Who is Smart? What does it do on a daily basis?

Smart is a company shared by thousands of people, organized as a cooperative. It enables them to practice their profession in a wide range of fields, benefiting from a suite of tools and services financed by the collective: management of administrative tasks (invoicing, accounting, VAT), personalized support, legal assistance, training, and access to coworking spaces. Smart combines the social protection linked to employee status with an autonomous entrepreneurial dynamic.

Smart supports 20,000 people every year and has 8 offices in Belgium.

Detailed presentation of Smart: https://smartbe.be/fr/a-propos/

In a context of managerial transition, we are looking for, for a minimum period of 6 months, an Interim IT Director to ensure the continuity, stabilization, and structuring of the Information Systems Department.

The IT Department guarantees reliable, secure, and scalable digital tools for the members (more than 20,000 active members) and the support team (250 employees). It ensures the availability of software, data, infrastructure, and hardware necessary for the activities of the shared company, while supporting its strategic developments through an ethical and eco-responsible approach.

The IT Department consists of 38 (employees) and is organized around three divisions:

Development (21 employees)
Product (7 employees)
Infrastructure (10 employees)

The organization includes two Deputy Directors/Managers with direct responsibilities, as well as several operational teams.

The technical ecosystem is mainly based on Microsoft technologies (.NET, .NET MVC, .NET Entity Framework, associated infrastructures). The development teams work on both internal and external application projects (Change) and on bug fixing/evolutionary maintenance (Run).

The assignment is planned for a fixed term of 6 months, extendable.

Management and stabilization of the IT Department

Ensure the overall management of the IT Department by guaranteeing continuity and quality of service across the entire IT scope (applications, product, infrastructure, and operations):

• Stabilize the organization, processes, and operating methods, both for BUILD and RUN;
• Supervise and support the managers of the Development, Product, and Infrastructure divisions;
• Establish a clear and transparent governance framework for the teams and stakeholders;
• Manage the IT budgets, including infrastructure and service costs.

Information systems assessment

Carry out a comprehensive, objective, and shared assessment of the information systems:

• IT organization and governance;
• Application and infrastructure architecture;
• Delivery, RUN, and security processes;
• Maturity of practices (project management, agility, support, etc.);
• Identify operational, technical, and security risks, major pain points, and priority areas for improvement;
• Present the assessment in a structured manner to the Management.

Technical and governance recommendations

Define and formalize recommendations regarding:

• The overall IT vision and trajectory;
• The technology strategy, including choices of application and infrastructure architecture;
• The target architecture (application, infrastructure, cloud, security);
• The IT governance model (BUILD / RUN / DEVOPS, supplier management, cost management);
• Ensure alignment between IT strategy and business challenges;
• Propose a realistic and prioritized roadmap.

Preparation for the end of the interim assignment

Prepare the handover of the position under optimal conditions:

• Document the decisions, ongoing projects, and recommendations;
• Support, if necessary, the arrival of the future permanent IT Director;
• Ensure a clear, structured, and secure handover.

Profile

Experience and skills

• At least 10 years of experience as IT Director, combining leadership and technical expertise;
• Solid experience in IT team management and managing managers;
• Experience in a context of transition or transformation is a definite asset;
• Proven ability to operate in environments requiring structuring, stabilization, and transformation;
• Excellent understanding of Microsoft ecosystems (.NET environments, Microsoft infrastructures, collaborative tools, etc.);
• Mastery of architecture, IT governance, and performance management challenges.

Expected qualities

• Recognized leadership and ability to unite teams around common goals;
• Analytical and strategic vision, with the ability to structure complex information and guide decisions;
• Ease of communication with both technical teams and Management;
• Ability to manage autonomously while establishing a framework that promotes team accountability and autonomy;
• Pragmatic, structured, and results-oriented;
• Ability to quickly establish a climate of trust.