Head of IT Operations NEA

Richemont, one of the world leaders in the luxury sector, has various Houses specializing in jewelry, watches and high-end accessories. Each Maison proudly embodies a tradition of style, quality and craftsmanship and Richemont strives to preserve the heritage and identity specific to each of them. At the same time, we are committed to innovating and designing new products in line with the values ​​of our Houses, through a process of permanent creativity.

Role & Responsibilities:
Job Definition (Key Purpose of the Job):
Lead end-to-end IT Operations for Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Hainan, ensuring stable services across boutiques, offices, distribution centers and events. Drive Operational Assurance with a strong customer-centric mindset—prioritizing predictable, frictionless experiences and reducing business disruption through disciplined ITSM. In strong collaboration with the PMO and Regional teams, ensure delivery governance, portfolio visibility, and effective execution-to-operations handover.

Key Result Areas:
1) Operational Assurance & Customer Experience
Deliver reliable, consistent services that colleagues and boutiques experience as “always working”. Focus on experience outcomes, not only technical signals.
• Own service reliability and end-user experience; capture feedback and translate insights into operational improvements.
• Keep critical workplace and collaboration services consistently operational (meeting rooms/VC, telephony, connectivity, devices), with awareness of AV monitoring and conferencing components.
• Drive continual improvement (service reviews, trend analysis, prevention actions) across internal teams and partners.

2) Retail & Workplace Operations
Ensure retail and workplace technology readiness for daily trading and high-impact moments through strong on-site execution and clear accountability.
• Lead readiness for boutique lifecycle and peak periods (open/close, renovations, pop-ups) with cutover planning, risk controls and hypercare.
• Standardize field support and site routines (asset lifecycle, on-site/VIP/event support) to deliver consistent outcomes across markets.
• Coordinate with Maisons and business owners to align priorities and reduce operational friction in-store and in-office.

3) ITSM, Service Delivery Governance & PMO Collaboration
Run a strong ITSM backbone and partner closely with PMO to ensure disciplined governance, transparent reporting, and clean transition from delivery to operations.
• Operate and improve core ITSM practices (incident/major incident, problem, change enablement, request, knowledge) with clear ownership and escalation (e.g., ServiceNow).
• Co-lead governance cadence with PMO (portfolio visibility, demand intake, service reviews, action tracking and communications).
• Facilitate clean execution-to-operations handover for projects/changes (service transition readiness, runbooks, CMDB/asset hygiene, hypercare plan).

4) Security, Vendor & Financial Management
Protect services and ensure sustainable operations through strong risk controls, vendor governance and budget discipline.
• Enforce security, risk and compliance controls; coordinate audit readiness and remediation across markets.
• Manage operations budget and vendor performance (service quality, escalations, improvement plans) to maximize resilience and value realization.
• Maintain solid knowledge of identity & access management and connectivity/infrastructure standards used in the region (e.g., Meraki, CATO and Check Point).

5) People & Team Management
Build and lead a high-performing operations team and partner ecosystem with a customer-centric culture, clear accountability and sustainable coverage.
• Lead, coach and develop team members and extended workforce; promote continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
• Set clear objectives and ways of working; foster transparency, collaboration and ownership across markets.
• Plan resourcing and coverage for BAU and peak periods in close collaboration with PMO and key stakeholders.

6) Support Digital Applications & Low-/No-code Platforms (Mendix / Power Platform / UiPath / Pega)
Participate in and support the operational run of selected digital applications and low-/no-code solutions, partnering with the owning product/platform teams.
• Support day-to-day run and issue coordination for selected digital applications/automations by collaborating with platform/CoE teams and vendors.
• Facilitate release readiness and stable rollout (support model, access, monitoring, hypercare) together with the owning teams.
• Collaborate to identify recurring pain points and feed them into improvement plans and product backlogs.

7) Support Data Platform Operations (GCP / Analytics)
Support NEA’s consumption and reliable operation of data products provided by Regional Data and central teams, with governed access and clear support pathways.
• Support business users using analytics/data products (e.g., Looker) through coordination, runbook awareness and clear support routing.
• Facilitate onboarding and access steps (as defined by governance owners) and help keep documentation/support channels clear for local users.
• Collaborate with Regional Data teams to surface operational issues (availability, access blockers, adoption friction) and support timely resolution.
 

Competency Requirements:
Behavioral Competencies –
- Strong customer-centric, service-oriented leadership and communication
- Structured problem solver; calm and decisive under pressure
- Drives transparency, accountability and continuous improvement
- Collaborative mindset; works effectively with PMO, business stakeholders and vendors

Functional Competencies –
- Proven IT Operations & ITSM leadership (ITIL-aligned) and service governance
- Retail technology operations exposure (boutiques/events, field support, cutovers)
- Solid knowledge in identity & access management and infrastructure/connectivity operations in complex enterprise environments
- Strong vendor management and financial discipline

Added Advantage –
- Familiarity with low-/no-code platforms and digital application operations (e.g., Mendix, Power Platform, UiPath, Pega)
- Familiarity with GCP-based analytics/data products and support model (e.g., Looker)
- Familiarity with AI assistants / agentic AI concepts in an enterprise-governed context

Experience
- Minimum Relevant Experience: 12+ years in IT Operations / Infrastructure / Service Management / Retail Technology
- Minimum Managerial Experience: 5+ years
- Strong track record working with PMO / project governance teams to drive execution discipline and smooth transition to operations
- Languages: Fluent English; Cantonese and Mandarin

Academic Qualifications
- Degree or above in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business Administration or related disciplines
- ITIL Intermediate (or higher) preferred; PM/Agile and Security certifications are a plus
- Cloud/Data fundamentals and low-code training/certifications are a plus

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