IT Director - Edinburgh

IT Director Jobs

The implementation of a comprehensive IT system throughout a large company is a massive undertaking that requires a highly skilled and specialized team behind it. Programmers, developers, hardware technicians, project managers, help desk workers and the managers overseeing the individual elements of the project all add up to a significant portion of a company’s workforce, and they need to be led strategically by someone on the board whose responsibility is solely with them. That person is the IT director.

The IT director creates an IT strategy from the board’s overarching strategy and projections, and works closely with his or her immediate IT managers to ensure the project is delivered. As a board member, he or she may have some access to the company purse to ensure complex IT projects are adequately resourced, but keeping a lid on costs is always a key responsibility; IT budgets spiralling out of control is a common story in business and the public sector.

The skills required

At board level, an IT director could have little experience in dealing with information technology, but will build a team of managers to oversee the work. However, if you have experience of managing IT projects to a senior level, you could be the ideal candidate for many companies whose boards rely on the IT director’s expertise and counsel to inform them of the opportunities and limitations of the technology.

Primarily, your job as IT director is to oversee the delivery of either single IT projects or an ongoing series of projects as designated by the board, and your success will be judged on your performance in delivering projects on time and on budget. This can be a highly responsible job, often at the cutting edge of technology, and managing budgets can be difficult. However, with successful implementation, the rewards can be great.