CIO - VP IT

ABOUT HORIZON HOBBY:

Founded in 1985, Horizon Hobby, Inc., http://www.horizonhobby.com, is an international developer, distributor and marketer of radio control (RC) cars, planes, boats and helicopters; model railroad; plastic and die-cast models; and other general hobby products. We are also one of the leading developers of radio control hobby products which include many of the biggest names in the industry, such as Hangar 9 airplanes, E-flite helicopters, Spektrum radios, HobbyZone entry level RC sports and Team Losi cars and trucks.

Horizon Hobby is an employee owned company that is known throughout the hobby industry for its exceptional attention to customers’ needs, outstanding product expertise and, most importantly, integrity.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Chief Information Officer is the business leader for the IT group and has overall ownership for the group’s strategy, staffing, execution and delivery of results. This is a key leadership role in the Company and it is important that the CIO have the ability to lead and develop technical people, and to understand the strategic goals and operational objectives of the business and its divisions. The Chief Information Officer has responsibility for developing critical corporate-wide IT support function capabilities, and applying those capabilities expertly and opportunistically.

- Vision: Develops/maintains a strategic vision for the IT group’s future, often distant future; aspires to dramatic advances. Adjusts as required based on the environment and the Company strategic goals. Assists in the creation of the Company vision, and understands and acts in concert with the Company strategic goals and the operational objectives of the divisions and departments within the Company.

- Norms: Defines and promotes the personality and rhythms unique to the IT group.

- Strategies: Constructs strategies for growth to fulfill the vision, and continuously compares against reality and adjusts accordingly.

- Leadership: Aligns management and staff via clear, consistent, and continuous reinforcement of mission/values and vision; becomes personally identified by management and staff with a handful of crisply defined principles that are key to the IT group’s success; seeks timely and impactful opportunities to visibly define and differentiate the IT group’s mission/values and vision.

- Staffing: Builds human capital through superior hiring, continuous coaching, periodic formal management/division meetings, appraisal, formal training, and dismissal practices.

- Results Orientation: Impatiently seeks results; capitalizes aggressively on growth opportunities; often acts with imperfect information when opportunities warrant it; maintains expense responsibility and accountability.

- Service Mentality: Serves, supports, and provides resources to those that they lead, and then allows others to do their jobs.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

- Maintain appropriate vision for the IT group’s mission, capabilities, and organizational structure.

- Continuously update the vision for the IT group through continuous observation, questioning, and feedback of/to corporate management.

- Maintain plan to bridge gaps between the vision for the IT group and current status.

- Mentor appropriate leadership skills in members of the IT group (people leadership; issue/project leadership; technical leadership).

- Make staffing changes and propose staffing additions if/when appropriate.

- Maintain succession plan.

- Delegate most day-to-day tasks as currently defined; manage through observations/status reviews rather than direct participation. Delegated tasks should include: day-to-day vendor management and day-to-day management of projects.

- Create/maintain appropriate policies for vendor management, project management, and development/test.

IT BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
- Maintain appropriate vision for deployment of technology for the Company.

- Maintain independent assessment of key business drivers and technology implications.

- Maintain list of potential IT projects, prioritized per above independent assessment as well as management feedback.

- Provide leadership on technology and applications trends (e.g., e-commerce, CRM, WMS, platform issues, etc.).

- Utilize consultants, conferences, literature searches, web searches, trade associations, vendor contacts, technology associations, and other tools, forums, and vehicles to stay abreast of technology/business trends.

IT OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
- Ensure through delegation real-time availability of mainframe applications and appropriate execution of batch jobs.

- Ensure through delegation that appropriate data backup and restore procedures are followed and are effective.

- Ensure through delegation that proper physical and logical security is in place and enforced.

- Ensure through delegation that appropriate hardware, software, and communications capacity is forecasted, budgeted, and in place.

- Ensure through delegation that network, desktop, and communications hardware and software is planned (strategically), forecasted and budgeted (financially) and in place and supported (tactically).

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

1. Minimum 10 years business leadership and corporate wide information technology support function experience. Demonstrated track record of aligning organizations information technology needs with business strategic goals, delivering results and making solid business decisions.

 

2. Previous experience supporting a large Distribution Center is required. Experience with WMS, Supply Chain, Logistics and other warehouse software is required. Prefer someone who has overseen the implementation of enterprise WMS application.

3. Must be versed in business principles and techniques of administration, organizational development, leadership and management to include an in-depth understanding of the key business issues that exist in a distribution and product innovation organization. These include, but are not limited to, knowledge of strategic and operational planning, distribution and supply chain economics, EDI and communications, domestic and international commerce requirements, marketing, financial and cost analysis, trends in distribution channels, customer engagement strategies, as well as ecommerce theory and practice.

4. Extensive experience negotiating with and selecting vendors for the purchase of/implementation of Enterprise software applications.

5. BS/BA degree, MBA preferred. BS/BA in business or in information systems/information technology.

6. Experience leading inside a company experiencing rapid growth and constant change.

7. Experience integrating acquisitions.