Head of Department (HoD) IT Operations For Manufacturing Plant

We are seeking an experienced Head of Department (HoD) to lead IT Operations, for Our Clients Automotive Manufacturing Plant at Pune. IT Operations include End to End Mgmt. of multiple teams delivering Infrastructure, Cloud Services, Security Operations, MES and ERP Governance functions of the plant and Affiliate organizations.

Desired candidate will also get an opportunity to interact with Global HQ and multi-national leadership for both adopting & implementing Global IT policies, standard solutions etc., Need to have experience of developing and adopting IT strategic technology initiatives aligning to Business ambitions.

Key Responsibilities

IT Operations and Service Delivery

• Lead & manage multiple Section leaders to deliver optimal IT Operations and Services for stable Operations at Client’s Manufacturing Unit.
• Collaborate with multiple business stake-holders to understand their IT requirements and challenges; organise and arrange necessary HAEI resources to deliver
• Able to communicate, convince and negotiate with Client IT Management for investing in right level of resources & technology to deliver excellence in IT Services
• Have good liaison with HAEI HO as well as Global HQ for adopting, gathering necessary support and guidance
• Have structured and standard approach towards assigning Roles & Responsibilities to the team leaders. Align with Enterprise level Roadmaps, Objectives, KPI’s; measure, share, propose improvement actions to achieve.

IT Infrastructure and Security Management

• Guide & manage Infra and Security Operations teams.
• Ensure high availability, performance, reliability, and security of enterprise IT services.
• Drive infrastructure modernization and technology lifecycle management.

IT Governance, Audit & Compliance

• Internal, external, customer, and HQ audits.
• Drive cybersecurity governance and compliance initiatives.
• Own DPDPA compliance and data protection governance activities.
• Manage risk assessments, audit observations, and remediation programs.
• Ensure compliance with corporate IT and Information Security standards.

Strategic Applications & Technology Transformation

• Guide Internal Application ADM Teams and business stakeholders on:
• Achieving right level of ITSM, CAB and Service delivery Quality
• Collaborate and enhance
• New technology deployments
• Infrastructure modernization
• Security enhancement initiatives
• Business continuity improvements
• Prepare business cases, proposals, budgets, and Service renewals, continuity, technology upgrades and new adoption recommendations.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Manage relationships with HQ, auditors, vendors, and business stakeholders.
• Drive operational excellence through KPI reviews, reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Mentor and develop technical teams while building future capabilities.

Required Skills

IT Leadership Experience

• Min. 5+ years of experience in leading a Dept. / Section and delivering Services for a manufacturing organization
• Worked in a Global IT Service delivery organization with specific expertise in below areas;
• Team Leadership
• Infra Structure management and Service Delivery
• Vendor Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Budget Planning
• Project & Program Management
• Executive Reporting

Preferred Certifications

• ITIL Foundation / Managing Professional
• CISSP / CISM / CISA
• ISO 27001 Lead Auditor / Lead Implementer
• PMP / PRINCE2
• Microsoft Azure Administrator / AWS Solutions Architect
• VMware Certifications
• Microsoft / SAP / Oracle related certifications

Preferred Candidate Profile

• 18+ years of enterprise IT experience.
• Technical Graduation (B.E. / B. Tech.)
• Strong experience managing Infrastructure, Security, and Cloud environments.
• Hands-on expertise in server technologies, virtualization, storage, backup, and cloud platforms.
• Proven experience leading audits, compliance programs, and large-scale IT operations.