Join the thousands of innovators, advocates and forces who are making an impact every day at one of the biggest footwear brands in the world. Whether you love to connect with consumers on the retail floor or want to drive our award-winning powerhouse in new directions, the SKECHERS team is the place to be. Learn more about our brand at skx.com. 

Position Overview

Skechers is conducting a search for an experienced and highly qualified Vice President of Enterprise Applications who is results-oriented and able to bring innovative approaches to Skechers application development operation.  

Reporting to the CIO, the Vice President of Enterprise Applications is responsible for the delivery, management, and implementation of applications and solutions that support Skechers customers, employees, and business partners. As a member of the IT senior leadership team, the Vice President of Enterprise Applications  is an influential role, making investment and priority trade-off decisions, negotiating and managing vendor contracts, and recruiting and developing high performing teams.  The Vice President of Enterprise Applications will provide vision and leadership to a team that includes ~25 full-time employees, supported as necessary by contractors and vendor professional services teams. He/she is an advocate for enterprise application development and configuration requirements and is responsible for the development, configuration and delivery of a comprehensive software development strategy, architecture and solutions.

At an enterprise level, Skechers seeks an experienced, energetic, engaging and visionary leader who wants to become part of an exciting, vibrant community of retail and wholesale technology professionals supporting the creation and configuration of software solutions that will engage, impact and make our internal and external customers productive.

The complexity of this position requires a leadership approach that is engaging, imaginative, and collaborative, with a sophisticated ability to develop scalable, supportable, maintainable, robust, and high-performing solutions that meet our clients’ requirements. This will require the introduction of Agile, the Enterprise Application Development Methodology that integrates technology and business to quickly develop and deploy business solutions.

Key Responsibilities

    Lead and inspire the application teams to engage with the business and identify new functionality, develop compelling business cases, prioritize projects and develop plans that maximize return on investment for the company.  
    Lead a team managing all aspects of application development and delivery across multiple functions, business units and business lines.
    Effectively initiate, plan, schedule, control, and bring to closure multiple high priority projects.
    Develop and lead a collaborative and Agile software development approach that improves velocity, while maintaining a strong focus on both quality and scalability.  
    Drive the cultural changes necessary to enable a continuous delivery model, and foster a strong focus on automation of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).  
    Foster a strong client service mind-set throughout the application development team, while championing thought leadership and partnership with the business.
    Partner with business leaders to create robust solution roadmaps that are integrated with architecture and operations.
    Seek out, validate, and bring to the technology organization innovative best practices and ideas from the outside, with a particular emphasis on application development and integration of COTS solutions.
    Identify emerging technology trends, especially in the area of SaaS and cloud computing, and ensure the company is leveraging them when appropriate to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and drive value. 
    Ensure that all application development initiatives are well managed and delivered to meet expectations on functionality, timeliness, and cost.
    Develop, implement and monitor software development policies and controls to ensure data accuracy, security, and legal and regulatory compliance.
    Partner with internal clients to develop training and deployment plans aimed at maximizing both user adoption and realization of business benefits.
    Manage application vendor relationships and negotiate contracts to procure resources and technology solutions to meet the company’s strategic objectives.
    Assure lowest possible cost of ownership of applications through vendor negotiations and benchmarking.  
    Recruit, develop and retain high caliber software development talent, especially for key leadership positions, and develop a robust career ladder with the software team.
    Implement and champion a robust professional development program, and continuously upskill team members to keep them current.
    Evaluate team members performance, provide candid feedback and high impact coaching that enables (and motivates) them to achieve departmental as well as enterprise goals.
    Build a culture of innovation and engagement, focusing on strengthening the organization’s employer brand to position Skechers as an IT employer of choice. 
 

Skills

    Visible leadership skills and executive presence.
    Able to attract, develop and retain talent and build high performing software development teams.
    Able to foster a culture of transparency and a sense of purpose among the team, and create clear accountabilities and metrics.
    Demonstrated ability in developing a culture that embraces innovation, and challenges existing paradigms.
    Skilled at setting and communicating priorities effectively; able to manage multiple tasks and priorities.
    Skilled at removing barriers and acting with a sense of urgency, and encouraging others to so.
    Exceptional ability to lead change using positive and collaborative methods.
    Skilled at conflict resolution and problem-solving to achieve win-win outcomes.
    Superior program and project management competencies.
    Ability to step into projects already in progress, or in need of rescue, and effectively assume a leadership role.
    Vendor negotiations.
    Strong communication skills in writing, speaking, and presenting.
    An exceptional listener, able to comprehend what is said and probe for important details.
    Able to communicate technical or complex subject matter in business terms.
    Demonstrated acumen and passion for both business and technology, including the latest digital innovations as they apply to the creation of business value.
    Highly self-motivated.
    Accepts ownership and welcomes responsibility.

Professional Experience/Qualifications

    Has successfully led development and delivery of multiple complex business technology solutions into production that have achieved or surpassed business goals.
    Experience developing and supporting mission critical applications optimized to run in the cloud or virtualized environments.
    Deep knowledge of system architecture, technical design, and system and software development technology.
    Expertise with managing application development at scale, employing SDLC methodologies including Agile and Scrum.
    Has knowledge of emerging trends and developments in PaaS, SaaS, iOS/Android app API, cloud, AI, machine learning and other digital technologies.
    Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, applied math; advanced degree preferred
    15+ years of senior leadership experience, preferable working with technologies within the retail and wholesale industries, however solid experience in today’s top software solutions (Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, etc….) is needed as well.
    A minimum of 10 years working in the Retail, Wholesale or Consumer Goods industry.
 

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The skills, abilities and physical demands described are representative of those duties that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities, who are otherwise qualified for the job position, to perform the essential functions.
 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and talk or hear.  The employee frequently is required to walk, sit, reach with hands and arms, stoop, and kneel. The employee is occasionally required to sit for long period of times.  

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.