Sr. Director, Enterprise Applications

The Senior Director, Enterprise Applications is responsible for the strategy, governance, delivery, and lifecycle management of ICANN’s enterprise application portfolio. This leader oversees the platforms and systems that support core business functions, including Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Legal, Corporate Operations, and other enterprise services.

The role is accountable for ensuring enterprise applications are aligned with business objectives, optimized for operational efficiency, secure, scalable, and capable of supporting ICANN’s long-term technology strategy. Working closely with business stakeholders, Product Management, Enterprise Architecture, Security, Data & AI, and Engineering teams, the Senior Director drives application modernization, platform standardization, business process improvement, and enterprise integration initiatives.

The Senior Director provides strategic leadership for the enterprise application landscape, ensuring technology investments deliver measurable business value while reducing complexity, improving interoperability, and enabling digital transformation across the organization.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

Enterprise Applications Strategy and Portfolio Management

Define and lead the Enterprise Applications strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, enterprise architecture principles, and digital transformation initiatives.

Own the enterprise application portfolio, including platforms supporting Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Corporate Operations, and other enterprise business capabilities.

Maintain a comprehensive view of the enterprise application landscape, including application ownership, business capabilities, dependencies, integrations, lifecycle status, and associated risks.

Develop and maintain enterprise application roadmaps that balance business priorities, technical requirements, operational needs, and long-term strategic objectives.

Drive application portfolio rationalization efforts to reduce redundancy, consolidate platforms, optimize licensing, and improve total cost of ownership.

Application Delivery and Lifecycle Management

Oversee the selection, implementation, enhancement, operation, and retirement of enterprise applications throughout their lifecycle.

Ensure enterprise applications are scalable, secure, resilient, and aligned with organizational standards.

Lead modernization initiatives, including cloud adoption, SaaS transformation, platform upgrades, and retirement of legacy technologies.

Evaluate and implement AI-enabled capabilities within enterprise applications to improve business processes, decision-making, automation, and operational effectiveness.

Establish governance processes for application intake, evaluation, prioritization, implementation, and lifecycle management.

Ensure appropriate operational readiness, support models, and lifecycle planning for all enterprise applications.

Integration and Interoperability

Establish and execute enterprise application integration strategies that enable seamless business processes and data exchange across platforms.

Oversee the implementation and management of APIs, middleware solutions, integration platforms, and automation capabilities.

Partner with Enterprise Architecture teams to ensure application integrations align with approved architectural standards and enterprise technology strategies.

Promote interoperability and data consistency across enterprise systems through standardized integration practices.

Business Partnership and Process Optimization

Partner with business leaders to understand organizational needs and identify opportunities to improve business processes through technology.

Partner with business leaders to identify opportunities to leverage AI and intelligent automation within enterprise business processes.

Serve as a trusted advisor to Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Legal, and Corporate Operations leadership regarding enterprise application capabilities and investments.

Drive adoption of enterprise platform capabilities and encourage standardization of business processes where appropriate.

Ensure enterprise applications effectively support organizational growth, operational efficiency, compliance, and employee productivity.

Vendor and Financial Management

Manage strategic relationships with enterprise application vendors and service providers.

Lead vendor evaluations, contract negotiations, licensing strategies, renewals, and performance management activities.

Develop and manage budgets associated with enterprise application platforms and services.

Identify opportunities for cost optimization while maintaining service quality and business value.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Ensure enterprise applications comply with organizational security, privacy, compliance, and risk management requirements.

Partner with Security, Compliance, and Privacy teams to incorporate appropriate controls into enterprise platforms and business processes.

Support compliance with applicable standards and frameworks, including ISO 27001, NIST, and other organizational requirements.

Establish governance practices that ensure accountability, transparency, and effective decision-making across the enterprise application portfolio.

Performance Management and Continuous Improvement

Define and monitor key performance indicators for enterprise applications, including availability, adoption, user satisfaction, operational effectiveness, and business value realization.

Develop executive dashboards and reporting frameworks that provide visibility into portfolio performance, risks, and opportunities.

Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on user experience, process efficiency, platform performance, and operational excellence.

Leverage data and stakeholder feedback to inform investment decisions and roadmap priorities.

Leadership and Organizational Development

Lead, mentor, and develop enterprise applications leaders, engineers, analysts, and administrators.

Establish a culture of accountability, collaboration, customer focus, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Build organizational capabilities that support the long-term evolution and maturity of ICANN’s enterprise application environment.

Foster strong partnerships across Engineering & IT and business functions to ensure successful delivery of enterprise technology capabilities.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Deep expertise in enterprise application portfolio management, including ERP, HRIS, Finance, Procurement, and business productivity platforms.

Strong understanding of enterprise application lifecycle management, governance, and modernization practices.

Proven experience leading enterprise application ecosystems within complex organizations.

Demonstrated success driving application rationalization, platform consolidation, and technology modernization initiatives.

Understanding of AI-enabled enterprise application capabilities and intelligent process automation technologies.

Expertise in enterprise integration strategies, including APIs, middleware platforms, workflow automation, and data integration solutions.

Strong understanding of SaaS and cloud-based enterprise application environments.

Experience establishing governance frameworks for application selection, implementation, lifecycle management, and operational oversight.

Ability to align enterprise application investments with business capabilities and organizational objectives.

Experience partnering with Enterprise Architecture, Security, Infrastructure, Product Management, and Data teams.

Strong business acumen and the ability to translate complex technology concepts into actionable business recommendations.

Proven leadership experience building and managing high-performing enterprise applications organizations.

Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and organizational leadership skills.

Ability to lead organizational change and enterprise-wide technology transformation initiatives.

Education and Experience Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.

Minimum fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible experience in enterprise applications, business systems, technology leadership, or related disciplines.

Minimum eight (8) years of people leadership experience managing managers, professional staff, and technical teams.

Demonstrated experience leading enterprise application portfolios and large-scale business technology initiatives.

MBA or other advanced degree preferred.

Preferred Certifications

TOGAF Certification.

COBIT Foundation or higher.

PMP certification.

ITIL Foundation or higher.

Success Measures

Alignment of enterprise applications with business and technology strategy.

Successful delivery of application modernization and transformation initiatives.

Reduction in application complexity and redundant technologies.

Improved user satisfaction, adoption, and business process effectiveness.

Enterprise application availability, reliability, and operational performance.

Effective management of application portfolio costs and vendor relationships.

Delivery of measurable business value from enterprise technology investments.

Strong organizational capability, employee engagement, and leadership effectiveness.

Language

Fluency, both written and spoken, in English is required.

ICANN is a global organization that values diversity; preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated skills in additional languages besides English.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

Work is performed in a normal office environment with limited privacy and some exposure to background noise.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand and walk. The employee regularly is required to sit. The employee is frequently required to talk or hear; use hands and arms to reach, handle or feel. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.

The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

ICANN is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on age, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, veteran status, physical or mental disability, sex, (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), childbirth or related medical conditions, family care status, genetic information or any other protected characteristics protected by local, state or federal law.

ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers, including domain names (like .com, .uk, .jobs, etc.), as well as the addresses used in a variety of internet protocols. A nonprofit public benefit corporation, ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers. These include domain names as well as the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols.

Effective: 2018

Targeted Base Salary Low:

Targeted Base Salary High:

Note: The salary range provided here is a general estimation for the position at the time of posting based on the primary location. Salary ranges vary based upon geographic regions and countries. Final compensation packages take into consideration of a variety of factors including but not limited to a candidate’s location, work experience, knowledge, skills and other compensable factors.

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