Head of IT - PT

Reporting to the Global Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Portugal GM, the Head of IT is responsible for delivering fully digitised Portuguese entities, providing superlative CX, advanced data analytics capability, and optimised business operations for its diagnostics capabilities, accelerating Unilabs’ position within Portugal.

Our ambition is for Portugal to achieve 100% digital integration with its customers, a fully digitised patient journey, and to drive business performance through advanced analytics whilst delivering digital solutions that support operational excellence across the business.

The individual will bring technology excellence, leadership, an entrepreneurial and strategic mindset, and significant digitisation experience to the organization.

Their key focus is to ensure that the business is able to derive value and make excellent use of technology by delivering high-quality, efficient, cost-effective, and innovative IT platforms to the Portugal business units.

As a key member of the Portugal Country Leadership Team (CLT) and the Unilabs IT Leadership Team, the role will need to ensure that technology underpins the significant business challenges and transformations that Unilabs will face over the next few years.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Technology Leadership

• Implements and adapts the global technology vision and strategy for the Portugal organization, aligning it with business goals.
• Collaborates with other CLT members to ensure technology initiatives drive growth, efficiency, and innovation.

Digital Transformation

• Delivers digital initiatives to enhance patient care, diagnostic accuracy, and operational efficiency within Portugal (utilising global solutions where appropriate).
• Explores emerging technologies (such as AI, telemedicine, and IoT) to improve diagnostics and patient outcomes.

Data Security and Privacy

• Ensures compliance with global security standards to protect patient data and meet regulatory requirements (e.g., HIPAA).
• Fosters a culture of data privacy awareness and compliance.

Operational Management

• Ensures day-to-day IT operations, including infrastructure, applications, and cybersecurity, are delivered in line with Portugal expectations and global standards.
• Manages IT budgets (capex, opex, and special items), vendor relationships, and service level agreements.
• Executes projects and initiatives within Portugal (customer and operations) in cooperation with global functions.

Collaboration and Communication

• Works closely with other C-suite executives (CEO, CFO, etc.) to align IT with business objectives and with the wider IT leadership team.
• Communicates IT strategies (both local and global) and progress to stakeholders across the organization.
• Adheres to Global Architecture and Security standards.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Deliver technology that enables seamless service to customers, suppliers, and colleagues, focusing on a high-quality customer experience. Work in cooperation with the Head of Customer & Patient Platforms, ensuring reuse of global solutions where appropriate.
• Drive quality and efficiency in technology solutions delivered, ensuring alignment with architecture and security standards.
• Oversee continual improvement and updates (evergreening) of all platforms under management, ensuring that technical debt and risk are reduced to acceptable levels or eliminated entirely.
• Own the relationships, work, and performance of key partner vendors to enable executional excellence, underpinned by robust contract and commercial arrangements.
• Deliver Portugal-specific initiatives on time, within budget, and to the expected quality, ensuring all stakeholders are actively engaged. This includes CX, customer integration, and operational efficiency (including lab consolidation).
• Translate strategic global initiatives into operational deliverables in alignment with the Portugal business strategy.
• Work closely with the Group CISO to ensure the security of Unilabs systems.
• Provide optimised IT operations management (ITOM) for the Portugal cluster, in line with the global ITOM model, ensuring maximum efficiency through alignment with global practices.

Proven experience as a Head of IT or senior IT manager roles.

• Strong understanding of medical diagnostics, healthcare regulations, and industry trends.

• Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills

• Experience of working within a global function with matrix management.

• Commercially astute, with experience of owning relationships with technology vendors / SIs in different tiers

• Ability and comfort with working at senior executive and CxO levels

• Ability to influence and break down silos within an organization as well across organizations

• Ability to focus on business value results, rather than solutions

• Energy, focus, assertiveness, and diplomacy

• Contributing to and delivering high performing business strategies

• Strong communication skills in writing, speaking, and presenting

• Strong analytical, numerical and problem-solving skills as well as the ability to work under pressure

The successful candidate background

- Oral communication skills

- Hands-on

- Bias for execution

- Customer service orientation

- Problem analysis & solving

- Adaptability

- Curiosity

- Team interaction

- Learning skills

Language skills

English Fluent