• Location: New York, NY
• Type: Direct Hire
Hybrid
• Job #9493

The IT Applications & Business Solutions Director will lead the global strategy, governance, and evolution of critical business applications supporting Product, Wholesale, and Retail operations. Managing a team of IT professionals and third-party resources, this role will ensure that the application landscape supports business priorities, operational excellence, scalability, and transformation objectives.
This position plays a key role in shaping the applications roadmap, setting priorities across initiatives, and strengthening the partnership between IT and business leadership. The Director will oversee the overall functional ownership of core platforms while ensuring that solution delivery and support models are effective and aligned with business goals and strategy.
The immediate priority for this role is to lead a significant transformation of the company’s business applications and technology environment, with a strong focus on planning, execution, business partnership, and operational continuity.

Responsibilities:

Key Responsibilities

• Business Engagement & Advisory: Act as a strategic partner to business stakeholders, challenging and refining needs, identifying opportunities for process improvement, and translating business priorities into technology direction and investment choices.
• Application Portfolio Governance: Oversee the functional landscape of key enterprise applications, ensuring consistency, scalability, governance, and clear prioritization across enhancements, projects, and support activities.
  • Contribute to IT strategy, governance, cybersecurity, and application standards.
  • Support IT budget planning and management of the technology stack, including both capital and operating expenses.
• Operating Model & Team Leadership: Lead, mentor, and develop a small team, with clear ownership across application strategy, solution delivery, and operational support. Build an effective team structure that balances strategic oversight with hands-on solution expertise.
• Applications Strategy & Roadmap: Define and maintain the strategic roadmap for business applications across Wholesale and Retail, ensuring alignment with company priorities, growth ambitions, and operational needs.
  • ERP Leadership: Lead full life-cycle management and strategy for ERP, including Microsoft D365, and oversee integration, deployment, and ongoing evolution of the platform.
• Application Management:
  • Manage and optimize functional topics and processes supported by key applications, including Centric Software (PLM), Anaplan (distribution planning), Microsoft D365 (ERP), and Point-of-Sale (POS) systems.
  • Ensure applications effectively support business objectives across Wholesale and Retail operations.
  • Configuration & Quality Assurance: Ensure the accurate and optimal configuration of applications so they effectively support current and future business processes.
  • Systems Integration: Support the integration of systems and applications across the enterprise where applicable.
• Solution Quality & Process Optimization: Ensure applications are configured and evolved to support efficient, robust, and future-ready business processes across Wholesale and Retail operations.
• Vendor & Stakeholder Management: Manage relationships with external vendors and implementation partners, and coordinate effectively with internal stakeholders to ensure service quality and successful project execution.
• Operational Excellence: Ensure high availability, performance, support effectiveness, and user satisfaction across the application landscape, with appropriate governance and service levels.

Role Priorities:

• Lead the transition and integration of core business applications, including Microsoft D365, Anaplan, Centric PLM, and Cegid, including planning, project management, training, execution, and the establishment of appropriate Finance operations within the ERP environment.
• Partner closely with business teams to lead and manage functional and technical changes across ERP, planning, POS, and PLM platforms, ensuring solutions effectively support evolving business requirements.
• Identify and execute opportunities for global process and technology improvements, driving greater efficiency, scalability, integration, and consistency across the organization.
• Develop a comprehensive plan for an OMS deployment, including defining the business requirements, scope, resources, timing, implementation approach, and budget.
• Identify opportunities to integrate or migrate additional business processes and applications, working collaboratively across the organization to determine priorities, dependencies, and the appropriate technology roadmap.
• Evaluate the potential expansion of Microsoft D365 into Retail operations, working with business leadership to define requirements, identify gaps, develop the implementation approach, and determine resources, timing, and investment required.
• Lead or participate in the evaluation and future replacement of legacy Wholesale ERP capabilities, including the RFI/RFP process, vendor demonstrations, solution evaluation and selection, business requirements, implementation planning, budgeting, resourcing, and timeline development.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in IT applications leadership, preferably within the fashion, retail, or luxury goods industry.
• Strong understanding of Wholesale and Retail business processes.
• Demonstrated experience managing and evolving complex enterprise application ecosystems, including:
  • PLM — Centric Software preferred
  • ERP — Microsoft D365 preferred
  • POS systems
  • Planning systems — Anaplan preferred
  • Integration platforms — Boomi, MuleSoft, or similar
• Strong experience in IT strategy, application roadmap definition, and business-facing technology leadership.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional projects and transformation initiatives, balancing strategic direction with execution.
• Experience managing and developing teams, including structuring responsibilities across strategic leadership and solution ownership.
• Excellent analytical, communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.