Director IT, Digital Partner - R&D, GQRA, and Product Labeling

We Make Life More Rewarding and Dignified

Location: Libertyville
Department: Information Technology

Join our Global IT Organization as we help shape the future through digital, data, and AI. We are seeking an innovative and strategic leader to join our Global IT Organization as the Director IT, Digital Partner - R&D, GQRA, and Product Labeling. This is a pivotal role in accelerating our digital transformation journey through a multi-year PLM business transformation leveraging the latest innovations in modern PLM platforms to create a unified source of product data, enabling seamless collaboration and digital thread capabilities to trace digital assets throughout the product lifecycle. The goal is to accelerate R&D cycles, regulatory approvals, and improve quality and patient outcomes.

Reporting directly to the Global Chief Information Officer, you will collaborate with senior leaders across R&D, quality, regulatory and across our global IT organization to reimagine the future of our business, creating unparalleled business value.

This role will lead an enterprise culture shift toward a digital-first, AI-first, data-driven culture. You will lead the shift from legacy to cloud first platforms, including Product Lifecycle Management and Quality Management System to evolve the IT landscape to support seamless end-to-end business processes, efficient, resilient, and agile operations that quickly adapt to market changes while upholding quality and sustainability. You will inspire a high-performing global IT team to deliver continuous business value.

Hollister Incorporated operates in a hybrid work environment.

Responsibilities:

• PLM Transformation: Partnering closely with the CIO and VP R&D, you will lead the multi-year implementation of a modern PLM platform to modernize and digitize our product lifecycle management processes, creating unparalleled business value. This transformation will significantly enhance the company's ability to scale and support its growth strategy.
• Leadership and Strategy:Be an industry thought leader and provide strategic direction to the PLM Platform team, IT Digitals Partners, and key Business Process Owners, aligning Product and Platform roadmaps with R&D, Quality and Regulatory roadmaps and corporate objectives. Stay informed on emerging technologies in those functional areas, assess their potential impact on the business. Evolve our practices, standards and governance in alignment with industry advances and regulatory requirements.
• Innovation and Collaboration:Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration within the team and across the enterprise, establishing Global IT as a strategic partner and change catalyst driving unparalleled business value. Role model and encourage "Outside In" thinking leveraging key vendor and Industry experience.
• Future Architecture and Platform:Design and implement modern architectures to enhance analytics, AI / Agentic AI, hardware connectivity, edge system and partner integrations required to operate the global business. Drive forward PLM, CAD, QMS, Complaint, Labelling, RIMS platform strategies that take care of legacy products and migrate to future-enabled and supported technologies. Develop secure, compliant, and scalable suite of platforms that is upgraded easily to stay current with latest key vendor investments and feature packs.
• Security, Governance, Risk & Compliance:Establish comprehensive frameworks using approved toolsets to ensure data quality, security, and compliance while simplifying governance via AI and automation within the platforms supported. Ongoing collaboration with Internal and External Audit for all related improvements and observations.
• Automation Advancement:Promote use of UIPath Testing automation suite, RPA, Intelligent/Autonomous Agents leveraging PLM, QMS, ERP, AI/ML, GenAI, and the latest technological advancements to accelerate business agility and performance.
• Compliance and Validation: Champion medical device industry specific Software lifecycle implementation techniques required in a validated (21 CFR part 11, 21 CFR part 820, ISO:13485 etc.) environment. Select and deploy toolsets, training and procedures to govern this. Take the lead in partnering with Global Quality for certification, surveillance and other audit matters. Oversee GxP validation practices within the PLM, Quality and other validated platforms and ensure audit readiness.
• Digital Business Partner: Leads the Digital Business Partner conversations with the key business stakeholders (across all dimensions of R&D, Engineering Design, Quality, Regulatory, Labelling)) to ensure alignment of technology needs to business strategies and the development of a multi-year business technology roadmaps.
• Financial Budget & Key Vendor management:Ownership and analysis of large vendor contracts and departmental budget. Accountable for forecasting, monitoring and reporting on financial performance

Essential Functions:

• Architectural & Integration Experience:Deep experience in designing scalable PLM and QMS Platforms, (examples Siemens, Aras, PTC etc.) integrations with edge systems such as SAP, Veeva, MS Dynamics, SalesForce, Data Governance tools and solutions. Includes qualification and contracting 3rd parties to partner on project delivery.
• Technology Industry Expertise:Extensive knowledge of technology trends and best practices in PLM and QMS, including business process transformation frameworks used by Big 4 consultancies, data harmonization and clean-up, journey to cloud strategy, implementation techniques for PaaS, SaaS & COTB tools. Experience in human-centric design and/or customer-facing digital products/apps.
• Leadership Experience:Proven track record in leading and inspiring highly technical teams, driving change, and advancing an enterprise-wide transformational digital change journey and cultural shift to simplify, standardize, and intelligently automate our processes and data.
• Governance: Ensures global standards and practices are established / evolved to fit the new PaaS / SaaS landscape.
• People: Develop talent, inspire teams, and evolve the organization toward our future Product / Platform IT Operating Model, agile ways of working, and delivery of our Digital Roadmap to drive unprecedented value through digital technologies, data, and AI.
• Strategic Thinking:Ability to translate business objectives into effective long-term technology strategies and roadmaps.
• Analytical Skills:Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to deliver solutions that drive business results.
• Collaboration and Communication Skills:Excellent interpersonal skills for collaboration with cross-functional teams and executives, with the ability to influence senior leaders and peers toward business outcomes. Ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
• Industry Experience:Experience in life sciences or related high-regulated industries, with executive leadership / SLT experience in one of the supported scientific or quality functions.

Requirements:

• 15+ years overall experience in IT, with at least 10 years in PLM / QMS Implementation / System or Product owner roles.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Information Technology, Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics/Statistics, or related field. MBA or Master of Science preferred.
• Proven record of developing and delivering large scale PLM or QMS upgrade and implementation strategies across multiple functions and businesses in a global company.
• Industry visibility, panel participation, and other publicly available thought leadership. Big 4 consulting experience a plus.
• Advanced understanding of various R&D, CAD, PLM, QMS, RIMS, Risk Assessment platforms, complementary Edge systems, integration approaches, frameworks, digital platforms, and cloud platforms to support data modernization and customer mobile/web app development.
• Advanced knowledge of software development lifecycle across Waterfall, Agile, Scrumfall techniques.
• Advanced understanding of DevOps, Change & Release Management and FinOps.
• Experience in leading digital transformation including analytics, AI, and GenAI.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with data governance and data literacy programs and delivery.
• Proven record of managing executive relationships and driving a data-first mindset across a complex, multinational, multiple business unit organization.
• Ability to travel (~25%) as needed.

Specialized Skills/Technical Knowledge:

• Formal education/training and experience with a major PLM vendor.
• Experience driving significant digitally enabled programs within Research & Development, Quality and Regulatory Affairs.
• Experience navigating CSV in a medical device or pharmaceutical industry
• Project / Program management certification.
• Organization Change Management experience, including business process reengineering.
• Experience with Dell-Boomi, Azure and DevOps is a plus.
• Global work experience / outlook is necessary for this position.

#LI-Hybrid

Our Total Rewards package in aggregate is above market and includes competitive pay, paid time off programs, peer-to-peer recognition, health and life insurance, wellness programs and incentives, generous retirement savings, and a unique Benefit of Employee Share Ownership Program (BESOP).

• The anticipated base pay range for this position is $163,000 - $240,000 yearly. The actual salary varies based on applicant's location, education, experience, skills, abilities, and other legitimate business factors.
• This position is also eligible to participate in the Hollister Corporate Bonus Plan. The Company also provides a unique Benefit of Employee Share Ownership Program (BESOP) program based on earnings and length of service.
• The Company's health and welfare benefits include medical, prescription, dental, vision, spending/savings accounts, disability, company paid (parental and caregiver) leaves, statutory leaves/disability programs, accident, life, wellbeing, education assistance, adoption assistance, and voluntary benefit programs.
• The Company's 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan includes: auto-enrollment, ROTH, vesting and eligible participants "safe harbor" matching contributions.
• The Company's paid time off benefits include: 11 paid holidays, paid vacation based on length of service and exempt/non-exempt status, and sick days based on statutory requirements and/or exempt/non-exempt status.
• The Company's additional benefits include: education assistance and adoption assistance benefit programs.

About Hollister Incorporated
Hollister Incorporated is an independent, employee-owned company that develops, manufactures and markets healthcare products worldwide. The company spearheads the advancement of innovative products for ostomy care, continence care and critical care, and also creates educational support materials for patients and healthcare professionals. Headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, Hollister has manufacturing and distribution centers on three continents and sells in nearly 80 countries. Hollister is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Firm of John Dickinson Schneider, Inc., and is guided both by its Mission to make life more rewarding and dignified for people who use our products and services, as well as its Vision to grow and prosper as an independent, employee-owned company, and in the process, to become better human beings.

EOE Statement
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Job Req ID: 34661