumstances and our business requirements. Our aim with this is to help innovation, creativity, and you to thrive - Your work life balance is important to us.
Diversity & Inclusion
At Allianz, we prioritize diversity and inclusion, demonstrated by our numerous accreditations: EDGE certified for gender inclusion, Women in Finance Charter members, Disability Confident employer, Stonewall Diversity Champion, Business in the Community's Race at Work Charter signatories, and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard employer. We embrace neurodiversity and welcome applications from neurodivergent and disabled candidates, offering tailored adjustments to ensure your success. We encourage our employees to advocate for their needs, whether it's assistive technology, ergonomic equipment, mentoring, coaching, or flexible work arrangements.
Accessible Application for All
As part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we support candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions through the Offer an Interview Scheme, for those meeting the essential skills for the role. Contact our Resourcing team to opt into this scheme or for assistance with your application, including larger text, hard copies, or spoken applications.
Join us - Let's Care for Tomorrow.
#J-18808-Ljbffr