Emerging Technology Manager

Welcome to Gordon Food Service! We are excited that you are thinking about opportunities with us, and we have an amazing story to share. See below for a quick glance of who we are and the impact you could have on the food service industry. There's a seat at our table for you...

Position Summary:

The Emerging Technology Manager is a dynamic and influential leader who serves as the organization's technological catalyst. This manager will lead on identifying, validating, and championing emerging technologies that will define our future success. A key responsibility is to shape the team's strategy and build a scalable operational framework to drive innovation from concept to enterprise-wide impact. Acting as a "Strategic Evangelist," this leader will drive adoption by fostering partnerships and upskilling the organization to scale the most valuable new technologies and skillsets. Ultimately, the manager's mission is to introduce, partner and enable innovation to create a competitive advantage, achieve operational excellence, and ensure sustainable growth.

What you'll do:

• Architect the Operational Framework: Design and implement a scalable operational framework that governs how innovation moves from concept to enterprise-wide impact, strategically balancing speed with governance.

• Ensure Strategic Business Impact: Align all team efforts with core company objectives to leverage innovation for a distinct competitive advantage, operational excellence, and sustainable growth.

• Lead the Innovation Lifecycle: Identify, validate, and champion emerging technologies, managing the full lifecycle from initial discovery and proof-of-concept to strategic business case approval.

• Monitor current trends in technology and staff sourcing, maintain awareness of competitive threats and architectural opportunities, and prepare application/platform roadmaps that address these trends and issues.

• Facilitate the identification and selection of technology solutions.

• Evaluate risks and develop plans and actions to mitigate those risks.

• Manage team budget; establish and own the technical roadmap and analyze trade-offs between usability, security, and performance needs.

• Work with other IT Leadership to determine priorities and resolve resource constraints.

• Assist business partners and business transformation teams in the identification, prioritization, and documentation of systems enhancements.

• Deliver strategic projects while adhering to project management disciplines, development methodologies, and architectural standards.

• Ensure that systems meet service level agreements, internal controls, and adhere to Information Security policies & standards.

• Facilitate and improve Information Technology processes by participating in various leadership forums (e.g. Quality Action Teams).

• Ensure that the portfolio of systems within their domain remain technically viable.

• Serve as a liaison between Gordon Food Service departments and Information Technology teams.

• May participate in on-call rotation for escalation purposes.

• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

When you will work:

• Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

• Hybrid schedule, 4 days in office in Wyoming, MI, with 1 day remote

What you'll bring to the table:

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology or related field required.

• Eight years previous information technology experience with two years previous supervisory experience or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

• Ability to foster and develop partnering relationships with business function leaders and other teams.

• Strong collaboration & influencing skills.

• Ability to identify, grow and develop team members.

• Must have strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Must be organized and have strong planning skills and problem-solving capabilities.

• Must have the ability to balance multiple priorities and be able to work both independently and within a team environment.