Vice President of Information Technology

How you’ll have an impact at Paula’s Choice:

The Vice President of Information Technology (VP IT) is a critical role in our North America growth and global expansion. Leading multiple disciplines, the VP IT will coach architects, developers, data engineers, project managers, infrastructure engineers, DBAs and service desk technicians. The role will work with our headquarters team to innovate, develop and maintain the standards and patterns of our PC Platform, most notably our Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), NetSuite OneWorld, Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) and Shopify code bases with local integrations.  As well, the VP IT will manage regional directors and US IT resources and external vendors to provide technical, project, systems, and inventory support to the Paula’s Choice’s users and infrastructure.

This new role is expansive in covering front end ecommerce, backend systems and services, project management, cybersecurity, infrastructure and end user support. It will be critical in establishing world class policies and procedures to keep us consistent, safe and thorough.

The successful candidate will be a servant leader, working to facilitate the success of team members while building positive relationships with our internal organization and functional leaders in our culture of “yes” (we say “yes” to collaborating on solutions). They will be detail oriented, yet people over process focused. They will lead from the front as we continue to grow our global footprint.

As a VP IT a typical day might include a mix of the following:

• Partner with the CIO and our headquarters team to explore innovations that accelerate our business. 

• Partner with the CIO to define global IT infrastructure strategy, architecture, and processes.

• Work closely with CIO and stakeholders to prioritize quarterly initiatives.

• Own all IT functions, including the following: Office 365, Azure, SSO, SaaS applications, etc., supporting our 24x7 ecommerce enterprise.

• Develop, monitor and maintain systems, standards, and infrastructure to support Paula’s Choice offices and staff throughout globally.

• Manage project deliverables and responsibilities, vendor management, contract negotiation, budgets, and be the subject matter expert on company IT services and applications.

• Working with the CIO & CISO, ensure IT systems meet all requirements for data security. (GDPR, CCPA, PII, PCI, etc.) 

• Drive day-to-day executions by leading internal development as well as external agencies, to ship high quality releases on time in an Agile, continuous improvement methodology.

• Manage and protect the SFCC master front end code base as well as back-end services and ESB code base for global adoption and local performance.

• Oversee 'health of site' KPI's such as latency/load times and outages, for desktop, mobile, and tablet.

• Troubleshoot website functionalities and find solutions while working with tight deadlines.

• Work as the point of escalation, supporting in country teams to address revenue and customer experience blockers.

• Defining product specifications and functioning scopes for infrastructure support (encompassing hardware and software) to ensure that solutions meet the needs of customers and stakeholders.

• Lead the PC AMER IT team of approximately 20+ employees, aligning a diverse remote staff with company goals and objectives. Today's organization includes the following departments: Back End Systems Development, Front End Systems Development, Data Warehouse, Program Management, Infrastructure, and Service Desk teams.

• Other responsibilities as assigned by your manager.

The Details:

• Location: We are based in Seattle, and although we are looking nationally, local candidates are preferred.

• Hours: Typically, regular business hours, but some flexibility and extended hours required

• Physical requirements: Ability to both sit for long periods of time & handle long periods of screen time 

• Travel requirements: Up to 20%, domestic travel

What you’ll bring to the table: 

Experience:

• 15+ years of IT experience  

• 10+ years in a leadership role 

• 10+ years of experience in e-commerce, retail (cosmetics background is preferable but not required) 

• 10+ years of experience with large-scale e-commerce applications and marketing platforms. 

• 10+ years of experience with agile methodologies. 

• 10+ years of experience designing mobile application UX/UIs

Skills:

• Superior communication skills with external & internal business partners and development teams 

• Ability to be self-motivated and work with urgency to mitigate blockers. May need to involve key partners such as: customer service team, digital marketing, creative and brand teams  

• Comfortable working in a team-oriented, entrepreneurial environment 

• Fast learner, confident communicator, with the ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a fast-paced environment (resourceful, hands-on, able to sense urgency) 

• Demonstrated leadership skills, passion, ability to learn and adapt, and team skills 

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills for data-driven decision making

Knowledge:

• Working knowledge of Sales Force Commerce Cloud & Shopify 

• Working knowledge of NetSuite OneWorld or other ERP applications

• Clear understanding of Project Management Methodologies –Agile, Scrum, Adaptive

• Up to date with the latest trends and best practices in e-commerce, software development, disaster recovery / business continuity, security, and IT infrastructure (PC & Mac, Server, Network, etc.)

• Proven record of accomplishment of maturing and streamlining IT systems and processes (i.e., employee onboarding/offboarding, software/hardware provisioning, etc.)

What can help you really stand out: 

• Background in skincare, personal care, cosmetics, or a related industry strongly preferred 

• Experience with migrating a site to NetSuite OneWorld a plus 

• Bachelor’s Degree  

Approximate Salary Range Based on Experience and Location:

$250,000 - $280,000 USD/annually

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