Director, New Opportunities, Technology at NewGlobe

About the Role

Technology at NewGlobe is a highly complex, vertically-integrated affair, with systems supporting an ever expanding range of functions and countries, and crossing between software development, business intelligence, IT operations, and logistics/supply chain. At the same time, our teams run lean and things change fast – governments make policy decisions that affect us, launching new territories is a frenetic affair, and we still need to evolve our core technology offering. 

This role is about ensuring that NewGlobes investments in technology translate into rapid and reliable launches, appropriately localised offerings, and sustainable at-scale operations. To achieve that, it will require deep knowledge of the existing NewGlobe tools and processes, an exceptional ability to collaborate, listen, and communicate, and a passion for continuous improvement. Above all else, this role is about being a technologist who can be a fast-moving and utterly resilient problem solver, while simultaneously being obsessed with ensuring the scale and sustainability of our operations. 

When deployed as part of a new launch, this person will be on-ground as the Technology representative in the cross-functional New Opportunities team, adapting and deploying the existing set of tools and processes and infrastructure to the local context, hiring and training the future IT Operations team, and generally doing whatever is necessary. To achieve that goal, this person will be supported by and oversee a small globally distributed technology team assigned to the launch, including staff from both software development and IT Operations. But it will also mean rolling up sleeves, doing systems administration, installing software, working with local vendors, and whatever else is necessary to make the technology go. 

When not participating in a new launch, this person will be catching up on the latest developments within the Technology group and working to make the next launch better, faster, cheaper. 

This person will report to the Vice President of New Opportunities, with a functional reporting line to the CTO. This person will be a member of the core Technology Leadership team, alongside directors owning the IT Operations, Software Development, Product Management, and Programme Management functions, respectively. 

What You Will Do

• Hire and on-board the IT Operations manager and team (up to 10+) who will take over operations post-launch 
• Support academics and leadership and development teams to provide tech support for teacher trainings for up to 10,000 teachers in first 3 months in-country 
• Manage the local hardware and infrastructure setup, under the oversight of the shared services IT Operations director, to ensure that support office infrastructure (internet, PBX, firewalls, domain controllers, etc.), IT assets (smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.), and tech consumables (software licenses, airtime, etc.) are procured and available in a way that is timely, cost-effective, and consistent with established NewGlobe standards. 
• Build awareness and perform training around the existing technology toolset for the local teams, including new products or functionality that might not have existed in prior launches
• Ensure the right balance between standardisation (including pushing back on local teams to adopt) and localisation (including pushing back on shared services teams to adapt) 
• Oversee the technology shared services teams assigned to a launch, including prioritisation of issues for resolution, necessary customisations, and the coordination of associated timelines and releases. Changes to software systems to be overseen by the shared services Software Development director. 
• Act as the single point of contact on ground for Technology during a launch, meaning communicating a clear and complete picture back to the Technology Leadership teams and also communicating information back from those teams to the local teams 
• Prevent shadow systems and misinformation from becoming embedded 
• Between launches, work with other technology departments and functions to improve future launches, including product strategy, software development, IT Operations, and business intelligence 
• Advocate relentlessly for - and personally embrace - the use of data and reports to drive facts-based and at-scale decision making 

What You Should Have

• Experience deploying and overseeing technology in low infrastructure and physically remote environments - limited or unreliable access to power, limited or unreliable access to network, difficult or slow to reach in person, and often using low spec hardware. 
• Experience that includes mobile applications and enterprise mobility management are a big plus. 
• Experience working across multiple teams and departments, especially in a globally distributed and matrixed organisation. 
• Strong project management skills, especially with both lean processes that are designed to work in rapidly changing environments and also with more formal structures designed for complex and well-defined projects  
• Understanding of networking infrastructure (routers, switches, firewalls, domain controllers) and the associated setup and configuration 
• Competency with other types of systems administration tasks, esp. Linux-based systems, such as PBXs, LAMP-stack OSS, etc. 
• Familiarity with ITIL, Information Security, and Identity Management best practices. 
• Experience participating in modern software development and continuous delivery processes, including automated deployment pipelines, microservice APIs, frequent releases, and fast feedback 
• Proficiency in the use of monitoring tools to oversee systems at a distance and at scale (and to reduce mean time to response)
• Exceptional listening, communication, and collaboration skills
• 7+ years relevant IT/industry work experience 
• Bachelor's degree with strong academic performance 
• Experience of living and/or working in emerging markets, including rural and remote communities .