CENTER OF EXCELLENCE MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

Managing a Center of Excellence means overseeing a domain of IT expertise - not just delivering services, but owning the standards, capability roadmap, and knowledge architecture that other teams depend on. A CoE Manager in enterprise IT typically governs an ITIL-aligned service portfolio spanning multiple product or functional domains, coordinating across distributed shift teams and third-party vendors to maintain continuity. Few roles require simultaneously setting KPIs for specialists, negotiating vendor contracts, and translating technical strategy into a multi-year roadmap.

As the Center of Excellence Manager, you are responsible for the performance, capability growth, and strategic alignment of a multi-skilled IT CoE team, ensuring service delivery meets quality, time, and budget commitments across the organization. You report into IT leadership and operate as a direct interface between frontline specialists, senior technology managers, and business stakeholders who depend on CoE outputs to advance enterprise digital priorities.

Career Impact: Leading an ITIL-aligned CoE builds recognized seniority in enterprise service management, positioning this role as a credible step toward IT Director or VP of Technology.

Business Impact: The CoE Manager directly determines the reliability of IT services that production and business operations teams consume daily - a degraded CoE means delayed escalation resolution and broken SLAs across the portfolio.

Growth Opportunity: Sustained exposure to multi-year technology roadmapping, cross-functional vendor negotiation, and S/4HANA-adjacent programs accelerates readiness for enterprise-wide architecture or divisional CIO responsibilities.

• Lead performance management cycles for CoE specialists, including goal setting, one-on-one meetings, and annual reviews.
• Define and maintain a skills matrix that maps team competencies against current and incoming technology demands.
• Own the department budget from proposal through expenditure tracking, recommending adjustments to maintain plan integrity.
• Develop and govern IT controls, policies, and procedures to protect information security and ensure compliance consistency.
• Coordinate incident and service request management across CoE queues, ensuring escalation paths are followed and stakeholders are kept informed.
• Partner with senior IT managers to plan and execute a multi-year technology roadmap aligned to enterprise business objectives.
• Conduct periodic vendor negotiations and manage contract performance throughout the engagement lifecycle.
• Analyze team activity metrics and produce weekly and monthly management reports highlighting performance trends and improvement areas.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 7 or more years of experience in IT operations or technology service management, with at least 3 years in a leadership capacity overseeing multi-skilled teams.
• Demonstrated knowledge of ITIL or ITSM principles, including service value chain concepts and incident management frameworks.
• Proven ability to develop and manage department budgets, including forecasting, expenditure tracking, and variance reporting.
• Experience building and executing performance management programs: coaching, development planning, and capability gap analysis.
• Strong skills in stakeholder communication, with demonstrated ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences at all organizational levels.
• Track record of vendor relationship management, including contract negotiation and ongoing performance oversight.
• Ability to set, monitor, and report on team KPIs within a structured operational reporting cadence.

• ITIL Foundation certification or higher, demonstrating formal grounding in service management frameworks.
• Hands-on familiarity with SAP or S/4HANA environments, supporting CoE specialist teams in those domains.
• Experience managing distributed or remote teams across geographic locations or time zones.
• Exposure to enterprise BI reporting platforms used for operational performance analysis.

• SLA adherence rate across CoE-managed incidents and service requests, reflecting queue health and escalation discipline.
• Budget variance percentage, measuring how closely actual expenditures track against approved department forecasts.
• Team capability coverage score against skills matrix, indicating readiness for current and incoming technology demands.
• Mean time to escalation resolution for CoE-owned incidents, measuring the CoE's speed in closing elevated issues.
• Vendor contract compliance rate, tracking whether vendor deliverables meet agreed terms across active engagements.
• Typical tools: ITSM platforms (commonly ServiceNow or similar); ERP environments (commonly SAP or S/4HANA); reporting and BI platforms (commonly Power BI or SAP Analytics Cloud).

• Base Salary Range: $120,000 to $155,000 per year
• Bonus: Annual performance bonus, typically 10% to 15% of base salary
• Equity: RSUs or stock options offered at larger technology firms and enterprise software organizations
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employee and dependents
• PTO: 15 to 20 days annually, plus standard public holidays
• Common Perks: Professional development and certification reimbursement, remote or hybrid work flexibility, technology stipend

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process are encouraged to make that need known. Final offers are contingent on successful completion of a background check. All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

The Center of Excellence Manager owns the governance of IT controls, policies, and multi-year technology roadmaps supporting SAP Functional and Technical teams, ensuring compliance, budget integrity, and continuous service improvement. Reporting to the Director of KNA Center of Excellence and serving as a member of the IT Leadership Team, this role delivers measurable outcomes across vendor management, team capability development, and IT Business Plan execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Support SAP Functional and Technical teams with the development and management of IT controls, policies, and processes to protect assets and ensure compliance.
• Drive the establishment of performance goals and provide ongoing feedback, coaching, and development to enhance team performance and capability.
• Evaluate and determine hiring, promotion, salary recommendations, and all employment-related decisions.
• Identify individual and team skill gaps, developmental areas, and opportunities such as training, special assignments, and projects to advance capability.
• Recognize initiative, innovation, and work well done to create a positive work environment.
• Manage the delivery of technology and support services within an approved budget via a team-based, customer-centric approach.
• Plan and manage a multi-year technology roadmap, business plan, and budget with the Director of KNA Center of Excellence.
• Ensure IT Business Plan objectives are successfully delivered meeting quality, time, and budget expectations as a member of the IT Leadership Team.
• Assist in building vendor relationships, creating cost-efficient contracts, and managing contracts throughout their lifecycle.
• Develop budget proposals, track expenditures, and recommend changes to maintain the budget plan.
• Identify, develop, and implement continuous process improvements and best practices to enable accurate and effective systems operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field, MBA preferred.
• 10 or more years of experience in IT operations or a related field.
• Proven experience in financial planning and forecasting for IT operations growth.
• Thorough knowledge of ITIL and ITSM principles and project management fundamentals.
• Experience with SAP and S/4HANA technology.
• Expert in analytical and reporting tools including Excel and BI platforms such as SAP Analytics Cloud or Power BI.
• Demonstrated competency in strategic thinking, leadership, and relationship management across all organizational levels.
• Ability to explain technical subjects to non-technical people in a precise and simple way.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with integrity.

Embedded within the CoE domain, the Center of Excellence Manager leads a team of service and product experts to deliver IT services, shape cultural attributes, and drive strategic alignment between enterprise IT priorities and business operations. Working closely with IT Service Management teams and CoE Manager colleagues globally, this role advances capability development, KPI translation, and technology capability assessments to improve user and business experience.

Core Functions

• Lead a team of service and product experts to deliver IT services within the CoE domain, driving high performance through coaching, performance management, and an engaging environment.
• Build a strong-performing organisation by attracting and developing the right competencies and capabilities to deliver on objectives.
• Define desired cultural attributes for the CoE and engage team members to develop initiatives that shift behavior.
• Work with business operations and IT Service Management teams to ensure good coordination of IT changes without impacting business processes.
• Ensure execution of projects and programs is prioritised in line with enterprise strategy, striving for a First Time Right approach.
• Act as a business partner toward the business to continuously align on priorities and adjust where needed.
• Collaborate with CoE Manager colleagues on globally shared challenges to improve user and business experience.
• Contribute to the development and execution of the CoE strategy to ensure alignment with enterprise IT and business strategy.
• Set and measure KPIs to translate strategic objectives into a tactical action plan and follow up on progress.

Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree in ICT or equivalent experience.
• 7 or more years of relevant professional experience in IT or technology management.
• Experience in remote people management in an international context.
• Expert knowledge in the domain of networking.
• Ability to translate strategy into a tactical action plan.
• Excellent people management, organisational, and interpersonal skills.
• Reliable, discrete, diplomatic, and decisive with a strong sense of responsibility and initiative.

Reporting to the Program Manager, the Center of Excellence Manager leads a specialised engineering team within the Bobst Group to collect, optimise, and implement Group best practices while ensuring the correct application of drying processes across Product Lines. Partnering with the RD and E Department at the San Giorgio site and external networks of universities and research institutes, this role delivers validated project outcomes and maintains a team capable of developing competitive technical solutions.

Primary Duties

• Center of Excellence Manager will liaise with the Product Lines concerned within the Bobst Group, with the RD and E Department of the San Giorgio site.
• Ensure the collection of all Group best practices, optimise them, and implement them across the organisation.
• Develop a network of relationships with universities, research institutes, and specialised consultants.
• Maintain a scientific and technological level within the team capable of developing innovative and competitive solutions.
• Ensure the correct application of necessary drying processes for each of the Product Lines.
• Comply with development programmes agreed with the Product Lines.
• Ensure the validation of projects developed by the CoE and confirm that transfer prices cover the costs of the structure.
• Manage a resource team assigned to achieve area targets and raise any problems or deviations to the Program Manager.

Skills and Qualifications

• Degree in mechanical or aeronautical engineering.
• Previous experience in similar positions in a B2B environment.
• Knowledge of 3D CAD design software and CFD and FEM simulation software.
• Strong analytical, planning, organisational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent relational, communicative, and leadership skills with the ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• Good knowledge of English.