Vice President, IT Portfolio & Delivery Governance

The Ideal Candidate

The Vice President, IT Portfolio and Delivery Governance will lead enterprise-wide delivery excellence and IT governance, ensuring that all technology initiatives are aligned to business priorities, executed with discipline, compliant with audit and control requirements, and deliver measurable business value. This senior leader will oversee the global IT portfolio, establish consistent governance practices, and champion the disciplines of project oversight, business analysis, quality assurance, vendor management, and IT audit/compliance alignment in close partnership with Genesco's Keystone outsourcing partner.

The role partners closely with the CIO, CTO, CISPO, Internal/External Audit, other IT leaders, and business stakeholders to translate strategy into execution - balancing innovation, cost, compliance, and operational efficiency across a global technology landscape.

How You Will Make an Impact

IT Audit & Compliance Governance

• Partner with CTO, CISPO, Internal Audit, External Audit, and Compliance to ensure alignment across SOX, ITGC, access, and change-control requirements.
• Embed audit-relevant controls into project delivery and operational processes, ensuring proper evidence capture and consistent audit readiness.
• Oversee remediation of IT audit findings, coordinating closely with enterprise services, application owners, and the IT outsourcing provider to drive timely resolution and continuous improvement of IT control processes and documentation.
• Work collaboratively with CISPO to ensure third-party partners meet Genesco's IT control standards, including SOC reporting, SOX control compliance, and contractual audit obligations.

Portfolio & Governance Leadership

• Oversee the enterprise IT project portfolio, ensuring prioritization aligns with corporate strategy, financial goals, and resource capacity.
• Establish and maintain governance frameworks for project intake, approval, execution, and benefit realization.
• Lead oversight of the Change Approval Board (CAB) to ensure cross-functional visibility, alignment, operational readiness, and adherence to defined standards.
• Provide transparent visibility to executive leadership through consistent reporting on portfolio health, risks, dependencies, and outcomes.

Project Management Office (PMO)

• Provide PMO oversight, standards, and best practices in partnership with the Keystone delivery partner, who will source and manage the project management function.
• Ensure consistent adoption of project delivery methodologies, governance checkpoints, and benefit realization tracking.
• Partner with the Keystone program management leadership to ensure delivery alignment, quality, and adherence to enterprise governance frameworks.

Business Analysis

• Direct the business analysis function responsible for requirements definition, process documentation, and solution validation.
• Ensure business cases clearly articulate value drivers, ROI, and alignment with strategic objectives.
• Partner with IT and business stakeholders to translate strategic goals into actionable technology roadmaps.

Quality Assurance & Testing

• Partner with the Keystone delivery organization to ensure QA testing practices, automation, and quality standards are consistently applied across all initiatives.
• Define and enforce enterprise testing policies, performance benchmarks, and continuous improvement measures.
• Provide governance oversight for testing results and ensure business sign-off on solution readiness and performance outcomes.

Vendor Management

• Oversee governance and performance management of key technology partners and service providers.
• Lead vendor selection, negotiation, and relationship management to ensure value realization, SLA compliance, and innovation alignment.
• Partner with Procurement and Legal to ensure robust contract, compliance, and financial management practices.

Experience and Skill You'll Need to Have

• 15+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, including 7+ years overseeing portfolio governance, business analysis, and quality assurance functions.
• Proven experience leading complex, cross-functional technology programs in a global, multi-brand retail or consumer-facing environment.
• Strong understanding of IT portfolio management, software delivery lifecycle (SDLC), and hybrid delivery models (agile and waterfall).
• Demonstrated experience overseeing IT control environments, including SOX, ITGC, access controls, and audit remediation across complex or outsourced IT landscapes.
• Experience operating within highly outsourced IT delivery environments is highly desirable.
• Exceptional stakeholder management, communication, and influence skills-capable of engaging at all levels from project teams to executive leadership.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or relevant advanced degree preferred.
• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent certification desirable.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinker with a disciplined, outcome-oriented approach to delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to balance innovation and governance in a fast-paced, consumer-driven business.
• Collaborative leadership style fostering cross-functional partnership and transparency.
• Strong financial and operational acumen with experience driving efficiency and accountability.