Senior Manager, IT Business Partner

General Overview

Functional Area:  Information Technology (ITM)
Career Stream:  IT Partnership (PTN)
Role:  Senior Manager (SMG)
Job Title: Senior Manager, IT Business Partner    
Job Code:  SMG-ITM-BUSP
Job Level:  Band 11
Direct/Indirect Indicator:  Indirect

Summary

The Senior Manager, IT Business Partner serves as the strategic interface between the Manufacturing/Operations organization in Texas and the Global IT team. As Celestica undergoes exponential growth in the Texas region—launching greenfield manufacturing sites, expanding existing facilities, and deploying advanced factory automation—this role is critical in ensuring technology is leveraged as a competitive advantage.

The ITBP is responsible for understanding the business strategy and defining a corresponding technology roadmap. You will wear three primary "hats": guiding initiatives from idea to approval (Qualification), maintaining oversight of active deployments (Program Management), and serving as a trusted advisor to senior leadership (Strategic Relationship Management).

Detailed Description

1. Initiative Qualification & Solution Design

High-Tech Manufacturing Business Acumen: Deep understanding of complex system integration/rack assembly with an understanding of logistics challenges in this space. Advantageous if the candidate also has a good  understanding of electronics manufacturing services (EMS), including PCBA, SMT. Must be able to converse fluently with Operations stakeholders regarding shop floor KPIs, OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), factory throughput, cycle times, and the critical impact of IT systems (MES, WMS) on production commitments.

Requirements Elicitation & Documentation: While not a dedicated Business Analyst role, the ITBP must possess expert-level skills in structured discovery. This includes facilitating cross-functional workshops, mapping "as-is" vs. "to-be" business processes, and producing high-quality functional documentation that translates vague business desires into actionable technical requirements for development teams.

Strategic Communication & Executive Presence: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills tailored for senior leadership. Ability to distill complex technical risks into business-impact language. Must demonstrate high emotional intelligence (EQ) to manage sensitive stakeholder relationships and the authority to lead high-pressure escalation meetings to a decisive resolution.

Technical Thinking & Solution Architecture: Ability to grasp complex, integrated IT architectures (Cloud, Edge, ERP, MES) and evaluate how these systems enable or constrain specific business processes in a high-velocity manufacturing environment.

Conflict Resolution & Negotiation: Proven ability to navigate competing priorities between different business units and global IT standards, influencing stakeholders toward a unified strategic direction without direct hierarchical authority.

Financial Literacy: Understanding of manufacturing finance, including ROI calculation, Capital Expenditure (CapEx) vs. Operating Expenditure (OpEx) planning, and the ability to defend the financial merits of a technology investment to the CFO’s office

2. Program Management & Execution Oversight

Portfolio Governance: Act as the primary point of oversight for all in-flight IT projects within the Texas manufacturing and operations landscape.

Escalation Management: Serve as the first point of escalation for project roadblocks, ensuring that risks to timeline, budget, or scope are mitigated to ensure successful go-lives.

Stakeholder Communication: Work closely with IT Project Managers to provide regular, transparent updates to business leaders on the status of the technology portfolio.

Operational Readiness: Ensure organizational change management (OCM) is integrated into project delivery, including training plans, procedure updates, and communication.

3. Strategic Stakeholder & Relationship Management

Executive Partnership: Develop and maintain strong relationships with General Managers and Senior Directors within Texas Operations, Finance, and Supply Chain.

Roadmap Alignment: Facilitate ongoing discussions to align the IT roadmap with the business’s long-term growth plans, including site expansions and digital factory transformations.

Industry Trends: Monitor industry trends in electronics manufacturing, export compliance related regulations, and supply chain technology to proactively recommend innovations to Celestica leadership.

IT Integration: Maintain a profile of all IT integration touchpoints (internal and external) between Celestica and its key customer accounts in the region.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies

• Business Acumen: Deep understanding of electronics manufacturing, supply chain management, and regulatory environments (Aerospace & Defense, HealthTech).

• Technical Thinking: Ability to grasp complex IT architectures and how they enable business processes.

• Negotiation & Facilitation: Proven ability to manage conflicting priorities between different stakeholder groups and align them toward a common outcome.

• Financial Literacy: Understanding of finance terms, ROI calculation, and capital expenditure (CapEx) planning.

Physical Demands

• Duties of this position are performed in a normal office environment.
• Duties may require extended periods of sitting and sustained visual concentration on a computer monitor or on numbers and other detailed data. Repetitive manual movements (e.g., data entry, using a computer mouse, using a calculator, etc.) are frequently required.

Typical Experience

• Experience: 7 to 10 years in an IT Business Partnering, Program Management, or IT Consulting role within a manufacturing environment.

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.

Notes

Specific Texas Growth Focus
Greenfield & Expansion: Support the IT infrastructure and application setup for new manufacturing sites and the expansion of existing facilities.
Supply Chain & Warehouse: Oversee the integration of 3PL providers and the optimization of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).
Smart Factory / Automation: Partner with the internal "Digital Factory" team to deploy automation equipment and IoT solutions on the shop floor.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees are held accountable for all duties of the job. Job duties and the % of time identified for any function are subject to change at any time.