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Our Client
With over $120 billion in net assets, our client is a large pension plan in Canada.
The fund’s investments are well diversified using an asset mix of equities (public and private), fixed income (nominal and real-return bonds); commodities, real assets (real estate, infrastructure and timberland) and absolute return strategies.
The company is considered an employer of choice. Employees consistently give our client high ratings as a place to work in employee opinion surveys.
Our Client is looking to add a new Manager, Solution Engineering to the technology team.
Scope of Position
Reporting to the Director, Solution Engineering, the Manager, Solution Engineering, will be responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of application software that supports the delivery of technology services and solutions to internal clients. In addition, this individual will be the lead for the design and implementation of industry leading application development processes and standards.
This individual must be adept at collaborating with colleagues to evaluate and define appropriate application development approaches; lead buy-in and acceptance of application development standards and policies.
Leadership will be brought to the organization through the ability to influence and collaborate with individuals in both formal venues and informal relationships throughout the organization.
As a member of the Management team in Investment IT, this individual is responsible for providing thought leadership and action to support the delivery of business and technology sponsored initiatives and the continuous improvement of the IT Division.
This position will also have planning, budgeting and cost centre management accountability.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with Technology Account Managers, Application Managers, project managers and client stakeholders to implement standards, practices and procedures ensuring solutions are designed and developed according to agreed upon methodologies.
- Roll out group education and training, regular project and implementation reviews, and automation/assertion via enabling technology for quality assurance.
- Ensure that risks associated with the ongoing maintenance and support of in-house developed systems/services/applications and integration with 3rd party solutions are identified and managed.
- Foster a culture that attracts and retains the best people that include: training, project diversification, exposure to new technologies, and opportunities for career advancement of the best talent.
- Be a key contributor to the yearly IT planning process.
- Have a thorough understanding of the Program aligned Investment Division requirements in order to ensure that the program needs are addressed using appropriate solutions and technology.
- Plan and manage the hiring of development staff.
- Conduct Performance Evaluations for direct reports in the Solution Engineering Group.
- Be a contributor in the acquisition process of key systems and in the review of technology fit and supportability – and with system vendors for any joint development efforts.
- Ensure external sourcing providers deliver services and solutions in an effective and supportable manner.
- Actively seek opportunities to enhance leadership skills, leads by example, and encourages others to reach their full potential.
- Design and develop application architecture solutions: including infrastructure technologies, frameworks, tools, and integration of 3rd party products.
- Maintain a sound knowledge of the Investment Industry and a thorough understanding of our client’s business objectives, processes and practices related to the Investments, Finance and Corporate Division customers.
Competency Profile
The following competencies listed below define the role of Manager, Solution Engineering:
People Management.
Establishes and communicates clear priorities and sense of direction; Clarifies roles and responsibilities; Adapts management style to achieve optimum results.
Influence.
Articulates the key points of an argument persuasively.
Negotiates skillfully and convinces others to own point of view. Directly and indirectly impacts the decisions/opinions of others. Mobilizes people into action.
Planning & Objective Setting.
Systematic in approach to work; Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified; Plans by breaking down large task into subtasks; Develops plans that anticipate obstacles; Is realistic about time-scales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.
Communication.
Expresses ideas in a clear, fluent and concise manner. Written and oral arguments are compelling and responsive to the needs of the audience. Comprehends communications from others and responds appropriately.
Industry & Market Awareness.
Seeks to anticipate and respond to industry and market changes/challenges by understanding key characteristics, issues and the factors driving them. Aware of competitor’s products, services and position.
Customer/Client Orientation
Strives to provide customers/clients with personalized and efficient service. Anticipates customers’/clients’ needs. Quickly follows up on customer/client contacts and complaints. Monitors and acts on measures of customer/client satisfaction.
Developing & Coaching Others
Accurately assesses strengths and development needs of employees. Challenges others to improve their abilities and actively supports their development. Continually provides timely and constructive feedback, coaching and challenging learning opportunities. Adjusts coaching style based on each employee’s ability and motivation level.
Preferred Experience / Education
The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience in the Information Technology industry, an undergraduate degree in Computer Science.
- Minimum of 7 years experience in delivering solutions supporting a broad range of Investment activities including trading, settlement, portfolio accounting and fund-level measurement and reporting – with a minimum of 3 years in a managerial capacity.
- A comprehensive understanding of quality assurance methodologies and the ability to help implement processes that increase the level of maturity in the organization.
- An expert understanding of current development processes, standards, and tooling is required. This includes: analysis and design techniques and tools, development techniques, testing approaches and deployment methods.
- Expert knowledge gained through extensive experience and success in delivering solutions, with practical experience in the Solution Development Lifecycle; complemented with a thorough understanding of hardware and software platforms, connectivity solutions, databases, middleware, groupware, etc.
- Knowledge and experience with different aspects of the life cycle of a project – including task definition and assignment, communication, managing team dynamics, scheduling, monitoring, and motivation
- Excellent understanding of solutions and technologies supporting the current and future needs of these customers
- Excellent understanding of general investment management, investment finance and corporate concepts, processes and practices
- Has led a team of technical experts, developers, and engineers for the development, design and maintenance of trade applications.
Remuneration & Benefits
Compensation will be market competitive including both base and bonus.