Group IT Operations Director

Global IT Strategy & Transformation Director

Croda is a FTSE100 organisation where we truly believe our people are our difference and this, along with our values of Innovative, Responsible and Together, create ‘our Purpose, Smart science to improve lives’. With over 5,000 employees globally, we specialise in the research and development of innovative ingredients for the Life Science and Consumer Care markets.

The Global IT Strategy & Transformation Director is a critical member of Croda’s IT leadership team, responsible for shaping and guiding the long‑term vision for Information Technology across the organisation and driving technology enabled change execution across the business. Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the role defines the strategic direction, governance frameworks, and operating principles that ensure Croda’s technology landscape is secure, compliant, efficient, and fully aligned to business priorities.

Balancing strategic foresight with disciplined governance and execution, the Global IT Strategy & Transformation Director ensures technology investments deliver value, mitigate risk, and support Croda’s future growth. The role partners closely with executive, regional, and functional leaders to prioritise initiatives, direct enterprise technology planning, and embed best‑practice governance across the global IT organisation.

Who We’re Looking For:

• Significant experience in IT strategy, governance, enterprise architecture, or related senior leadership roles within a complex organisation
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship‑building skills to build trust and engagement within a network driven organisation.
• Strong business acumen with a deep understanding of technology trends, digital transformation, and their potential impact on Croda’s group strategy.
• In‑depth knowledge of IT governance frameworks, risk management practices, and regulatory compliance requirements.
• IT Procurement lifecycle experience, running RFI/P, contract negotiations, renewals and legal review.
• Proven ability to influence and build credibility with senior stakeholders, including Executive committee, regional leaders, and external partners.
• High level of self‑awareness, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal effectiveness, enabling the creation of strong internal networks

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Drive the development of the enterprise technology plan and multi-year roadmaps in partnership with enterprise architecture and functional leaders.
• Establish and maintain robust IT governance structures, policies, and processes to ensure transparency, consistent decision making, and alignment with regulatory and industry standards.
• Work closely with Finance, Legal, Risk, HR and key business stakeholders to ensure compliance across all aspects of IT operations, including cybersecurity, data privacy, and regulatory obligations.
• Engage and influence and build strong partnership relationships with senior business leaders across regions, business units, and functional teams to understand strategic needs, prioritise and develop initiatives, and build alignment and engagement around the IT strategy.
• Manage relationships with key vendors and strategic partners to ensure their contributions support Croda’s strategic objectives and technology standards.
• Work with relevant teams to assess, monitor, and mitigate risks associated with technology operations and change initiatives.
• Guide the prioritisation of major IT investments and capex programmes, ensuring alignment with strategic goals, effective resource allocation, and maximum value delivery.
• Define and monitor KPIs and performance measures to evaluate IT effectiveness, strategic impact, and compliance.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the IT Strategy function (including Enterprise Architecture and related roles), fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, collaboration, and innovation.
• Own the Enterprise Architecture function, ensuring the design and delivery of a coherent, scalable, and future ready technology architecture across the business.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the function which will include Project & Portfolio Management, Business Engagement, Roadmaps & Strategy, Delivery Governance and IT Contract and Procurement oversight fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and innovation and driving value from our technology investments.

Additional Information

This is a hybrid role balancing time at our offices in Cowick, East Yorkshire with home office and will include some international travel.

Why Croda?

At Croda, we believe our people are our difference. We are people-led, driven by the desire to do good and deliver value, a unifying principle shaped by all the great people that have travelled through Croda since our beginning in 1925. We pride ourselves on bringing together diverse teams and talents from across the globe and, guided by our values of Responsible, Innovative, and Together, we are passionate about building an inclusive, collaborative, and diverse organisation with innovation and customer focus underpinning all that we do.

Croda is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.