Head of Technology

Position Title: The Head of Technology.
Location: Niseko, Japan | Remote options.
Reports to: Director of Brand Experience.
Contract Term: Full-time, year-round. Start date DOA.
Salary: ¥700,000 - ¥800,000 per month.

Company Overview:

Rhythm Japan is a ski and snowboard retail, rental, ski school, known for offering customers excellent service along with the latest in premium snow sports equipment. Rhythm Japan has locations in Niseko, Furano and Hakuba, resorts that are renowned for their powder snow conditions. We have become the leading winter sports store in three of the best places to ride in Japan. 

We continue to grow at rapid speed creating awesome opportunities for leadership to help establish processes and frameworks that can propel our business even further. 

One of those exciting opportunities is in our IT and Technology team where the possibilities are endless. We are at a critical point in our technological lifecycle, looking for a motivated individual to lead the upgrade of our IT stack, creation of compliance, and inspire our very strong IT team.

Position Summary: 

The Head of Technology at Rhythm will lead all IT and Technology needs, and projects for the company.  They are responsible for leading the IT and development team.   

They will report to the Director of Brand experience while also collaborating with the border leadership team to:

• Establish company-wide policies around security and compliance
• Identify new opportunities to use technology across all disciplines to enhance efficiency, employee, and customer experience. 

The Head of Technology will lead all IT and technology initiatives at Rhythm Japan, overseeing the IT and development teams to drive innovation, efficiency, and security across the organisation.

Reporting to the Director of Brand Experience, this role will also require collaboration with the broader leadership team to:

• Establish company-wide policies around security, compliance, and technology use.
• Identify and implement technology solutions that enhance operational efficiency, staff productivity, and customer experience.

Key Responsibilities and Duties:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a technology roadmap aligned with business goals.
• Stay ahead of technology trends and evaluate opportunities to improve software solutions and infrastructure.
• Translate business requirements into actionable technology strategies.

Technical expertise:

• Have a deep understanding of the software development lifecycle, principles, and technologies. You are responsible for making technical decisions, such as choosing technologies and the best software solutions for a company.
• Ensure the quality, scalability, and security of all systems and services.
• Manage IT budgets, forecast expenses, and optimize resource allocation.

Team management: 

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing IT and development team.
• You will hire and train technical personnel, delegate work, and create end goals for your team.

Team guidance:

• You will provide support and guidance to your team, and encourage best practices. You also help the team identify and fix technical problems.

Quality assurance:

• You are responsible for the overall quality of a system or service. This includes setting and enforcing quality standards and being involved in software reviews.

Collaboration:

• You will bridge the gap between the business and technology by helping translate business requirements to the team and communicate technical challenges to the business.
• Communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders effectively.

Researching and evaluating: 

• You will need to stay up to date on new technologies and assess the organization's technology needs to identify opportunities to improve software solutions. 

Negotiating: 

• You will need to build relationships with our software vendors and negotiate to get the best service and prices for the organization's technology.

Developing policies: 

• You will need to develop and interpret organisational policies, procedures, and goals.

Security & Compliance :

• Develop and enforce cybersecurity best practices.
• Keep the Leadership Team informed on how new technology should be addressed and managed.
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and industry standards.

Requirements for the role:

Hard Skills:

• Degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field.
• Technical proficiency in various areas like programming, database management, systems analysis, and cloud computing.
• Project management skills including planning, organising, and overseeing projects to ensure they are completed in a timely manner and within budget.
• Establishing and managing IT budgets, forecasting expenses, and ensuring an efficient use of resources.
• Demonstrated success in managing IT infrastructure, IT budgets, software development, and systems architecture.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity principles and methods.
• Skills in data analysis help in deriving meaningful insights from raw data and influencing strategic decisions.
• 5+ years of experience as a Technology Manager or in a similar senior technology leadership role.

Soft skills

• Deep understanding of technology trends, best practices and the technology landscape.
• Strong strategic thinking and the ability to translate business objectives into effective technology strategies.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills, with the ability to inspire and develop high-performing technology teams.
• Proven track record of successfully leading large-scale technology projects, delivering results on time and within budget.

Immediate Projects

• Assist development agency on implementation of new CRM solution.
• R&D on how to enable true customer profiles within the current tech stack.
• R&D on new booking software to support rentals and Rides (ski school/lessons).
• R&D on new ski-school software for back-end operations of all Rides products. 

Details TBC based on Candidate:

• Relocation support.
• Remote working conditions.
• Tools for the job.
• Additional employment benefits.

The Perks and Benefits 

As a Rhythm employee, you will be shown the same hospitality that we give our customers. We love to look after our crew and these are just a few additional benefits you will enjoy working with us: 

• The opportunity to live work and play in one of the world's snowiest ski resorts by winter, and a green outdoor haven by summer. 
• Work for one of the best companies in the industry who know what it means to have fun and truly love what we do.
• Competitive pay rates, an employee bonus program, and a subsidized lift pass in the winter.
• Subsidized staff accommodation and housing assistance. 
• Team social activities, staff parties and events, team ride days, resort trips, department dinners, and much more.
• Access to other great benefits such as the Rhythm Wellness program, free ski, snowboard and bike demo, epic store discounts for you and your friends and family.
• Wellness initiatives include access to fruit, vitamins, yoga classes, and an employee assistance (EAP) program for your mental well-being.