IT Head

Role & responsibilities

. IT Strategy & Governance

• Develop and execute the IT strategy and multi-year roadmap aligned with business goals and regulatory requirements.
• Establish IT governance frameworks, policies, standards and best practices.
• Lead technology modernization and digital transformation initiatives, including adoption of AI and automation.
• Prepare and manage IT budgets (CapEx and OpEx), forecasts, asset lifecycle plans and resource planning.
• Report technology performance, risks and investments to senior management and the Board, as required.

2. Hardware & IT Infrastructure Management

• Plan, procure, deploy and maintain all hardware: servers, storage, laptops, desktops, mobile devices, printers, peripherals, networking and telephony equipment.
• Manage on-premise infrastructure, data centre or server room, and hybrid environments.
• Oversee network architecture including LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi, firewalls, switches, routers, VPN, SD-WAN and ISP links.
• Maintain an up-to-date IT asset register and manage the asset lifecycle (procurement, allocation, refresh, disposal and e-waste compliance).
• Manage AMCs, warranties and support contracts for all hardware.
• Run the IT service desk and end-user support, with defined SLAs for incident and request resolution.
• Manage office IT setup for new locations, relocations and expansion, including physical security and access control systems in coordination with admin.

3. Software, Applications & Licensing

• Own the enterprise software landscape: productivity and collaboration suites, ERP/finance systems, CRM, HRMS, ticketing, document management and internal business applications.
• Manage software licensing, renewals, true-ups and audits to ensure compliance and cost optimization.
• Evaluate, select, implement and integrate new software solutions and SaaS tools.
• Oversee support, upgrades, patching and version management of operating systems and applications.
• Partner with engineering and product teams on production environments, release management, CI/CD pipelines and environment governance (Dev, QA, UAT, Production).
• Manage API integrations, data pipelines and third-party platform connectivity.
• Oversee database administration (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL or equivalent), including backup, performance tuning and access control.

4. Cloud Management & Resilience

• Manage cloud infrastructure on AWS, Azure or GCP, including architecture, cost governance (FinOps), monitoring and scaling.
• Ensure high availability, performance and scalability of mission-critical systems.
• Implement and test disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity plans (BCP) with defined RTO and RPO targets.
• Implement monitoring, logging and alerting tools for proactive issue detection and uptime reporting.

5. Information Security & Risk Management

• Develop, implement and maintain the cybersecurity framework, policies and controls (aligned to NIST, CIS and ISO 27001).
• Manage identity and access management (IAM), multi-factor authentication, privileged access, endpoint security, mobile device management (MDM) and data encryption.
• Implement security monitoring (SIEM/SOC), vulnerability management, patch management and incident response processes.
• Ensure protection of customer data, financial data and critical business systems, including data loss prevention (DLP) and email security.
• Conduct periodic security audits, VAPT/penetration testing and risk assessments, and track remediation to closure.
• Drive security awareness training and phishing simulations for all employees.

6. Regulatory Compliance & Audit

• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations and standards such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, GDPR, the DPDP Act (India) and sector regulations (e.g., RBI/SEBI IT and cybersecurity guidelines, where applicable).
• Coordinate with internal and external auditors, regulators and client due diligence or security questionnaires.
• Maintain IT policies, procedures, evidence repositories and regulatory documentation.
• Support governance, risk and compliance (GRC) initiatives and the organization's overall risk register.

7. FinTech Platform Operations

• Ensure reliable operation of customer-facing platforms, APIs, data feeds, integrations and transaction or data-processing systems.
• Monitor platform performance, system uptime and SLA adherence.
• Manage production environments, change management and release processes.
• Support fintech products such as research and data platforms, lending, payments, wallets, digital banking or wealth-tech, depending on business scope.

8. Vendor & Third-Party Management

• Manage relationships with hardware OEMs, system integrators, ISPs, cloud providers, software vendors, payment partners and security consultants.
• Evaluate and onboard technology solutions and service providers, including security and compliance due diligence.
• Negotiate contracts, SLAs and service agreements; track vendor performance and renewals.

9. Team Leadership

• Build, mentor and lead a high-performing IT team across infrastructure, support, security and applications.
• Define KPIs, SLAs and performance metrics for the IT function.
• Foster a culture of innovation, security awareness and continuous improvement.

Preferred candidate profile

• B.Tech / BE in Computer Science, IT or Electronics; MBA / MCA preferred.
• CCNA or equivalent networking certification is an added advantage.
• 1218 years of overall IT experience, with at least 5–7 years in a leadership role in FinTech, Banking, NBFC, Payments, Asset Management or Financial Services.
• Demonstrated experience managing both IT infrastructure (hardware, networks, end-user computing) and software or application environments.

Required Technical Skills

Hardware & Infrastructure

• Server, storage and virtualization management (VMware, Hyper-V or equivalent)
• Network and security infrastructure (firewalls, switches, routers, VPN, Wi-Fi)
• End-user computing, endpoint management and IT asset management
• Backup, disaster recovery and business continuity

Software & Cloud

• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Database administration (SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL)
• DevOps and CI/CD practices
• API management and integrations
• Enterprise applications and software license management
• IT Service Management (ITSM) and monitoring and logging tools

Security & Governance

• Cybersecurity and information security (IAM, SIEM, VAPT, DLP, encryption)
• IT governance and risk management
• Cybersecurity frameworks (NIST, CIS)
• Audit and compliance management

Compliance & Security Knowledge

• ISO 27001 and SOC 2
• PCI-DSS (where payments are in scope)
• DPDP Act (India) and GDPR
• RBI / SEBI IT and cybersecurity guidelines (where applicable)
• NIST and CIS frameworks

Preferred Certifications

• CISSP, CISM or CISA
• ISO 27001 Lead Implementer / Auditor
• AWS Solutions Architect or Azure Administrator
• ITIL Foundation / Expert
• PMP or PRINCE2
• CCNA / CCNP

Key Competencies

• Strategic leadership and technology vision
• Stakeholder management
• Regulatory and compliance awareness
• Risk assessment and mitigation
• Incident and crisis management
• Budgeting and cost optimization
• Vendor negotiation
• Team building and mentoring
• Strong communication skills

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• System uptime and availability against SLA
• Mean time to detect and resolve incidents
• Security incidents, vulnerability closure rate and audit findings
• Successful DR drills and compliance certifications maintained
• IT budget adherence and cost optimization achieved
• Service desk SLA adherence and user satisfaction
• Project and release delivery on time