Senior Director IT Application Services

Senior Director IT Application Services | Toronto | Hybrid Join a leading Canadian organization with a long-standing legacy of quality, innovation, and recognizable brands in households across the country. With more than a century of growth and transformation, the company continues to evolve its digital capabilities and is seeking a senior technology leader to shape the future of its application ecosystem. About the Role The Senior Director, IT Application Services oversees all enterprise software applications, implementations, and support across Canada. This role is accountable for defining and executing the application strategy and roadmap, optimizing the legacy and future-state portfolio, and enabling innovation through transformative business processes. Key Responsibilities 1. Strategic Leadership & Digital Transformation Develop and execute the enterprise application strategy aligned with long-term business goals and global IT direction. Lead enhancements to existing systems by collaborating with stakeholders to analyze business, data, and reporting needs and present solution options. Drive adoption of new digital capabilities to improve efficiency, scalability, and value creation. Assess and implement emerging technologies (e.g., GenAI, ML, RPA, IoT), including opportunities to build in-house applications. Bring multi-disciplinary teams together under a unified application vision. Partner with executives to guide strategic investments and digital priorities. 2. Operational Excellence Oversee the full Canadian application portfolio and digital initiatives. Advance automation and workflow digitization to reduce manual processes. Ensure application services meet business expectations by monitoring effectiveness across SAP, group applications, and all supported systems. Plan and manage major projects, including scope, timelines, resources, and budgets. Lead resolution of system issues and ensure business continuity. Ensure applications meet cybersecurity, regulatory, and audit requirements. Establish and track IT performance metrics. Support global IT roadmaps and initiatives. Manage capital budgets, operational expenditures, and long-term financial planning. 3. Team Leadership & Development Lead a team of Managers and Business Analysts, overseeing hiring, performance, coaching, and development. Set clear team and individual objectives aligned with long-term strategic goals. Build a strong culture of business partnership, accountability, collaboration, and innovation. Attract and retain top technical talent. 4. Stakeholder & Vendor Management Serve as the primary liaison for executives, business leaders, and external technology partners. Maintain strong relationships across business divisions to ensure alignment on initiatives. Manage vendor partnerships to ensure solution quality, budget alignment, and value delivery. Represent the organization in industry forums and contribute to thought leadership. 5. Governance, Risk & Compliance Maintain compliance with regulations, internal policies, and documentation requirements. Ensure IT knowledge and system documentation is maintained and shared. Ensure change requests follow established SDLC/stage-gate methodologies. Apply risk management practices to support disaster recovery and business continuity planning. What You Bring Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence and advise executive teams. Proven track record leading large-scale application transformations within CPG or manufacturing. 15 years of progressive IT leadership, including managing high-performance teams and SAP ERP implementations in the CPG sector. Deep understanding of CPG business processes: Order to Cash, Procure to Pay, Plan to Produce, Acquire to Retire, Hire to Retire. Expertise in SAP ECC, SAP S/4HANA, BW, CRM, TPM, PLM, LIMS, integration platforms (SAP BTP, TIBCO). Strong strategic thinking with the ability to define clear future-state vision. Experience with software selection, vendor evaluation, and contract negotiation. Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey information clearly and professionally. Strong program/project management and IT portfolio management capabilities. Experience with change management within complex IT initiatives. Ability to stay current on emerging technologies relevant to the business. Experience with custom software development (asset). Familiarity with the Canadian market and bilingualism (English/French) are strong assets. Poly Tech Talent is committed to an inclusive, equitable process. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of our selection process.