AVP, Japan Technology Services

This is a strategic role and has broad responsibilities in ensuring overall success of the Technology organization in Japan’s tech planning and budgeting, financial discipline and controls, portfolio management, appropriate governance for vendor management, agile delivery model (ADM) and lean portfolio enablement.IT Financials Planning, Budgeting and ManagementDevelop and manage the annual IT budget in collaboration with other Tech department leaders and regional/global teams on transfer pricing itemsForecast operational and capital expenditures for IT initiatives, projects and infrastructureAnalyze variances between actuals and budget; provide actionable insightsSupport strategic planning by modeling ROI, TCO and business cases for IT investmentsMonitor and control IT spend, identifying opportunities for cost savings and efficiencyTrack software licensing, cloud services, vendor contracts and managed services expendituresIT Portfolio Planning and ManagementDevelop the IT Portfolio in collaboration with business stakeholders during annual planning, manage and ensure project investments are well prioritized and deliver expected valueConduct IT resource demand planning according to the portfolio of project execution requirementsMaintain and update Resource Management (RAM) records to reflect current demandAlign resource management with the budget and control investments and expensesImplement consistent risk and issue tracking, ensuring early identification and escalation of project-level and cross-project challengesOversee portfolio dashboards, health reports, and executive summaries to track program/project performance, status, risks and dependenciesVendor ManagementDevelop and execute IT Vendor management strategy aligned with business and technology goalsSegment and categorize vendors based on criticality, spend and risks to determine oversight levels and relationship models Serve as the point of contact for strategic vendor relationships, ensuring mutual success and value creationLead contract negotiations, renewals, SLAs and pricing agreements to ensure optimal terms and risk mitigationDefine and track KPI and SLA to measure vendor performanceConduct regular business reviews with vendors and internal stakeholders to assess delivery, escalate issues, and drive continuous improvementMonitor and mitigate vendor-related risks including financial, operational, regulatory and cybersecurity exposuresManage vendor budgets, invoicing, cost tracking and forecasting in collaboration with IT FinanceIdentify opportunities for cost optimizationEstablish and lead vendor governance frameworksProject and Program Methodology and GovernanceEstablish and maintain IT project and program (Waterfall/Agile) governance structures and methodologies Ensure compliance of MetLife project and program methodologiesEnsure alignment with relevant enterprise governance, risks and compliance policiesStandardize the utilization of project management tools such as TargetProcess and facilitate in data completeness and hygieneDevelop training and onboarding programs for project managers/scrum masters to ensure consistent application of methodsEvaluate and evolve methodologies to support agile, iterative delivery and traditional project execution models Manage and support the rollout of project /program management tools such as TargetProcess and ApptioAgile EnablementDefine and drive the Agile enablement strategy across IT, including roadmap development, metrics and KPIsContinuously improve scaled agile framework (SAFe) to support cross-team alignment and deliveryLead a team of agile coaches to uplift agile maturity across teamsFacilitate the provision of coaching to executives, delivery leads, and cross-functional teams to instill agile mindset and practicesEstablish communities of practice and alignment to global COE to foster learning, consistency and innovation in agile deliveryWork with Project/Program Governance team to define governance structures that balance agility with accountability and controlsDevelop metrics and reporting systems to track agile maturity, team velocity, predictability, and business value deliverySupport the creation of agile funding and governance models (e.g. lean and persistent team budgeting)Optimize agile workflows, boards and reporting dashboardsPromote standardization in agile artifacts, ceremonies and team setups Lead organizational and cultural changes required to scale agile, including upskilling, engagement and communication initiativesEssential Experience, Skills and Competencies:Experience of:at least 15 years of total working experience in IT or similar capacitytechnology consulting experience with a reputable Consulting Firm will have added advantage insurance industry (preferred but not mandatory)in leading Project or PMO functions in complex, matrixed environmentsin enterprise-wide agile transformation in complex, matrixed environmentsIT financials/portfolio management and performance metrics reportingworking with senior levels of managementstrong knowledge of both traditional project management and agile delivery methodologiesstrong understanding of IT cost structures, including cloud services (e.g. Azure), software licensing, application development vendor resource costs and infrastructurehands on in managing IT finance or project costing, sharp with numbersinfluencing senior stakeholdersSkills Bachelor degree in IT, Finance or relatedPMP or Agile SAFe CertificationMBA or equivalent is optionalExcellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skillsworking in a highly-matrixed organisationability to influence and guide others in order to deliver results ability to challenge assumptionsdiplomacy in situations where competing and conflicting demands are presentresults-focused and self-motivatednegotiation skills with vendors