Senior Director - IT Platform Services (Cedar Rapids)

Job FamilyIT - GeneralAbout Us At Transamerica, hard work, innovative thinking, and personal accountability are qualities we honor and reward. We understand the potential of leveraging the talents of a diverse workforce. We embrace an environment where employees enjoy a balance between their careers, families, communities, and personal interests. Ultimately, we appreciate the uniqueness of a company where talented professionals work collaboratively in a positive environment — one focused on helping people look forward and plan for the best life possible while providing tools and solutions that make it easier to get there. Who We Are We believe everyone deserves to live their best life. More than a century ago, we were among the first financial services companies in America to serve everyday people from all walks of life. Today, we’re part of an international holding company, with millions of customers and thousands of employees worldwide. Our insurance, retirement, and investment solutions help people make the most of what’s important to them. We’re empowered by a vast agent network covering North America, with diversity to match. Together with our nonprofit research institute and foundation, we tune in, step up, and are a force for good — for our customers and the communities where we live, work, and play. United in our purpose, we help people create the financial freedom to live life on their terms. What We Do Transamerica is organized into three distinct businesses. These include 1) World Financial Group, including Transamerica Financial Advisors, 2) Protection Solutions and Savings & Investments, comprised of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits, retirement plans, and Transamerica Investment Solutions, and 3) Financial Assets, which includes legacy blocks of long term care, universal life, and variable and fixed annuities. These are supported by Transamerica Corporate, which includes Finance, People and Places, General Counsel, Risk, Internal Audit, Strategy and Development, and Corporate Affairs, which covers Communications, Brand, and Government and Policy Affairs. Transamerica employs nearly 7,000 people. It’s part of Aegon, an integrated, diversified, international financial services group serving approximately 23.9 million customers worldwide.* For more information, visit transamerica.com.  Job Description SummaryEnterprise Technology (formerly Global Technology Services) is a global organization within Transamerica. We provide dedicated support to Transamerica and we bring all of Aegon's business units together through the use of technology. We provide the backbone - the infrastructure - for how everything works. We’re creating the company’s AI environment, building a flexible ‘cloud experience’ for internal hosting services, designing frameworks for data governance and management, and ensuring the security and stability the company’s technology. In short, we enable the business units to move more quickly and deliver to our clients in the best possible way. Whether customers are interested in insurance products or annuities or financial services, we're here to ensure they don't have to worry whether their information is safe. The people we employ are incredibly diverse, both in terms of backgrounds and skill sets.  There are over 1,000 of us representing a dozen or so nationalities and located in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, and Hungary, Spain, and Hong Kong.  Our global teams are comprised of experts in the areas such as application development, information security, infrastructure services, data & analytics, risk & controls,  procurement, program management, and architecture.  With the breadth of functions within Enterprise Technology, individuals can pursue a wide variety of careers, and we have a focus on supporting employees’ development.  In particular, our Talent Marketplace enables colleagues to take on gigs to broaden their experience and try out different responsibilities, which can be extremely rewarding. The most important quality in the people who join us is curiosity.  A lot of what we do is problem solving, requiring colleagues to take what they know and apply it to new situations. We have many mature processes, but we’re always looking for opportunities to improve, so we want people who are naturally inquisitive and confident enough to challenge the way we do things.  Technology is constantly, rapidly changing – we need you to help us continue to change with it. Job Description The Senior Director of IT Platform Services is a strategic leadership role responsible for the global vision, delivery, and governance of enterprise platforms that enable agile, scalable, and high-quality technology delivery. This includes ownership of ServiceNow, Jira/Atlassian suite, the Testing Center of Excellence (TCoE), and CI/CD tooling and adoption. The role will lead a global team and partner with engineering, operations, security, and business stakeholders to drive platform innovation, automation, and operational excellence.ResponsibilitiesStrategic Leadership & VisionDefine and execute the global strategy for IT platform services aligned with enterprise architecture and digital transformation goalsChampion platform modernization, automation, and DevOps/Agile enablement across the organizationServe as a thought leader and advisor to executive leadership on platform capabilities and innovationServiceNow Platform OwnershipLead the global delivery and lifecycle management of ServiceNow, including ITSM, ITOM, HRSD, and custom applicationsDrive platform governance, performance, and expansion into new business domainsEnsure alignment with ITIL practices, security, and compliance standardsJira & Agile Tooling GovernanceOversee the enterprise-wide configuration, standardization, and integration of Jira and the Atlassian ecosystemEstablish governance models, usage standards, and reporting frameworks to support agile at scalePartner with product and engineering teams to optimize workflows and delivery velocityTesting Center of Excellence (TCoE)Lead the TCoE to define enterprise testing strategies, automation frameworks, and quality metricsPromote shift-left testing, continuous testing, and test data management practicesEnsure consistent quality assurance practices across all delivery teams and geographiesCI/CD Tooling & DevOps EnablementOwn the strategy and implementation of CI/CD pipelines and toolchains (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab, Azure DevOps)Drive adoption of DevSecOps practices and continuous delivery capabilities across engineering teamsEnsure tooling supports secure, scalable, and efficient software delivery pipelinesTeam Leadership & Global DeliveryBuild and lead a high-performing global team of platform engineers, architects, and service ownersFoster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvementManage vendor relationships, budgets, and service delivery metricsStakeholder Engagement & Change ManagementAct as a key liaison between IT, business units, and engineering teams to ensure platform alignment with business needsLead change management, training, and communication strategies to drive adoption and value realizationReport on platform KPIs, ROI, and strategic outcomes to executive stakeholdersQualificationsBachelor's degree in related field or equivalent training/experience required.Minimum of 12 years experience in financial services and minimum of 5 years previous leadership required.Experience in IT leadership roles, with deep expertise in enterprise platforms, DevOps, and agile deliveryProven track record of leading global teams and delivering platform transformation at scaleStrong knowledge of ServiceNow, Jira/Atlassian, CI/CD tools, and enterprise testing practicesExperience in regulated or complex environments (e.g., finance, healthcare, manufacturing) is a plusExceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skillsPreferred QualificationsMBA or equivalent business acumen preferredServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist or ArchitectAtlassian Certified Jira AdministratorSAFe Program Consultant (SPC) or equivalent Agile certificationDevOps Leader or CI/CD-related certifications (e.g., GitLab, Jenkins, Azure DevOpsWorking ConditionsHybrid Office EnvironmentCompensationThe Salary for this position generally ranges between $195,000 - $250,000 annually. Please note that the salary range is a good faith estimate for this position and actual starting pay is determined by several factors including qualifications, experience, geography, work location designation (in-office, hybrid, remote) and operational needs. Salary may vary above and below the stated amounts, as permitted by applicable law.Additionally, this position is typically eligible for an Annual Bonus based on the Company Bonus Plan/Individual Performance and is at the Company’s discretion. Applicants must possess legal authorization to work for our company in the U.S. without the need for immigration, sponsorship or otherwise serving as an employer of record for immigration employment purposes. At this time, this role is not eligible for immigration-related employment authorization sponsorship.This is a hybrid position requiring three days in office per week in one of our hub locations. Relocation assistance will not be provided for this position.This job description is not a contract of employment nor for any specific job responsibilities. The Company may change, add to, remove, or revoke the terms of this job description at its discretion. Managers may assign other duties and responsibilities as needed. In the event an employee or applicant requests or requires an accommodation to perform job functions, the applicable HR Business Partner should be contacted to evaluate the accommodation request.What We Offer For eligible employees, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support both the personal and financial well-