Associate Director of Information Technology

JOB SUMMARY

The Associate Director IT will lead all information technology strategy, operations, and innovation for a dynamic food & beverage group comprising several independent restaurants, gourmet fine food and wine retail outlets, and food services distribution business (with integrated cold chain logistics, distribution and meat manufacturing facility and operations). This role is responsible for ensuring seamless technology integration, system reliability, data security, and operational efficiency across diverse business units, supporting both customer-facing and back-of-house operations.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Develop and execute a comprehensive IT roadmap in consultation with BU Head and VP Group Technology that is aligned with the groups business goals, supporting restaurants, specialty food & grocery retail and e-commerce, food services logistics & distribution, and manufacturing operations.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and implement solutions that can drive innovation, enhance operational efficiency, customer experience, and business growth.
• Serve as the primary IT advisor to executive leadership, collaborating on technology-driven business initiatives and innovation.

Technology Infrastructure & Operations

• Oversee the deployment, maintenance, and optimization of all IT systems, including POS, ERP, E-commerce platforms, inventory and warehouse management, scheduling, and manufacturing control systems.
• Ensure seamless integration and data flow between restaurants, retail, e-commerce, CRM, inventory and logistics, and manufacturing platforms, enabling real-time reporting and centralized management.
• Lead and support all digital revenue driving projects / initiatives for the business such as e-commerce, online reservation, customer interaction tools etc.
• Lead the standardization of hardware and software across all locations to ensure consistency, reliability, ease of support and business scalability.

Cybersecurity & Compliance

• Develop and enhance cybersecurity infrastructure and measures, enforce IT security policies, ensuring the protection of sensitive customer, business, and production data.
• Oversee compliance with relevant food safety, privacy, and industry regulations across all technology platforms.
• Manage disaster recovery, data backup, and business continuity planning for all business units.

Team Leadership & Support

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing IT team, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee IT support for all locations, ensuring prompt issue resolution and minimal downtime for critical systems.
• Develop and deliver training programs for staff on new technologies and digital best practices.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Manage relationships with technology vendors, negotiating contracts and overseeing service delivery for hardware, software, and cloud services.
• Collaborate closely with restaurant managers, retail leaders, food services department heads and manufacturing managers to understand operational needs and deliver tailored IT solutions.

Budgeting & Financial Management

• Prepare and manage the IT department budget, ensuring cost-effective technology investments and ongoing expense control.
• Present IT proposals, project ROI analyses, and progress reports to executive stakeholders.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field
• Minimum 10 years experience in IT leadership within the hospitality, restaurant, or food manufacturing sectors, ideally supporting multi-unit operations
• Strong knowledge of restaurant POS, ERP, inventory, and manufacturing systems, with experience in system integration across business units.
• Strong knowledge of robotics and automation systems, particularly in manufacturing, warehousing and logistics environments, to optimize workflows and manpower efficiencies
• Familiarity with IoT and data analytics platforms, enabling digital transformation across restaurants, retail, e-commerce and supply chain business channels
• Demonstrated expertise in cybersecurity, compliance, and IT policy development.
• Experience managing IT teams, vendors, and large-scale technology projects.
• Strong collaborator and change agent with excellent communication, collaboration, project management and stakeholder management skills to lead smooth adoption of new and emerging technologies including AI and robotic solutions in cross-functional projects.
• Flexible, results oriented and resilient in a fast-paced, multi-site environment and manage competing priorities.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to execute at an operational level

JOB TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW & EXPERIENCE

• Cloud Computing : AWS and Azure.
• Cybersecurity : Palo Alto, CrowdStrike, Sophos, Zscaler and VPN.
• Infrastructure : Fortinet, Cisco or Juniper.
• Network Architecture : ClearPass
• ERP Systems : Oracle Netsuite, MS Business Central to D365 or SAP.
• POS Systems : InfraSys, Oracle Simphony or Shopify.
• Ecommerce : Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress or Squarespace.
• Customer data platform : BigQuery, Tealium, Segment, Salesforce or Adobe.
• Marketing automation : Braze, Klaviyo, Dot digital, Salesforce, Emarsys