Senior Director of Technology Strategy

Apply Digital is a global digital transformation partner for change agents. We leverage expertise spanning Business Transformation Strategy, Product Design & Development, Commerce, Platform Engineering, Data Intelligence, Change Management, and beyond to enable our clients to modernize their organizations and deliver meaningful impact to the business and to their customers.

Location: Apply Digital is hybrid/remote-friendly. The preferred candidate should be based in Mexico City, preferably working in hours that align to Central Timezone.

The Role:

As a Senior Director, Technology Strategy, you will provide regional leadership for our Platform practice. Leveraging your expertise in platforms, omnichannel, digital experience, and business outcomes, you will develop strategies tailored to the North American market, enhancing client relationships and driving practice growth. Your background in platform solutioning and operations will be crucial in understanding the challenges and opportunities our clients face during transition and transformation.

When we say Platform, we mean a set of packaged business capabilities (like content management, commerce, search, loyalty, personalization, cloud infrastructure, etc.) in an ecosystem that enables our clients to grow. Platforms come in many shapes and sizes and the market has legacy vendors and advanced, modern suppliers of composable and modular capabilities. The Senior Director, Technology Strategy will have honed their craft while spending an even amount of time across technical and business domains, likely having worked with legacy vendors in the distant past and having shifted toward embracing a set of principles like MACH (microservices-based, API-first, cloud-native and headless).

You will provide territory-specific insight into market trends, leveraging your network of both enterprise brands and technology partners to ensure our successful positioning as platform solution leaders in the North American region.

By collaborating with cross-functional teams, you will be central to driving revenue growth by helping our clients adopt advanced business capabilities, optimizing platform solution operations, and providing the vision and local leadership to ensure exceptional platform experiences for our clients.

Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Provide strategic leadership and direction for the Platform practice in North America, including contributing to setting goals, developing strategies, and establishing best practices. Lead the team in driving revenue growth, solutioning and optimizing platform operations, and delivering exceptional platform experiences for clients.
• Client Relationship Management: Work with Client Services to build and maintain strong relationships with clients in North America, acting as a trusted advisor and point of contact for all platform-related matters. Surface and understand clients' business objectives and challenges, and effectively communicate strategic solutions that align with their goals. Proactively identify opportunities to add value and expand the scope of services provided to clients and ensure client satisfaction.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including sales, marketing, technology, and operations, to align platform strategies with overall business objectives. Provide expertise and guidance to internal stakeholders on platform strengths and weaknesses, best practices, user experience, digital marketing, omnichannel and channel-less operations and customer engagement.
• Project Delivery Collaboration: Actively participate in the delivery of client projects, working closely with the project teams to ensure the successful implementation of platform solutions. Leverage your technical and strategic expertise to guide project execution, thrive in ambiguous situations, and ensure that deliverables align with client objectives and expectations. Foster a culture of excellence and accountability, promoting close collaboration and clear communication across all stages of project delivery and various disciplines.
• Business Development: Work with sales teams to support business development efforts by identifying new business opportunities in the North American market, conducting market research and analysis, participating in sales presentations, and providing subject matter expertise. Develop and execute strategies to expand the platform practice while inspiring and exciting those you work with. While also developing new service offerings, supporting strategic partnerships, and staying up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies.
• Platform SME: Formulate questions to ask potential or existing clients to quickly understand where they are on their modernization or transformation journey, how they are set up from an operational perspective, and how to rapidly bring insight into the types of challenges they may be facing, from joining up omnichannel or channel-less customer journeys to the differences between B2B, B2C and D2C, and the specific complexities and differences of grocery, telecom, media & entertainment, healthcare, fintech, fashion, luxury goods, and so on. You will also be very comfortable engaging in conversations on classic enterprise touchpoints such as retail, contact center, mobile, web, AR/VR, etc., all while being able to sympathize with the common challenges that enterprises face when shifting to sophisticated and advanced experiences and operations.
• Team Support: Work with cross-functional teams, contributing with team leadership and mentorship as the platform solution SME, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. Identify opportunities to develop and execute training and development programs to enhance the skills and knowledge of platform practice members, and ensure the team is equipped to deliver high-quality services to the clients.
• Thought Leadership: Stay up-to-date with platform technology and business trends, industry best practices, and emerging technologies. Share insights and expertise through thought leadership initiatives, including blog posts, whitepapers, webinars, and industry events. Galvanize the company as a leader in the platform solution space in North America through innovative strategies and industry recognition.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience.
• A blend of consulting and enterprise experience is essential.
• Experience managing (directly and indirectly) large teams of people as well as the expectations of a variety of stakeholders (from C-level to consumers).
• Public speaking and presentation skills.
• Proven track record of success in leading and managing projects where complex solutions involving multiple systems and vendors were involved; driving revenue growth, and delivering exceptional client/stakeholder experiences.
• Deep knowledge of platform best practices, omnichannel or channel-less operations, user experience and digital marketing strategies.
• Strong understanding of headless and service-oriented platforms.
• Strong understanding of 'monolith to MACH/composable' thinking and strategies.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills, with the ability to mentor and develop team members.
• Strong business acumen, with experience in business development, sales, and client relationship management.
• Highly capable technical acumen with experience leading or managing technical people (developers, architects, solution consultants).
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to effectively communicate complex concepts to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Ability to travel within North America as needed for client meetings and business development opportunities.

Great projects: Broaden your skills on a range of engaging projects with global brands and important work for causes we care about.

An inclusive environment: We're truly committed to building a culture where diversity is celebrated and everyone feels welcome. So come as you are.

Learning opportunities: We offer generous training budgets, including partner tech certifications, custom learning plans, workshops, mentorship, and peer support.

Generous vacation policy: Work-life balance is key to our team's success, so we offer ample time away from work to promote overall well-being.

Customizable benefits: Tailor your extended health and dental plan to your needs, priorities, and preferences.

Flexible work arrangements: We work in a variety of ways, from remote, to in-office, to a blend of both.

Apply Digital is committed to building a culture where differences are celebrated and everyone feels welcome. That's why we value equal opportunity and nurture an inclusive workplace where our individual differences are recognized and valued.