Lead-Application Operations (IT Infrastructure)_2426

Overall Objectives of Job

• Full end-to-end responsibility for the IT landscape, covering applications and infrastructure across the operating entity (OE) of Allianz.
• Ensure quality improvements via follow-up activities in case of IT incidents/outages, across all services consumed by the OE.
• Manage, coordinate, continuously improve and harmonize the CPI process within the OE, ensuring integration and alignment with global service management practices.
• Act as the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) between the OE of Allianz and Allianz Technology for all IT services.
• Own and chair the monthly Service Review Committee meetings (reporting of SLAs, Incidents, Toxicity, Security and Risks) with the stakeholders, ensuring transparent governance and timely decision-making.
• Drive continuous improvement in service quality, incident resolution, and risk reduction across all service areas.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Maintain full end-to-end responsibility for the IT landscape (applications & infrastructure) for the OE.
• Oversee stable delivery of all IT services consumed by the OE.
• Own and chair the monthly Service Review Committee meetings with OE representatives.
• Drive quality improvements via follow-up activities on IT incidents and outages for services consumed by the OE.
• Act as SPOC between OE and AZ Technology for the IT landscape, with specific accountability for change, problem, and incident management processes.
• Manage, coordinate, and continuously improve the CPI process within the OE.
• Harmonize CPI practices and align with global service management standards.
• Track improvement plan execution and ensure accountability across service areas.
• Maintain documentation of service performance, improvement plans, and governance decisions.
• Manage and follow up on operational issues and service requests from the OE, driving timely resolution across Allianz Technology with a focus on service stability and incident prevention.
• Act as the primary escalation point for all IT services consumed by the OE, fostering transparency and trust through structured communication and proactive reduction of operational risk.
• Serve as a reliable point of contact for C-level stakeholders on escalations, key decisions, and operational service updates.

Qualification, Experience, Technical and Functional Skills

• 5–8 years of professional experience in IT service management, IT operations or IT production management.
• A university degree in IT management, business administration, computer science or equivalent professional experience.
• Proven experience managing multi-vendor, multi-service IT environments including global service providers
• Experience in a large, complex, multinational organization (insurance, financial services, or comparable industry preferred)
• Ability to design, track and interpret KPIs across Quality, Security, Toxicity and Risk dimensions
• Broad understanding of enterprise IT architecture, cloud services and infrastructure operations.
• Experience with ITSM platforms (e.g. ServiceNow), reporting tools and governance dashboards (e.g., PowerBI)
• Ability to design, run and continuously improve governance mechanisms across organizational layers
• Skilled at identifying, structuring and driving timely escalations through defined governance paths
• Understanding of service contracts, SLA structures and supplier performance management
• Ability to align interests and actions between internal IT (AZ Technology) and business stakeholders (OE)
• Ability to translate complex service data into clear, executive-level governance communications.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in English is essential and mandatory.
• ITIL Foundation required; ITIL Practitioner or Intermediate level preferred.
• Familiarity with agile ways of working is an advantage.
• Experience of working in Insurance domain is an advantage.

Key Competencies

• Expertise in ITIL framework and IT Production support.
• Takes personal responsibility for service outcomes; follows through on commitments and addresses issues without being prompted.
• Communicates confidently and adapts style to audience; able to present performance data and escalate issues clearly to senior stakeholders