Software Engineering Director - Head of HR Technology

Requisition Number: 75293

Position Title:

External Description:

About this Position

T. Rowe Price seeks a Senior Leader to serve as Head of Human Resources Technology, responsible for driving strategic initiatives supporting the firm’s HR business unit. Reporting to the Head of Corporate & COO Technology, the successful candidate will lead the organization to drive meaningful technology outcomes on behalf of the firm. S/he will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing technology portfolio and implement changes where necessary to increase the overall effectiveness of critical internal and vendor technology platforms. This executive will lead an organization comprised of technology execution team(s) and will be responsible for designing and leading an operating model across the team to deliver world-class software with maximum efficiency.

Role Summary

The Head of HR Technology will be primarily responsible for the following:

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive technology strategy that aligns with the business objectives of the firm’s HR function, as well as Global Technology’s overall strategy. Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. Provide strategic thought leadership and consultative partnership to support the definition of a long-term technology roadmap and enable HR business objectives and ambitions.
• Technology Solutions: Oversee the design, development, modification, and implementation of technology solutions to meet both short and long-term needs. Guide the coding, testing, debugging, and implementation of software solutions.
• Team Leadership: Provide leadership and direction through subordinate managers. Coach engineering managers/leads on project management, design assessment, and quality assurance to ensure world-class software delivery.
• Operational Excellence: Design and lead an operating model for multiple teams to maximize efficiency and collaboration. Build broad project visibility to enable effective management and staff collaboration.
• Talent Management: Ensure effective recruiting, people management, and career growth for the organization. Provide timely feedback and mentoring to individuals and teams, using data to reinforce learning with a focus on elevating talent and supporting technical skills development.
• Technical Strategy: Contribute to the formulation and realization of the Global Technology technical strategy. Display an understanding of theoretical concepts and make sound decisions with limited facts or resources.
• Complex Project Leadership: Lead the firm's most ambitious and complex software development projects, ensuring alignment with business objectives and broader Global Technology technical strategy.

If you are a leader who can provide direction through large teams of professionals and other managers? Are you able to work with executives to build and execute on key business priorities? Do you strive bring both a near and long-term perspective to your decisions? If so, we encourage you to apply.

Qualifications

Required:

Critical Leadership Capabilities

• T. Rowe Price’s Head of HR Technology must be comfortable working in a non-hierarchical environment which places high importance on influence management skills.
• The individual must possess the stature and intellect to quickly build effective, credible, long-term relationships with members of the senior leadership team.
• Culturally, T. Rowe Price is seeking someone with a dynamic, collaborative style who leads by example, brings expertise to the table, and possesses an entrepreneurial orientation.
• The ideal candidate is a non - “political” executive who can build immediate credibility with the senior leadership and engineers alike and help drive towards a vision for a largely automated, resilient, cost-effective technology environment for T Rowe Price.
• This involves using thoughtful analysis to justify technology decision making, constructively questioning decisions made in the past, such that s/he can explain the status and benefits of ongoing projects and programs to stakeholders.

Leadership Acumen

• Demonstrated desire and ability to mentor team members, developing their skills, competencies, and orientation towards new ways of working, while ensuring delivery of projects. Demonstrated ability to lead and operate in an international environment.
• A collegial, direct communicator with the ability to interact with all levels of management, business partners, internal clients, service providers, and engineering staff. The ability to distill and articulate the business rationale driving each new technology decision to a range of stakeholders. S/he should be able to explain technology issues to management in business terms as well as technology terms.
• A bottom-line orientation: a manager who drives performance and accepts accountability and responsibility for his / her organization’s performance. A “player-coach” who is comfortable working with a team in a direct manner.
• An efficiency orientation; driving for cost effective performance.
• Strong presentation and excellent interpersonal technical skills.
• Able to communicate to highly technical content to a variety of audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills; able to establish and maintain a close working relationship with quantitative researchers, traders, and senior business leaders.
• Confident communicator able to argue a point concisely and deal positively with conflicting views.
• Provides timely feedback and coaching to individuals and teams using data to reinforce learning.
• Accountable for the development and mentoring of direct reports.
• Able to overcome differences of opinion and drive team alignment around a specific goal or solution.
• Works closely with product owners, develops intimate understanding of business strategy and direction.
• Makes decisions that are cognizant of the firm’s broader business strategy.

Technology Acumen

The successful candidate will possess a blend of technical, strategic and tactical skills so they can make operational improvements while simultaneously supporting T. Rowe Price’s long-term strategic business initiatives. As such, this leader must:

• BS/MS Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or another technical discipline (or equivalent additional experience) and 15+ years of progressive related experience, within the financial services domain strongly preferred
• Bring an architect’s “first principles thinking” in terms of the optimal design and management of a complex global ecosystem involving a large vendor partnership along with an evolving and growing business. Be willing and able to ‘get into the details’ of specific technical implementations.
• Engineering minded leader that can devise strategy and deliver incremental change toward it
• Bring a deep understanding of how emerging technologies – big data / analytics, machine learning and low code / no code – relate to the world of client reporting and account servicing.
• Bring a strategic business perspective to anticipate key marketplace trends, opportunities, and vulnerabilities, and represent opportunities in how Technology may enable those to senior management.
• A collegial, direct communicator with the ability to interact with all levels of management, business partners, internal clients, service providers, and engineering staff. The ability to distill and articulate the business rationale driving each new technology decision to a range of stakeholders. S/he should be able to explain technology issues to management in business terms as well as technology terms.
• Accountable for the quality, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), maintainability and security of the solutions built.
• Articulates broader business concerns and/or regulatory landscape, including key risks and controls (e.g., GDPR, MIFID, SOX)
• Ensures adoption of modern software development practices including secure SDLC, test automation, CI/CD, and DevOps in accordance with the firm’s cloud adoption strategy.
• Experience leading web development and web content management initiatives in support of digital marketing organizations.
• Stays abreast of industry trends and technologies and knows if/when/how to apply them appropriately.
• Demonstrated desire and ability to mentor team members, developing their skills, competencies, and orientation towards new ways of working, while ensuring delivery of projects. Demonstrated ability to lead and operate in an international environment.
• A bottom-line orientation: a manager who drives performance and accepts accountability and responsibility for his / her organization’s performance. A “player-coach” who is comfortable working with a team in a direct manner.
• An efficiency orientation; driving for cost effective performance.

Preferred:

• Past experience managing a portfolio of vendor technology products.

FINRA Requirements

FINRA licenses are not required and will not be supported for this role.

Work Flexibility

This role is eligible for hybrid work, with up to three days per week from home.

City:

State:

Community / Marketing Title: Software Engineering Director - Head of HR Technology

Company Profile:

Location_formattedLocationLong: Maryland, US

CountryEEOText_Description: Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: We strive for equity, equality, and opportunity for all associates. When we embrace the power of diversity and create an environment where people can bring their authentic and best selves to work, our firm is stronger, and we create greater value for our clients. Our commitment and inclusive programming aim to lift the experience for each associate and builds allies for our global associate community. We know that a sense of belonging is key not only to your success at the firm, but also to your ability to bring your best each day. Benefits: We invest in our people through a wide range of programs and benefits, including: • Competitive pay and bonuses as well as a generous retirement plan and employee stock purchase plan with matching contributions • Flexible and remote work opportunities • Health care benefits (medical, dental, vision) • Tuition assistance • Wellness programs (fitness reimbursement, Employee Assistance Program) Our policies may change as our working lives evolve. Yet, our commitment to supporting our associates’ well-being and addressing the needs of our clients, business, and communities is unwavering. T. Rowe Price is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity of thought, gender, and race. We believe our continued success depends upon the equal treatment of all associates and applicants for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, mental or physical disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship status, military or veteran status, pregnancy, or any other classification protected by country, federal, state, or local law.