Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with close to $10 billion in total annual premiums. The Company’s 14,000+ employees serve more than five million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada and the U.S. In Canada, the company distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through belairdirect. In the U.S., OneBeacon Insurance Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary, provides specialty insurance products through independent agencies, brokers, wholesalers and managing general agencies.
Innovation is at the heart of its approach. The organization encourages employees to challenge themselves, see things from the customer’s perspective and provide an experience that is second to none. That is why one in five Canadians trust the organization to protect what matters most to them.
Information technology has a team of over 1,300 dedicated employees with a budget $315millions, $265 millions Can + $50 millions US. In application development, we invest over $140 millions annually with a team of 650 employees in Canada and over 150 in USA to strengthen core systems. In Infrastructure and Service delivery, we manage a budget of over $150 millions with 600 employees in Canada and over 150 in the United State. We also have a digital and a Data Lab with a budget of 25 million and over 170 employees. The organization is also investing in and developing relationships with research institutions and universities to stay on the cutting edge of advancements in technology.
Intact centralized its experts and data, adding talent to help improve margins, grow the book of business and improve customer experience. The Intact Data Lab explores new sources of data and uses it to expand the competencies in artificial intelligence. Intact is also accelerating its learning by working with disruptors. Through Intact Ventures Inc., the organization partners with companies that have the potential to redefine the P&C insurance landscape with innovative business models and new technology. Its strategic partnerships combined with the investments they are making in data and software will help the organization improve how they serve their customers to deliver a second-to-none experience.
At Intact, everyone must play a role. It is about people: commitment to customers, communities and teams. Integrity and ethical behavior are essential to the reputation and success of Intact as a customer driven organization that strives to go beyond expectations and deliver an outstanding experience. At Intact, everyone is committed to excel in all aspects of business and organized according to five core values :
Integrity
Respect
Customer Driven
Excellence
Socially Responsible
As Intact continues this ambitious journey of leveraging technology to drive strategic differentiation, the organization seeks to recruit an accomplished technology executive to lead a highly progressive team responsible for the infrastructure.
The Role
Located in Anjou with frequent travel to the St-Hyacinthe office, the Vice president will have the overall responsibility to lead from a North American perspective the infrastructure, databases, middleware, cloud operation and the IT Security Operations. The main mandate aside from providing highly reliable IT operations will be to transform the organization by setting-up a Cloud center of excellence (CCoE) that will influence the overall business and technology evolution. Moreover, in the upcoming years, the technological roadmaps will have to be finalized to pursue the infrastructure evolution to support the growth of a world class enterprise. The Vice president of IT, Operation and Infrastructure will be leading in a fast-paced, quickly changing agile and complex technical environment. As IT security is a top priority for the organization, the continuous enhancement of security operations will be key, and the security aspect must be considered in all areas.
This executive will go beyond the mainstream solution while leveraging technology as a strategic enabler to innovate and provide leading solutions. More specifically, the Head of IT, infrastructure will be responsible for:
- Providing inspirational leadership to a progressive team of over 200 IT professionals promoting a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
- Building organizational capability by developing new leaders through both mentorship and structured development programs.
- Developing and communicating group objectives. Monitoring results on a regular basis while adjusting plans and performance expectations to achieve targeted results.
- Ensuring Intact’s mission, vision and behaviors are embraced by everyone within the area of influence by emphasizing how they are integrated into the program execution.
- Collaborating with business sponsors and IT executive peers across the organization to define and implement leading practices and scalable and innovative solutions to surpass the needs of client.
- Leading change, delivering new services that are client-centric, innovative and drive continuous improvement for commercial and specialty solution insurance line across North America.
- Demonstrating to the broader organization how technology may be used to disrupt the market.
- Working in agile development environment. This executive will play a role in the change to an agile culture in IT and in the business.
- Fostering and building on an inclusive and passionate professional culture across all of IT.
- Attracting and retaining talented professionals.
- Representing the organization externally with broker, partners and industry experts.
Candidate Profile
The Head of IT infrastructure will be a highly accomplished IT executive with 10-15 years technology leadership experience and a strong track record of successful development and delivery of complex, projects that resulted in material market impact. The successful candidate will have a background with DevOps and Agile project methodologies at scale; deep functional knowledge of emerging technologies; strong understanding of Cloud; and an architecture driven mind-set to balance long term position over short term gain. The Head of IT, infrastructure will have entrepreneurial qualities and proven ability to innovate bringing new products to fruition. This experience may have been gained in a variety of sectors but includes planning and executing large scale IT transformation projects.
Qualifications
- University degree in engineering, computer science, or related discipline is required
- 10-15 years’ experience in leading large infrastructure teams in complex, fast paced and dynamic environment during times of significant growth and change
- Strong track record of developing and executing strategy leading to technological transformation (including change management)
- Strong understanding of Cloud
- Experience in large organizations
- Experience in financial services is highly desired
- French and English fluency
The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to contribute to the broader technology direction and leadership beyond his/her direct remit. This leader will clearly have the ambition and potential to move into more senior roles in the organization in order to participate in succession planning priorities. The successful candidate will demonstrate the following competencies:
Business Acumen/Innovation
- A business person first, you possess a high degree of business acumen.
- Known to generate original solutions leading to different and uncommon ways to deal with work problems and opportunities.
- An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing innovative ideas that will stretch the organization and push the boundaries within the industry.
Leadership
- A leader with endless curiosity, you are calm and a good listener with an ability to unify the team.
- Known as humble and authentic, you have the ability to attract and recruit top talent, motivate the team, delegate effectively, celebrate diversity within the team, and manage performance.
- The ability to persevere in the face of challenges and exhibit a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment to higher standards, which commands respect from followers.
- A leader who is self-reflective and aware of his/her own limitations; leads by example and drives the organization’s performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and self-improvement.
Influencing and Communication
- A naturally collaborative leader, you encourage others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrate and support the success of the team.
- Strong communication, presentation and negotiation skills in complex environments with an aptitude for diplomacy.
- Creates a sense of purpose/meaning for the team that generates followership beyond his/her own personality and engages others to the greater purpose for the entire organization.
Results Orientation/Resilience
- Demonstrated resilience with a passion to improve the customer experience.
- The ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance; tenacious and accountable in driving results.
- Ability to handle high pressure situations
- Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainly; the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations.
- A leader who is viewed by others as having a high degree of integrity and forethought in his/her approach to making decisions; the ability to act in a transparent and consistent manner while always considering what is best for the organization.
Other Qualifications:
- An advanced degree in computer science, engineering, or other relevant discipline.
- An established network of professional contacts in the industry.
- Bilingualism is essential
If you are interested in this position, please send an email to Sylvie Malo: smalo@cortorev.com