IT Director - Agile Transformation & Enablement

Description and Requirements
Role Value Proposition:
As a strategic leader within MetLife's Global Agile Enablement team, you will partner with CIOs and senior leaders to shape and execute transformative Agile strategies that drive enterprise-wide business agility. This role focuses on equipping leaders with the tools, insights, and frameworks needed to optimize delivery pipelines, align priorities, and lead their organizations through the complexities of modern technology and AI integration.
By guiding leaders through Scaled Agile practices, Lean Portfolio Management, and data-driven decision-making, you will enable them to create a culture of adaptability and innovation. Your work will directly influence infrastructure, security, and architecture areas, helping critical functions align with strategic objectives and deliver measurable business outcomes in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. With your leadership and guidance, MetLife will advance its transformation journey to ensure operational excellence, strategic agility, and AI readiness.
Key Responsibilities:

• This role combines enterprise agile transformation thought leadership and leading a team responsible for our Global Agile Enablement services, capabilities, and operations. The team is focused on integrating the various needs of the business into a strategically focused, best-in-class journey for our end-users.
• You will have direct people leadership for a team of 2-4 enterprise agility guides to develop lean-agile ways of working solutions, implement operational processes, and monitor community adoption and effectiveness.
• You are responsible for higher-level strategic agile transformation planning and line of business consulting to establish disciplined, effective agile ways of working that are fit for purpose in technical areas of the IT organization that focuses on infrastructure, security, and architecture initiatives for the entire global organization.
• As an influential leader, you are seen as an expert in scaled agile execution that requires confident, simplistic, and kind communication in all modes.
• Lead and/or facilitate technical Agility and SAFe trainings, workshops, OKR sessions, group coaching, and 1:1 coaching both virtually and in-person. Primarily focused at the mid-senior level management with occasional focus on teams and ARTs to support/mentor your team.
• Meet our colleagues where they are for sustaining portfolio-wide adoption of Lean-Agile principles, practices, and scaled patterns. Fit for purpose, fit for reality application.
• Bring thought leadership and lessons learned back to the community of coaches to upskill and build internal coaching capability across MetLife. Acting as coach of coaches and exemplar within the broader coaching network with your technical acumen.
• Commitment to learn and share. Keeping track of new industry trends while finding connections and case studies of those we can learn from.

Essential Business Experience and Technical Skills:
Required:

• 5+ years' experience in direct people leadership and experience in enterprise Agile roles with a preference for leading DevOps pipelines, infrastructure, security, and architecture projects.
• SAFe SPC certification with the capability to teach SAFe for Architects, Agile Software Engineering, and SAFe DevOps, using relatable, real-life examples to engage and inspire practical applications.
• Demonstrated ability to influence change at the organization level to form productive relationships quickly.
• Demonstrated the ability to influence change at the organizational level to form productive relationships and drive results, with real-world experiences of impactful Agile transformations.
• Hands-on experience as an Architect or IT leader within a large organization.
• Technical expertise in Agile engineering practices, including Test-Driven Development (TDD), Behavior-Driven Design (BDD), and continuous delivery pipelines (CI/CD) as well as a strong understanding of DevOps toolchains and practices.
• Experience working with DevOps and CI/CD Tools (e.g. GitLab, Jenkins, Azure pipelines, Kubernetes, Terraform, SonarQube) and Data and Analytics Tools (e.g. Power BI and Advanced Excel)
• Expertise in mapping value streams, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing solutions to optimize delivery and prioritization workflows.
• Strong storytelling and communication skills to help individuals and teams connect theoretical concepts to practical applications.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with strong problem-solving, decision-making, and sound judgment capabilities.
• Experience working in complex legacy environments while introducing modern Agile and DevOps practices.
• Excellent facilitation, relationship-building, and influencing skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences, from technical to non-technical stakeholders.
• Commitment to learning and sharing new industry trends, with the ability to synthesize and connect insights to broader organizational goals.

Preferred:

• Familiarity with AI/ML platforms and their integration into Agile delivery pipelines
• Familiarity with Agile and value stream management tools (e.g. Vizo, Tasktop/Planview, ADO, Target Process, GitHub, Service Now) and techniques Experience in platform consolidation and tool rationalization to optimize workflows.
• Experience working with cloud platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) to support scalable AI solutions.
• Provide the ability to connect Agile principles with business outcomes by effectively advising, guiding, and mentoring leaders and teams to adopt practices that balance delivery and quality along with managing IT portfolios and cross-portfolio initiatives to support sustainable platforms and systems.
• Experience in streamlining and optimizing tools and applications to reduce friction and improve delivery and pipeline efficiency.
• Knowledge of Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) practices, including capacity-based prioritization and Lean budgeting for IT cost center financial models.
• Organizational Change Management Frameworks and strategies
• Proficiency in data visualization tools like Power BI to build insights and dashboards.
• Proven track record in leasing Agile transformations in large, multi-platform organizations where legacy and modern systems coexist.

At MetLife, we're leading the global transformation of an industry we've long defined. United in purpose, diverse in perspective, we're dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our customers.
The salary range for applicants for this position is $140,000 - $180,000.
Benefits We Offer
Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more!
About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the 2024 "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™ for 2024, as well as the 2024 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For ®, MetLife , through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by empathy, we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
Equal Employment Opportunity/Disability/Veterans
If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
$140,000 - $180,000