Vice President of Technology

Sensei delivers wellness experiences in luxury hospitality environments, and the Vice President of Technology is responsible for Sensei’s adoption and maintenance of all Technology to streamline and secure our customers’ (partners and guests) and staff’s digital experiences, communications, and sensitive data. We are looking for a seasoned hospitality IT leader who is experienced in implementing and maintaining technology to create seamless hospitality and wellness experiences. The right candidate understands that their responsibility in safeguarding personal health information (PHI) is mission critical, and they bring with them experience in SOC and/or ISO compliance. Our ideal candidate enjoys managing a distributed team in the support of day-to-day hospitality operations, as well as in software development and integration, modeling Sensei’s principles of customer service in every help desk ticket response.  They will work strategically with internal and external partners in the development, maintenance, and/or deployment of technology to meet evolving business needs, ensuring that committed deadlines are achieved with clear communication and crisp execution.

Responsibilities 

• Envision, champion, and architect the end-to-end digital guest and staff experience to complement current and future lines of business
• Advocate, outline, and administer comprehensive policies to safeguard Sensei’s business and customer data, including overseeing Sensei’s SOC 2 Type 2 compliance program
• Responsible for the coordination, planning, configuration, implementation, adoption, and maintenance of hospitality, wellness and spa technology  Hospitality systems can include, but are not limited to, point of sale systems (e.g. MICROS Simphony); property management systems (i.e. Opera); spa scheduling (i.e.,Book4Time); hospitality communication systems (i.e., Alice); telecommunications systems, networks, and wifi.Spa and Wellness systems can include but are not limited to custom cloud-hosted software; 3rd party biomarker software; IoT hardware; and consumer wearable devices
• Responsible for managing a distributed and on-prem team delivering critical support services for day-to-day IT operations in the areas of network, server, storage, databases, telecommunications, software support, hardware support, software training, and security, as well as the 24x7 monitoring of production applications and systems
• Responsible for leading strategic negotiations to scale and improve Sensei’s IT, including, but not limited to, licensing Sensei’s software
• Responsible for 3rd party and new management agreements related to technology, including, but not limited to, contracting terms, determining FF&E and OS&E needs, ensuring compliance, initial set up, and ongoing support
• Lead a technically proficient and process-oriented department to support the daily IT-related expectations of our guests and staff
• Maintain compliance with key regulatory and industry requirements for data integrity, security, and privacy, including, but not limited to, PCI, CCPA, ISO, HIPAA, and/or SOC
• Responsible for developing and managing the corporate information architecture for resources across Microsoft 365 (i.e, across Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) and department-specific content repositories (e.g. Lessonly, Brandfolder)
• Responsible for developing and managing operational information architecture, including, but not limited to, how guests send and receive communications; how guests retrieve sensitive data, like biomarkers; how guests book appointments, both in-person and virtual; and more
• Responsible for the security, integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information and data in Sensei Spa and Wellness’ information systems, including providing incident response in the event of a security breach
• Build, manage, and disseminate service desk reporting (such as MTTR) to facilitate continuous process improvement
• Manage processes for service desk management, configuration management, asset management, and security management according to industry standards and best practices
• Identify IT needs for all business units and departments, propose solutions, analyze trade-offs, and guide the organization towards greater technological wellbeing
• Keep abreast of emerging new technologies and potential integration and/or collaboration opportunities for Sensei
• Lead recruitment, training, performance evaluation, promotion, and retention activities for the department
• Some travel may be required
• Leadership – Maintain a positive, upbeat role, promote and exemplify Company values and represents departmental objectives and interests to internal and external customers 
• Customer Service – Follow up on complaints, questions, and concerns; respond to internal/external customer needs in a friendly, timely and efficient manner 
• Teamwork - Develop and promote teamwork and cooperation among co-workers 
• Safety – Comply with established safe work practices and attend to all safety-related training provided or made available by the Company 
• Other duties as assigned 

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Education and/or Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related field is required; Master’s degree is preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in Information Technology, with 5+ years in strategic leadership roles
• IT experience in the hospitality industry REQUIRED
• Experience managing or developing spa or wellness software strongly preferred
• 5+ years administering Microsoft 365 in corporate and/or hospitality environments, including Windows, Microsoft 365, and Azure’s cloud services including Azure Active Directory, Intune, Virtual Machines, Container Services, database, and management products.
• Prior experience administering SOC and/or ISO standards in a compliant organization
• Demonstrated experience implementing technology solutions that measurably improved guest experience(s)
• Demonstrated proficiency in managing multiple projects, defining clear milestones, and delivering on expectations on time.
• Experience in delivering highly available, decentralized communications, compute, and network services to a demanding business
• Experience with Okta or other cloud-based identity management solutions
• Experience with managing mixed Windows and Apple environments, including cloud-only configuration and patch management, zero touch provisioning, and remote de-provisioning
• Experience deploying and supporting in-house developed software and hardware products
• Practical experience with implementing with Zero Trust concepts through user account lifecycle management

Required Technical/Other Skills and Abilities 

• Proven ability to negotiate favorable agreements with and maintain relationships with third-party vendors
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and motivate professional staff
• Demonstrated aptitude for learning new technologies
• Strong leadership and management skills

Required Licenses/Certifications

• None

About Sensei

Founded by Dr. David Agus and Larry Ellison, our ecosystem of products and experiences is designed with one intention: to empower you to grow well and lead the world toward greater wellbeing.

Based on Dr. Agus’ philosophy, Sensei believes we can guide our guests to greater wellbeing by offering experiential movement, rest and nourishment classes and programs. The launch of the Retreats wellness brand took place on Lana’i, Hawaii in partnership with Four Season’s lodging and food offerings by Nobu.  In this location, Sensei Porcupine Creek, Sensei is operating the lodging operation, as well as world-class golf, tennis, spa, fitness, movement, nutrition, meditative, enrichment and body assessment facilities. In addition, Sensei will run the F&B operation, as part of a licensing agreement with Nobu. Sensei programs and continuing learning sessions are high-touch, evidence-led and supported by the latest technology.  You can read our story here.

Traits We Value 

• Commitment to a healthier living environment and embracing the Sensei Way and philosophy espoused and science identified in Dr. Agus’ teachings and writings 
• Collaborative mentality and the ability to recognize how to get things done as a team 
• Self-confidence and composure to accept critique, process it, and apply the learnings to improve 
• Resourceful and adaptable, understanding that a big idea can come from anywhere 
• Open to learning, developing new skills and professional experiences 
• Loves a good challenge  
• Resourceful and adaptable  
• A strong sense of curiosity  
• Embraces feedback and constantly seeks to improve  
• Collaborative and knows how to get things done as part of a team  

Compensation & Benefits 

• Competitive salary    
• Benefits commensurate with company policy for position  
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance   
• 401k and FSA plans   
• Subsidized gym membership   

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex (including gender identity or expression; pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, age, religion, color, ancestry, disability (including association or relationship with an individual with a disability), marital status, National Guard obligation, genetic test results, arrest and court records, reproductive health decision, domestic or sexual violence victim status, breastfeeding requirements, assignment of income for child support obligations, or credit history or report