And Requirements

Role Value Proposition

This is a strategic role and has broad responsibilities in ensuring overall success of the Technology organization in Japan's tech planning and budgeting (:$240m p.a.), financial discipline and controls, portfolio management, appropriate governance for vendor management (:1000+ FTC), agile delivery model (ADM) and lean portfolio enablement.

This role facilitates the alignment to MLJ's and Global Tech's strategy, expedite ADM transformation agenda and IT investments optimization with a value-added impact to stakeholders.

It bridges Finance and Technology, ensuring alignment between financial performance and IT strategic goals. The ideal candidate combines strong financial acumen with a deep understanding of IT operations, project management and cost optimisation.


Key Responsibilities:
Responsible as the overall lead for the following functions within MLJ TE:

IT Financials Planning, Budgeting and Management
Develop and manage the annual IT budget in collaboration with other Tech department leaders and regional/global teams on transfer pricing items
Forecast operational and capital expenditures for IT initiatives, projects and infrastructure
Analyze variances between actuals and budget; provide actionable insights
Support strategic planning by modeling ROI, TCO and business cases for IT investments
Monitor and control IT spend, identifying opportunities for cost savings and efficiency
Track software licensing, cloud services, vendor contracts and managed services expenditures

IT Portfolio Planning and Management
Develop the IT Portfolio in collaboration with business stakeholders during annual planning, manage and ensure project investments are well prioritized and deliver expected value
Conduct IT resource demand planning according to the portfolio of project execution requirements
Maintain and update Resource Management (RAM) records to reflect current demand
Align resource management with the budget and control investments and expenses
Implement consistent risk and issue tracking, ensuring early identification and escalation of project-level and cross-project challenges
Oversee portfolio dashboards, health reports, and executive summaries to track program/project performance, status, risks and dependencies

Vendor Management
Develop and execute IT Vendor management strategy aligned with business and technology goals
Segment and categorize vendors based on criticality, spend and risks to determine oversight levels and relationship models
Serve as the point of contact for strategic vendor relationships, ensuring mutual success and value creation
Lead contract negotiations, renewals, SLAs and pricing agreements to ensure optimal terms and risk mitigation
Define and track KPI and SLA to measure vendor performance
Conduct regular business reviews with vendors and internal stakeholders to assess delivery, escalate issues, and drive continuous improvement
Monitor and mitigate vendor-related risks including financial, operational, regulatory and cybersecurity exposures
Manage vendor budgets, invoicing, cost tracking and forecasting in collaboration with IT Finance
Identify opportunities for cost optimization
Establish and lead vendor governance frameworks

Project and Program Methodology and Governance
Establish and maintain IT project and program (Waterfall/Agile) governance structures and methodologies
Ensure compliance of MetLife project and program methodologies
Ensure alignment with relevant enterprise governance, risks and compliance policies
Standardize the utilization of project management tools such as TargetProcess and facilitate in data completeness and hygiene
Develop training and onboarding programs for project managers/scrum masters to ensure consistent application of methods
Evaluate and evolve methodologies to support agile, iterative delivery and traditional project execution models
Manage and support the rollout of project /program management tools such as TargetProcess and Apptio

Agile Enablement
Define and drive the Agile enablement strategy across IT, including roadmap development, metrics and KPIs
Continuously improve scaled agile framework (SAFe) to support cross-team alignment and delivery
Lead a team of agile coaches to uplift agile maturity across teams
Facilitate the provision of coaching to executives, delivery leads, and cross-functional teams to instill agile mindset and practices
Establish communities of practice and alignment to global COE to foster learning, consistency and innovation in agile delivery
Work with Project/Program Governance team to define governance structures that balance agility with accountability and controls
Develop metrics and reporting systems to track agile maturity, team velocity, predictability, and business value delivery
Support the creation of agile funding and governance models (e.g. lean and persistent team budgeting)
Optimize agile workflows, boards and reporting dashboards
Promote standardization in agile artifacts, ceremonies and team setups
Lead organizational and cultural changes required to scale agile, including upskilling, engagement and communication initiatives


Essential Experience, Skills and Competencies:
At least 15 years of total working experience in IT or similar capacity
Technology consulting experience with a reputable Consulting Firm will have added advantage
Insurance industry (preferred but not mandatory)
Experience leading Project or PMO functions in complex, matrixed environments
Enterprise-wide agile transformation in complex, matrixed environments
IT financials/portfolio management and performance metrics reporting
Strong knowledge of both traditional project management and agile delivery methodologies
Strong understanding of IT cost structures, including cloud services (e.g. Azure), software licensing, application development vendor resource costs and infrastructure
Hands on in managing IT finance or project costing, sharp with numbers

Skills

Bachelor degree in IT, Finance or related
PMP or Agile SAFe Certification
MBA or equivalent is optional
Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills
working in a highly-matrixed organisation
ability to influence and guide others in order to deliver results
ability to challenge assumptions
diplomacy in situations where competing and conflicting demands are present
results-focused and self-motivated
negotiation skills with vendors


Language:
Bilingual proficiency at business level in English & Japanese

About MetLife

MetLife is a leading global life insurance and employee benefit company, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries. We are leading the global transformation of an industry we've long defined.

Be a part of our remarkable journey - one in which you help to write the next century of innovation in insurance.

MetLife in Japan has over 50 years of history as the first foreign life insurance company. We provide an innovative and broad range of products through diverse distribution channels to individual and institutional customers.

At MetLife, you'll have accountability for end-to-end solutions, working with other talented engineers who share your passion for technology, distinctive digital experiences and customer-driven innovation.

From implementing new platforms to migrating applications to the cloud, you'll be instrumental in creating technologies built to scale.

We hire smart, creative, collaborative people who are kind to each other. We embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. This allows us to think bigger, experiment more, innovate faster, and win together. Join us, because making the world a better place with MetLife is #AllTogetherPossible.

Benefits We Offer

MetLife Japan offers a comprehensive benefits package that promotes work-life balance and employee wellbeing.

Employees can take advantage of flex time policy and a generous time-off policy, national holidays, annual paid leave, special consecutive leave, and refreshment leave.

We also provide full social insurance coverage, a commuting expense reimbursement, group insurance, and discounts on travel and English language lessons.

To support work flexibility, employees also have hybrid work options, shortened working hours for parents with children in third grade or below, and a casual dress code.

About MetLife

MetLife Inc., through its subsidiaries and affiliates (MetLife), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help individual and institutional customers build a more confident future.

Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

MetLife Japan began operations in February 1973 as Japan's first foreign-owned life insurance company.

Our purpose, "Always with you, building a more confident future," encapsulates our strong commitment to leveraging our global network and best practices worldwide to stand with our customers and build trust with our communities.

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