SVP, Technology

RAPP Chicago is looking for a SVP, Technology to join our award-winning Technology team.

WHO WE ARE:

We are RAPP – world leaders in activating growth with precision and empathy at scale.

As a global, next-generation precision marketing agency we leverage data, creativity, technology, and empathy to foster client growth. We champion individuality in the marketing solutions we create, and in our workplace. We fight for solutions that adapt to the individual’s needs, beliefs, behaviors, and aspirations.

We foster an inclusive workplace that values diversity and emphasizes personal well-being.

HOW WE DO IT:

At RAPP, our fearless superconnectors help to create value from personal brand experiences by focusing on three key areas: connected data, connected content and connected decisioning.
Our data analysts identify who that person is, our strategists understand what they want, and our award-winning technologists and creatives know how to deliver it – ensuring we’re able to activate authentic customer connections for our clients.
Part of Omnicom’s Precision Marketing Group, RAPP is comprised of 2,000+ creatives, technologists, strategists, and data and marketing scientists across 15+ global markets.

YOUR ROLE

The SVP, Technology serves as the key leader in Data & Technology solutions for the clients supported by our RAPP US agency.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Technology Management:

• Lead & manage the continuous, sustainable growth of our core Technology disciplines in the Central US region
  • Data engineering: providing reliable, available, scalable data solutions to our clients.
  • Experience engineering: delivering the right message, to the right audience, in the right context & channel
  • Creative engineering: engineering flexible & scalable design systems to achieve fiercely individual experiences
  • Software engineering, solving business, customer experience and operational challenges using software & automation
  • QA, removing barriers between customers and the experiences we design for them
  • DevOps/MLOps, accelerating our release and iteration cycles
  • Support, ensuring production systems and applications are meeting our service levels

• Facilitate strong and durable connections between our technology core disciplines and the rest of the agency: Experience Strategy, Creative, Marketing Sciences, Media, Program & Account management)

Technology strategy

• Responsible for your teams’ development of technology strategies to support our client business objectives. This includes assessment of marketing technology eco-systems, identification of gaps, and recommendation to enable business goals with the help of technology.

Solution Design & Architecture

• Inform & drive your teams towards best-practice architectures & design patterns, enabling enhanced precision and automation.

Client Technology Leadership

• Responsible for presenting & articulating technology solutions to non-technical clients and internal business owners.
• Primary point of contact for client IT stakeholders.  responsible for building confidence with client IT teams and ensuring compliance with client IT rules and contracts.

Internal Team leadership

• Responsible for forming Technology 'Pod' teams for internal development of technology projects
• Primary point of contact for Account/Strategy/Creative teams to discuss technology opportunities
• Responsible for developing technology understanding / competency within the office

Innovation

• Responsible for promoting technology innovation with RAPP clients by identifying new, relevant technologies, gaining support of global CTO and educating/inspiring local client teams and clients as to what technology can achieve.

Process/ Quality

• Work with our Operation & Program Management team to establishing RAPP technology processes & Methodologies for ensuring all technology projects are compliant with our client contractual agreements.
• Responsible for quality of technology deliverables to client, ensuring that these are delivered to highest standards of technical, data and user experience
• Responsible for developing technology standards in conjunction with Global CTO and ensuring these are adhered to across projects
• Responsible for assessing risk in current and future projects and proactively developing strategies to minimize risk

Vendor / Partner management

• Responsible for identifying future needs for technology partnerships (both licensed solutions and implementation partnerships) in conjunction with Global CTO.
• Responsible for briefing of technology vendors and ensuring on time, on budget delivery by partners
• Responsible for ensuring existing RAPP technology assets, partnerships and internal resources are prioritized ahead of developing new solutions

Infrastructure

• Responsible for technology infrastructure required to support Regional technology delivery, leveraging & managing centrally provided resources.
• Responsible for ensuring profitable recovery of infrastructure investment

SKILLS and EXPERIENCE

• 20+ years of technology experience, 10+ years leading a technology team
• Experience of delivering technology within a client service organization. 
• Able to demonstrate technology consultancy skills
• Evidence of forming and managing happy, productive, and innovative technology teams
• Evidence of developing vendor relations/ partnerships to achieve profitable delivery of client goals.
• Deep technology experience with the following technologies, or demonstrable exposure and thorough understanding of:
• Major Marketing technology & Journey orchestration platforms (Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Experience Cloud, Pega CDH/Marketing, Braze…)
• Adtech & Digital advertising solutions (From creative engineering platforms to audience management, trafficking and reporting)
• Major Cloud Providers (Azure/AWS/GCP)
• ETL, Data management & Data solutions (AWS Glue, Azure Data factory, Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift, Cosmos…)
• Front end Creative engineering (React/JAMstack, GTL/SSJS/AMPScript)
• Content, Asset and/or Product management solutions (Contentful, Umbraco, AEM, Akeneo, Bynder…)
• CI/CD pipeline management, including operationalization of data science AI/ML pipelines.
• Able to demonstrate interest in/active research of emerging technologies and ability to apply these to client marketing opportunities
• Evidence in delivery of innovative solutions, working with creative and other business teams
• Problem solver - able to predict and preempt problems and develop practical actions to solve
• Ownership - believes the quality of the end deliverable is all that counts and will take ownership of all elements of project to achieve this (not pass the responsibility)
• Strong communication skills.  Able to make complex subjects understandable for non-technical audience
• Likeable and able to form positive team relationships
• Gravitas – Ability to share your experience in all you do to create confidence with clients and the team.
• Strength of character - able to say no and the ability to recommend/advocate for best-in-class solutions

EDUCATION and OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science is required; Advanced degree in technology / data related field is preferred.
• Recent, hands-on experience with Python & serverless frameworks
• US Citizens only
• US Security Clearance a plus

Our hybrid work model:

RAPP's current hybrid model is designed to enable in-person connections and collaboration that is core to our culture, while also supporting flexibility for all employees. As such, we have the option to work from home two days per week, if we'd like. 

RAPP provides a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits plan. Benefits for this role include health/vision/dental insurance, 401(k), stock options, Healthcare & Dependent Flexible Spending Accounts, vacation, sick, and personal days and positive activism days, paid parental leave and disability benefits. For more information regarding Omnicom benefits, please visit www.omnicombenefits.com. A reasonable estimate of the salary for this role, at the time of posting, is $225,000 - $270,000. This range is specific to Chicago and multiple factors are considered in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to: skill set, experience and training, certifications; etc. This is an exempt position. If your requirements fall outside of this range, you are still welcome to apply.

“As an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status.”

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.