Information Technology Manager

Our client, a leading automotive manufacturer recognized for its employee-focused culture and commitment to innovation, is seeking an IT Manager to join its enterprise IT organization. This is a direct hire leadership opportunity responsible for managing the applications and technology solutions that support Human Resources, Legal, and Enterprise Learning.

Reporting to the IT Director, this role combines people leadership, enterprise application ownership, vendor management, business partnership, and technical delivery oversight.

The ideal candidate has a strong technical foundation, extensive experience leading enterprise application teams, and a proven ability to coach employees while delivering complex technology initiatives across a portfolio of SaaS and internally developed applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a team of developers, engineers, and Business Analysts while fostering a collaborative and accountable team environment.
• Conduct performance reviews, provide regular coaching and feedback, address performance concerns, and support employee development and retention.
• Own the strategy, delivery, support, and ongoing enhancement of enterprise applications supporting Human Resources, Legal, and Enterprise Learning.
• Oversee the full application lifecycle, including enhancements, integrations, vendor releases, production support, testing, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Partner closely with corporate business leaders to understand business objectives, translate requirements into technology solutions, and develop long-term application roadmaps.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects while balancing operational support, application enhancements, and strategic initiatives.
• Provide technical leadership across SaaS platforms, internally developed applications, integrations, and enterprise application environments.
• Manage relationships with SaaS providers, implementation partners, and third-party vendors, ensuring accountability for delivery, quality, timelines, and contract commitments.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, vendor expenditures, and technology investments for the application portfolio.
• Ensure adherence to SDLC best practices, governance standards, security requirements, change management processes, and compliance initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional IT teams to ensure scalable, reliable, and secure enterprise technology solutions.

Requirements

• Approximately 12+ years of progressive IT experience, including significant enterprise application leadership experience.
• Several years of formal people management with direct responsibility for developers, engineers, and/or Business Analysts.
• Proven experience conducting performance reviews, coaching employees, managing difficult personnel situations, and building high-performing technical teams.
• Strong technical foundation with prior hands-on experience in software development, engineering, systems analysis, or enterprise application development.
• Experience owning and supporting an enterprise application portfolio rather than solely managing projects.
• Strong understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), application delivery, systems integration, production support, testing, and release management.
• Experience partnering with corporate business functions such as Human Resources, Legal, Learning & Development, Finance, or other shared services organizations.
• Demonstrated experience managing SaaS applications, enterprise vendors, implementation partners, and outsourced technology providers.
• Strong project, portfolio, vendor, budget, and resource management experience.
• Excellent communication, leadership, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience supporting HRIS, Learning Management Systems, document management platforms, or enterprise SaaS applications is a plus.
• Experience with SaaS integrations, APIs, middleware, or cloud-based enterprise applications is preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience).