Head of Information Systems

Geneva | Permanent | 100%

Our client, an international company active in physical petroleum products trading and shipping, is looking for its Head of Information Systems for its Geneva office.

Your role

Reporting to the General Manager, you define and deliver the information systems strategy supporting the full trade lifecycle, from front to back. You are the key point of contact for all information systems matters in Geneva and a trusted business partner to senior management.

Your responsibilities

Information systems strategy and governance

• Define, maintain and execute the information systems roadmap, aligned with the business objectives of the Geneva office and the group
• Establish governance, policies and procedures, and prioritise the project portfolio with business stakeholders
• Prepare, manage and monitor the capital and operating budgets for information technology

Trading platform ownership

• Act as owner of the energy trading and risk management platform: implementation, evolution, upgrades and integration with market data, accounting and reporting systems
• Translate business requirements from Trading, Operations, Risk, Middle Office, Finance and Accounting into functional specifications
• Coordinate configuration, user acceptance testing and go-live, and ensure data quality and system stability

Infrastructure and operations

• Oversee the Microsoft environment (Active Directory, Microsoft 365, servers, network, end-user devices) with the team and external providers
• Ensure high availability, backup, business continuity and disaster recovery of all critical systems
• Supervise user support in line with agreed service levels

Team leadership

• Lead, coach and develop a small information technology team
• Set objectives and priorities, and balance the workload across the team

Security and compliance

• Define and enforce security policies, access management and user awareness, in coordination with group information technology
• Identify and mitigate technology risks, and ensure compliance with regulatory, audit and data protection requirements

Vendor management

• Select, negotiate with and manage software vendors, integrators and service providers, including market data vendors
• Monitor contracts, licences, service levels and costs

Your profile

• Degree in information systems, computer science, engineering, finance or a related field
• At least 10 years of experience in information technology, including 5 years in a leadership role, within an oil or petroleum products trading company
• Proven track record of at least one end-to-end implementation of an energy trading and risk management system; hands-on experience with Nova is a strong asset
• Solid business understanding of physical oil trading: deal capture, vessel and cargo scheduling, nominations, inventory, demurrage, positions, profit and loss, mark-to-market, settlement and invoicing
• Good knowledge of Microsoft-based infrastructure, application integration, information security and compliance in a trading environment
• Experience managing vendors and technology roadmaps; knowledge of artificial intelligence use cases and governance is a plus
• A hands-on leader, able to drive strategy while staying close to operations and to the team
• Fluent English is mandatory; French is a strong plus

What our client offers

A key leadership role with direct access to senior management, in an international trading environment where information systems are at the heart of the business.