Director of Information Technology

Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP is a leading regional firm dedicated to providing a full range of business, litigation and dispute resolution services to clients throughout Canada and abroad. We proudly manage a large firm practice, while maintaining the close relationships and culture of a smaller firm.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the position of Director of Information Technology has the primary responsibility for providing leadership and vision for the efficient and responsible application of technology to support the business initiatives of the firm. The role is a key member of the management team and works directly with the partnership to ensure that technology is used responsibly to meet our obligation for client confidentiality and uphold data protection rights. A focus on information security is a primary mandate of this role and the implementation of a governance strategy for data management and the compliance demanded by our clients is a core responsibility. This role requires the knowledge and experience of a leader that can define a plan for the growth of our organization while mitigating the risks that will accompany the expansion of our legal services.

Responsibilities:

• Offer exceptional client service in a highly demanding professional environment.
• Plan, manage and action the IT Roadmap of infrastructure, application, security and governance initiatives.
• Provide direct supervision of all members of the IT department in the assignment and performance of duties, oversight on the progress of all major projects, status of all change management activities and ensuring service level agreements of our help desk are being met.
• Ensure infrastructure and applications are regularly updated as needed, including budgeting for and managing the hardware refresh cycle.
• Engage and manage vendors/consultants as required for additional operational or project support.
• Manage IT needs for the Vancouver and Toronto offices.
• Work with the AHBL management team and Executive Committee to gather requirements for upcoming IT needs and determine priorities and timelines.
• Oversee an information governance framework to ensure that the handling of client data meets our obligations to information security, information rights, records management of electronic data and compliance through information and security audit mechanisms.
• Establish/maintain information security policies and data management processes in alignment with industry-standard certifications/frameworks for data security and service delivery models; facilitate the services of external service providers as required to meet compliance obligations requiring validation of our security posture through security audits and testing/scans.
• Direct participation in project planning and implementation of major technology initiatives.
• Report regularly to the leadership of the firm on the progress of technology initiatives and whenever risks are identified that may impact firm operations; maintain adherence to information governance goals by updating risk registers and policy/procedure documentation.
• Responsible for information security compliance requests from clients in regulated industries by responding to information security questionnaires; as needed, participate in client-initiated security audits to review the firm’s security posture and risk mitigation strategy.
• Lead the change management process to determine the impact on infrastructure as it relates to performance, security and compliance and any risks to existing systems; manage the approval process to ensure all stakeholders validate the need for the change.
• Participate with the management team and firm leadership to integrate the disaster recovery strategy for information technology with the business continuity plans of the organization.
• Perform annual budgeting of technology spend as it relates to the primary on-premise infrastructure, end-user computing requirements, software licensing and subscription services, cloud services, professional services/technical support and development; additional budgeting for leasehold improvements and developing plans for office expansion may be required.
• Manage the purchasing of technology hardware/software/supplies/services by performing all ordering and procurement of budgetary requirements; track expiry of hardware warranties, software licensing, maintenance and subscription renewals; track allocation of licenses/subscriptions make additional purchases to remain in compliance.
• Tasks may require working occasional after-hours and/or weekends for issue management or go live planning.

Technical requirements:

• Previous experience in an enterprise environment where your role as an IT leader maintained a successful refresh lifecycle of the core technology services which include networking, firewalls, server virtualization (hyper-converged infrastructure), data encryption (included SSL) and key management systems.
• Familiarity with industry certification and standards/frameworks such as ISO27001, ITIL, COBIT is required.
• Strong foundation of information security principles demonstrated through application in real-world scenarios that meet industry standards and/or in alignment with the information governance framework.
• Proven knowledge of Microsoft systems and services including active directory, Azure, Group Policy, Exchange (on-premise and online), Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, InTune.
• Knowledge of iManage (document management), Relativity (eDiscovery software) and 3E (financial system) is an asset.

 Qualifications:

• Candidates must have relevant post-secondary education and ten years of experience managing  a corporate IT environment.
• People leadership experience required. Preference will be given to applicants with previous law firm experience.
• A calm and professional demeanor is a necessity.

Salary:

AHBL offers a competitive salary and benefits package including health and dental plan, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and a matching RRSP Program after 2 years of employment with the firm.

Diversity + Inclusion:

We value diversity and inclusion at our firm. Our commitment to developing a culture of inclusion for all employees that respects individual strengths, views, and experiences, includes attracting and hiring a workforce that broadly reflects our larger community. All job applicants, employees, and partners, regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, nationality, physical ability, race, religious belief, and sexual orientation, are welcome here.

We would like to thank all applicants; however, only successful candidates will be contacted. Please submit resumes to hrinfo@ahbl.ca.