Full Time Permanent position
Hybrid role based in our City Centre offices

What we offer

We have embraced a hybrid working model for most of our positions, which means that you can enjoy a balanced approach of working from home for part of the week and working from the office for the remainder of the week.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including competitive salaries and bonuses, robust Learning and Development support, excellent Defined Contribution pension and comprehensive Wellbeing initiatives and support to name but a few.

Further details on our benefits package can be accessed here Benefits (life-careers.com)

At Irish Life, our purpose is to help people build better futures. Our company values shape everything we do and underpin our vision of being the driving force behind Ireland’s financial, physical, and mental well-being.

We believe in doing the right thing—acting with integrity and making fair, responsible decisions. We aim high, setting ambitious goals and constantly find better ways to innovate and improve. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and we are dedicated to understanding their needs and exceeding their expectations. We believe that as a team we work best together, in a supportive, collaborative environment where every idea and contribution is valued.

Role Overview

Reporting to the ILG CIO, the Head of Technology Partner Services will be based within the OCIO team, this is a senior leadership role accountable for maximising value from ILG’s strategic technology partners ensuring high quality, resilient and cost effective services that meet ILG’s business and customer needs.

This role provides a single point of accountability within ILG for the performance, governance, and strategic direction of major technology partner relationships, acting as the primary ILG liaison with Central Technology Services working closely with the European Service & Partner Management Office. It is a senior Head of role responsible for setting strategy and influencing senior stakeholders across ILG Technology Teams.

We welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences who can demonstrate strong leadership, collaboration and deep experience in technology service, vendor and partner management.

What you will help us to achieve

Partner strategy and value realisation

Define and own the ILG Partner Services strategy for CTS, TCS and other major providers (e.g. Microsoft, Snowflake, Accenture), aligned to ILG Technology strategy.
Translate ILG’s business objectives into clear outcomes, roadmaps and value realisation plans for each strategic partner.
Ensure contracts and service scopes are fit for purpose, support ILG’s strategic direction and enable innovation, flexibility, and cost efficiency.
Own, from an ILG perspective, the business case and benefit tracking for major managed service and cloud/SaaS partnerships, ensuring the realisation of expected value over the contract lifecycle.
Contribute to cost optimisation and value realisation targets across the partner portfolio over 3–5 years (e.g. through demand management, contract optimisation, productivity, and innovation).

Service delivery and performance management

Ensure managed services delivered by CTS and other partners are in line with the agreed Inter Company and Master Service Agreements, SLAs/KPIs and fully meet ILG business requirements.
Oversee tracking and reporting of service performance metrics for ILG, working through the Service & Partner Management Office, driving corrective actions and continual improvement where performance deviates from target.
Guarantee transparency to ILG stakeholders on service quality, availability, risk and cost, using dashboards and regular performance reporting.
Ensure the integrity of services provided into ILG, including adherence to technical standards, security, resilience and lifecycle/evergreen commitments.

Governance, risk and compliance

Establish and chair ILG facing governance fora for key technology partners (e.g. ILG–CTS service reviews, ILG–Microsoft strategic reviews) and represent ILG in Technology Service and Partner governance where appropriate.
Work closely with Procurement, Risk & Controls, Operational Resilience and Third-Party Risk teams to ensure technology partners meet contractual, regulatory, audit and compliance obligations.
Centralise, within ILG, oversight of technology partner performance, risks, issues and remediation plans, ensuring clear ownership and escalation paths.
Cascade technology partner related performance and risk measures through ILG’s technology and business teams.

Relationship management and stakeholder engagement

Act as the senior ILG point of contact for CTS and other technology strategic partners, building relationships to “true partner” levels of trust and integration.
Maintain strong relationships with the ILG CIO, business leaders and technology heads to understand their needs and priorities, ensuring partner services are aligned to these.
Build a strong reputation as a key conduit between ILG and CTS, ensuring clear, timely communication on service status, risks, issues and upcoming changes.
Challenge and influence senior internal and external stakeholders where technology service, value or risk thresholds are not acceptable, and escalate appropriately.

Change, demand and evergreen planning

Work with CTS and other technology partners, and with the Service & Partner Management Office, to oversee integrated change and demand planning for services impacting ILG.
Ensure technology partner roadmaps (e.g. cloud platform changes, SaaS upgrades, evergreen infrastructure) are understood, planned and budgeted for within ILG, minimising disruption whilst enabling modernisation.
Oversee release deployment execution into ILG environments from a technology partner perspective, ensuring sufficient testing, communication and risk management.

Continuous improvement and innovation

Drive continual service improvement across the technology partner portfolio, identifying opportunities to optimise cost, improve performance and enhance customer and colleague experience.
Encourage technology partners to proactively bring innovation (e.g. automation, AI, modern engineering practices, enhanced observability) and assess these against ILG’s strategic needs.
Ensure lessons learned from incidents, changes and projects are captured and converted into tangible improvements across ILG’s use of technology partners.

Leadership

Lead the ILG Technology Partner Services function in a matrix structure with CTS/TCS and other technology partners, creating a high performing, collaborative culture.
Provide coaching, mentoring and direction to team members and wider ILG stakeholders on best practice in service and partner management.
Role model ILG values and leadership behaviours, fostering an inclusive and accountable environment.

What you will need to be successful in the role

Significant experience in senior service delivery, technology vendor management or technology partner management roles within a complex, regulated organisation, preferably in financial services or a similar environment.
Demonstrable track record of managing large scale technology service providers/MSPs and cloud/SaaS vendors, with substantial spend and business critical services.
Proven ability to track service performance metrics, interpret data and drive corrective actions and service improvements.
Strong experience acting as a liaison between business units and shared/managed service providers, ensuring alignment and effective communication.
Evidence of building strong relationships with senior stakeholders and influencing at executive level, both internally and with suppliers.
Strong understanding of service delivery principles, SLAs/OLAs and IT service management practices.
Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Management, Technology, or a related field.
Relevant professional certifications, e.g. ITIL, SIAM or vendor specific accreditations.
Experience working with Global, European, or Group level shared services/central technology functions.

Leadership Capabilities Model

Drive business growth and resilience
Stakeholder focused strategy
Develop high performing teams
Build collaborative relationships
Deliver performance and value
Lead the way forward

About us

Irish Life is one of Ireland’s largest financial institutions with a presence across a range of financial services markets. We are one of Ireland’s leading financial services groups with over 1.5 million customers. For over 80 years, we’ve been helping people to look after their life insurance, pension and investment needs, and more recently their health insurance.

It is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco and a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies.

We are proud of our culture of developing and supporting the growth and professional development of our people. The focus has resulted in a team of top talent with high standards, positioning us at the forefront of our industry.

The company reserves the right to draw up a shortlist as part of the selection process. Where Agency assistance is required the Irish Life Recruitment Team will engage directly with suppliers. Unsolicited CVs / profiles supplied to Irish Life by Recruitment Agencies will not be accepted for this role.

Irish Life is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer. We have created an environment of inclusion and growth to help people achieve their potential, to ensure they can bring their whole selves to work and to feel valued. We celebrate diversity of thought and perspective and want all of our employees to feel valued, respected and supported.

We have built a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees and strive to ensure that our behaviours, processes and practices are aligned to this culture.

If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please contact lifecareers@irishlife.ie and we will be delighted to ensure you are fully supported to be your best.

ILGL supports Equal Opportunity and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Head of Technology Partner Services

Benefits

Job Description