Hardware Asset Management/Associate Director

• Budget: Management of budget for Hardware Asset Management tools, services and staffing (permanent and temporary)
• Talent management: Permanent, contract, temporary and graduate trainees
• Matrix management: Management of staff with Hardware Asset Management responsibility in other business units
• Lead third-party Hardware Asset Management resources: Supervisory responsibility for third-party resources supporting Hardware Asset Management activity
• Financial: Oversight of spending on technology asset support, which includes hardware, software, cloud services, support, maintenance and hardware disposal
• Environment: Endpoints and edge devices, software and service asset vendors, on-premises data center assets, and cloud services
• Other: Liability management and remediation tracking

The IT asset manager will:

• Ensure that appropriate resources (people, tools, services) and processes are in place to gather and analyze data relating to technology asset life cycles and related processes.
• Promote and advocate the value of Hardware Asset Management to various leaders. This includes developing and promoting effective Hardware Asset Management strategies, policy, approaches and practices across the full range of digital technology assets used within the organization.
• Identify and report on breaches of Hardware Asset Management policy, and track remedial action.
• Report on (or develop reporting on) remediation of digital technology asset-related risks and progress of optimization activity.
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting, and that data completeness and quality issues are quickly identified and escalated to the responsible data or process owners.
• Gather data on and provide analysis of all activities that have an impact on the value, cost and risk of digital technology asset life cycles.
• Provide finance with the data to support the analysis of digital technology asset project and maintenance budgets and business cases.
• Assign responsibilities for sub disciplines, such as IT asset disposition (ITAD).
• Ensure that Hardware Asset Management -related tools and services are properly evaluated, selected, implemented, configured and maintained, with appropriate integration with other sources of organizational data.
• Provide access to technology asset data in support of essential activities required to support the effective running of the business.
• Manage the everyday functions of the core Hardware Asset Management team. This includes staffing, budgeting and other relevant management functions required to hold all IT and business stakeholders accountable for optimizing the cost, risk and benefit of digital technology assets throughout their life cycle.
• Managing the deployment and collection of devices and other hardware assets to the associates or offices.

The IT asset manager acts in a leadership role and must demonstrate the following leadership attributes:

• Strategic thinking — An understanding of strategic business objectives and the ability to develop a vision and strategy for Hardware Asset Management and execute it effectively in order to drive results toward those objectives
• Interpersonal skills — Proven ability to collaborate, build relationships and influence individuals at all levels in a matrix management environment (as well as external vendors and service providers) to ensure that segregation and overlapping roles are identified and coordinated
• Strategic relationship management — Includes working with vendors during compliance audits
• Strategic vision — Ability to sense emerging needs and drive change as Hardware Asset Management develops and matures to meet organizational and technology challenges

The Hardware asset manager must have the following skills:

• Strong communication skills with a proven ability to understand key business and technical concepts, and then effectively communicate these concepts with technical staff, business stakeholders and senior management
• Strong organizational skills, the ability to perform under pressure and to manage multiple priorities with competing demands for resources
• Strong analytical, data processing and problem-solving skills
• Proficiency in process formulation and improvement
• Ability to read and interrupt contracts to properly manage digital technology, which includes license and maintenance agreements
• Ability to manage the deployment and collection of devices and other hardware assets to the associates or offices in a large scale. Demonstrable experience of managing assets in hundreds of thousands will be required.

The Hardware asset manager must have in-depth knowledge and experience of the following:

• Technology asset life cycle (whether digital technology, information, financial or physical assets), best practice governance, tools and services
• Policy, process, and procedure development and implementation
• Technology contracts and their likely cost implications through the technology asset life cycle
• Engagement with sourcing, procurement and vendor management legal, tax and accountancy advisors for additional information
• Data processing, analysis and quality management tools
• Ability to manage effective deployment, collection and disposition of assets and managing the devices through its lifecycle

Additionally, an understanding of IT business continuity, cybersecurity, and integrated risk management and optimization methodologies is highly desirable, along with knowledge of IT management.

The following experience is considered essential:

• A management role, including engagement with sourcing, procurement and vendor management, business stakeholders and frontline operational IT staff
• Prior Hardware Asset Management roles (hardware or software) or demonstrable experience of working with IT asset management professionals to deliver Hardware Asset Management capability and improved business outcomes
• Atleast 16 years of experience with IT, enterprise asset management or information management
• Demonstrated leadership experience building cross-organizational consensus with exposure to technology providers and/or business clients
• Demonstrated experience in liaising with middle and senior management
• Experience with building business requirements for digital technology tools and services, developing business cases, and selecting solutions using RFP documentation and processes
• Experience leading system or tool implementations, with responsibility for verifying capabilities, outputs, dependencies and implementation scope
• Experience managing deployment, collection and disposition of assets in a large scale with globally distributed workforce.

The following experience is considered desirable, but not mandatory:

• 13+ years of experience working in the working in a large IT/ITeS organization
• 13+ years of experience in managing external IT service providers handling digital technology assets
• Experience with ServiceNow platform

This is a sensitive role dealing with commercial risks and significant costs. The organization must have a high level of confidence in the integrity and track record of the individual appointed to this role.

The following certifications are considered desirable, but not mandatory:

• ITIL v3 Foundation certification
• Certified IT Asset Manager
• COBIT 5 Foundation

• An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in finance, IT, engineering, business management or a related field
• Tertiary qualifications in financial accounting, project management or data analysis, or a legal or paralegal qualification that includes contract, copyright or intellectual property law are preferred