Deliver strategy and guidance for the Secure Infrastructure and IT department. reporting directly to the head of IT.Key Contributions:Project ManagementCapacity PlanningIT Operations Metrics ReportingBudge ControlsStrategy and Quartey PlanningAgile Management / ReportingVendor Portfolio ManagementIT Operations Governance Vendor Risk Assessment

Provide strategic guidance and direction to a 6-person team of full-stack and SPO developers across the country.Mobilize hands-on leadership to team to develop and implement networks and servers, respond to user help desk requests, and monitor system stability and performance. Leverage expertise across IT performance and network administration and system security to provide high quality network infrastructure monitoring and system problem resolution utilizing ERP, HRIS, SNOW, and Jira.Assess system data and error logs, along with user reports, to determine areas for improvement or repair, as well as to ascertain when systems/servers are due for upgrades; build data management capability using industry-best practices and tools. Enhanced data governance, sharing, and interoperability within the HR functions by spearheading HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) Integration; facilitated merging two legacy HRIS into one unified system UltiPro for the company, merged Travel and Expense and General Ledger using UltiPro as the source of truth. Synthesized Service Now and Jira for a seamless interface to enter support and other project-related requests. Provided technical support and maintenance for Edelman Financial Engines ERP systems, including month, quarter, and year-end book closings; engaged with BI team in drafting and documenting reports, as well as resolving financial discrepancies.Led the migration of SharePoint on-prem to SharePoint Online to include 3 TB of data, workflows, and team sites, boosting flexibility and portability.

Directed a 5-person team of engineers to promote corporate and branch digital security and DC connectivity.Selected and installed security hardware and software, analyzing networks for potential security threats, and developing Internet protocols to deal with viruses. Protected company information and privacy by implementing yearly firewall audits.Achieved improvements in critical performance measures, such as cost, quality, service, and speed with the re-engineering of the corporate network infrastructure, resulting in $400K+ savings YoY; minimized and normalizing WAN circuits from 4 vendors and 15 circuits to 2 vendors and two circuits per Corp location. Promoted higher capacity bandwidth, centralized management, network visibility, multiple connection types with SD-WAN network redesign, utilizing IP Sec and BGP running over OSPF. Provided advanced security solutions with the adoption of a new VPN solution, resulting in an $80K+ annual savings.

Provide support to all desktop processes, maintaining exceptional quality following end-user requirements, and assisting to resolve all complex issues for all North America, Central America, and South America internal and external customers.Monitored efficient working of a 9-member support team located in five states and Mexico; controlled a $1.5M budget and asset management (both hardware and software), and ensured optimal level of operational productivity and compliance to all customer objectives.Collaborated with application support and IT team to provide technical expertise in various support issues and administer all contracts in assistance with the production team and recommend improvements to all management processes.Administered all desktop technology integration processes on various servers and supported the installation of various product solutions, assisting to perform troubleshooting on all processes.Mobilized Office 365 for 4K+ users, and led migration of 6TB data from Box.com to OneDrive, resulting in $150K+ savings; collaborated with third-party, and cross-functional departments to schedule employee training. A key player in negotiating and closing nine laptop lease contracts, reducing operating expenses significantly; streamlined campaign to return, acquire and replenish 1K leased Dell laptops for North America associates.Proactively facilitated robust security with the adoption of centralized management of all MACs and PCs; drove endpoint protection, patch management, and software distribution via SCCM management and JAMF; strengthened data protection with the deployment of File Vault and BitLocker encryption.Led technology elements of transition, expediting corporate office relocation.

Provided oversight of IT Operations including leadership and supervision to the (3) members of the IT Infrastructure/Desktop division, adopting appropriately skilled resources to meet required service levels.Oversaw a $600K+ budget, tracking budgets and delivering cost-benefit analysis to weigh financial decision impact against desired outcomes.Directed the development, implementation, and administration of all IT, incorporating technology guidelines, controls, processes, system enhancements, and solutions to mitigate business risks.Managed operational data and software solutions to obtain better business intelligence, and align with company strategic vision.Performed Project management of IT initiatives across new partner implementations, analyzing architecture design, scoping, implementation, testing, and deployment needs to define project requirements, and produce measurable business value.Provided ITIL Service disciplines across user support transformation, building infrastructure, help desk, and desktop support from the ground up, while ensuring business continuity, controlling risk, and minimizing disruption to associated IT services.Built and oversaw agile, responsive teams to deliver and maintain a cloud-based phone system, without additional equipment; facilitated phone access at partner locations, decreasing related acquisition and operating costs by $3K+ annually. Enforced multichannel support and leveraged help desk groups to dramatically increase user satisfaction, at zero cost; spearheaded the deployment of automated ticket tracking system to capture, manage, and track the status of customer issues in an organized and highly-collaborative manner; explored feasible solutions and designated Spiceworks open-source solution in managing tickets raised by clients, providing customer support via multiple channels and tracking agents’ performance, among others.