AMS - PunePLACEHOLDERMaharashtra

Job Title: AMS Application Delivery Head – Banking Applications Sustenance
Job Overview
The AMS Application Head is responsible for the operational leadership and strategic direction of a large-scale Application Maintenance and Support (AMS) program supporting banking applications. This role will oversee a program with a team of 1000+ professionals delivering sustained support for critical banking applications, ensuring their stability, performance, and alignment with business objectives. The AMS Application Head will drive incident resolution, manage service-level agreements (SLAs), ensure regulatory compliance, and lead initiatives for continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
Define and implement the AMS strategy for sustained support of banking applications, aligning with organizational and business goals.

• Develop and execute a roadmap for AMS that supports the stability, scalability, and performance of applications across the bank.

• Act as a key advisor to senior management on application support strategies, issues, and improvements.

2. Operational Oversight

• Lead the day-to-day operations of a large AMS program, ensuring smooth, reliable, and efficient application support for critical banking applications.

• Oversee incident and problem management processes, ensuring prompt resolution of high-impact issues to minimize service disruptions.

• Ensure that change management, release management, and configuration management processes are strictly adhered to for quality and compliance.

3. Team Leadership and Development

• Manage and mentor a large team of 1000+ AMS professionals, including direct reports, team leads, and technical staff, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.

• Build a resilient team structure, ensuring clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability.

• Develop succession plans, training programs, and career development initiatives to retain top talent and continuously improve team performance.

4. Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact between the AMS team and key business stakeholders, ensuring effective communication, transparency, and alignment of goals.

• Work closely with business leaders, product owners, and IT counterparts to understand business requirements and tailor AMS services accordingly.

• Manage expectations around application performance, availability, and issue resolution with internal and external stakeholders.

5. Performance Management

• Establish and monitor performance metrics for the AMS program, ensuring adherence to service-level agreements (SLAs) and other performance standards.

• Conduct regular service reviews, reporting on key metrics, identifying areas for improvement, and driving operational excellence.

• Use data analytics and reporting tools to monitor performance trends, anticipate potential issues, and make informed decisions.

6. Continuous Improvement and Innovation

• Lead initiatives for continuous improvement in AMS processes, leveraging automation, artificial intelligence, and other technologies to enhance efficiency and quality.

• Foster a culture of innovation within the AMS team, encouraging proactive identification of improvements and automation opportunities.

• Implement best practices and industry standards, such as ITIL, DevOps, and Agile methodologies, to optimize the AMS program's efficiency.

7. Risk and Compliance Management

• Ensure all AMS activities comply with banking industry regulations, internal policies, and audit requirements.

• Identify and mitigate risks associated with application support, including operational risks, compliance risks, and information security risks.

• Maintain detailed documentation and audit trails for all AMS activities, ensuring transparency and accountability.

8. Budget and Resource Management

• Develop and manage the AMS program budget, optimizing resources to meet operational needs within budget constraints.

• Oversee vendor and third-party relationships, negotiating contracts and ensuring effective use of external resources.

• Identify opportunities for cost optimization and resource allocation improvements.

Key Requirements
Professional Experience

• Minimum of

21+ years of experience in IT,

with at least 8-10 years in application maintenance and support, preferably in the banking or financial services industry.

• Proven track record of managing large-scale AMS programs

• knowledge of banking applications, regulatory requirements, and security standards.

Technical and Functional Skills

• Strong understanding of AMS frameworks, such as ITIL, and experience with ITSM tools (e.g., ServiceNow, Remedy).

• Experience in modern application support technologies, including automation, AIOps, and monitoring tools.

• Knowledge of banking operations, payment systems, core banking solutions, and digital banking platforms.

• Familiarity with Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD methodologies is highly desirable.

Leadership and Interpersonal Skills

• Excellent leadership and team management skills, with experience leading large, diverse teams.

• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities, with a focus on operational excellence.

• Outstanding communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills to effectively manage stakeholders at all levels.

• Strategic thinking with the ability to align AMS activities with broader organizational goals.

Performance Metrics

• SLA Compliance: Achieving high SLA adherence for incident resolution, response times, and application uptime.

• Incident Resolution : Reduction in mean time to resolve (MTTR) and mean time to acknowledge (MTTA) incidents.

• Stakeholder Satisfaction: High scores in stakeholder satisfaction and feedback on AMS services.

• Cost Optimization: Efficient budget utilization and resource allocation, achieving cost savings through automation and process improvements.

• Employee Retention and Engagement: Maintaining a motivated, skilled team with low attrition rates and high engagement scores.

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