Global IS Strategy Lead

Job description

At ABB, we help industries run leaner and cleaner—and every person here makes that happen. You’ll be empowered to lead, supported to grow, and proud of the impact we create together. Join us and help run what runs the world. This position reports to: Global IS Department Manager for Strategy, Governance & Portfolio Management __ Your role and responsibilities As Global IS Strategy Lead, you will drive the strategic direction and execution of ABB's entire Information Systems organi-zation across all business units, geographies, and service models. This is a senior, enterprise-level strategic role reporting to the Global Department Manager for Strategy, Governance and Portfolio Management. You will operate as a senior individual contributor, working through IT leadership, architects, portfolio managers, and business partners to shape and embed strategy across the organization. Your mandate is to build a refreshed strategy framework and define clear roadmaps with actionable target states - transforming strategy from a document into a living, operational guide that connects daily execution to business outcomes. You engage with the CIO, IT leadership, business unit leaders, and senior business stakeholders. Your success depends on pragmatic thinking, strong stakeholder management, and an ability to simplify complex environments into clear, compel-ling direction. The work model for the role is: #Li-hybrid Your main accountabilities will be: • Develop and lead the refresh of ABB's IT strategy framework, ensuring it reflects current business priorities, technology trends, and operational reality; make it simple, actionable, and genuinely useful to decision-makers • Support leadership in defining comprehensive IT roadmaps with clear target states, milestones, and success metrics that translate strategy into tangible initiatives and guide portfolio prioritization • Build and maintain strategic partnerships with key business units, business leaders, and IT stakeholders to en-sure strategy is co-created, understood, and aligned with business needs • Support IT Leadership and the CIO in translating strategy into portfolio decisions, providing analysis and recom-mendations that connect strategic intent to project selection and resource allocation • Establish strategy governance and communication processes that ensure strategy remains visible, accessible, and embedded into how ABB's IT organization operates daily • Align, and refine ABB's IT operating model in partnership with IT Leadership and governance teams, ensuring the organizational structure, decision rights, roles, and processes effectively support and enable the defined IT strategy; communicate and explain the operating model to ensure clarity and adoption across the global IT com-munity • Lead strategy and architecture alignment work, collaborating with IT architects, infrastructure, applications, and support teams to ensure strategic direction informs technical decisions and capability roadmaps • Drive stakeholder engagement and change leadership to support adoption of refreshed strategy; ensure clarity and buy-in across the global IT community • Monitor and assess strategy execution against defined target states and KPIs; provide leadership with regular updates on progress, risks, and opportunities for course correction • Simplify and demystify complex IT and business landscapes, translating technical and organizational complexity into clear strategic narratives that resonate with both technical and business audiences • Build strategic foresight by staying informed of emerging technologies, market trends, and business transfor-mations that may impact IT strategy and organizational priorities Key characteristics we are looking for: • Strategic Thinker with Pragmatic Execution – You are visionary enough to shape the future direction of IT, but pragmatic enough to ensure strategy is actionable, simple, and drives real business value. You avoid "strategy for strategy's sake." • Deep Understanding of Complex Corporate IT Environments – You have substantial experience navigating large, multi-faceted IT organizations with diverse stakeholders, business units, and technical landscapes. You understand the interconnection between business strategy, IT capability, and architecture. • Exceptional Stakeholder Manager and Influencer – You build trust and alignment with senior leaders, peers, and teams without direct authority. You are comfortable at the executive table and equally at home engaging technical architects and operational teams. You excel at finding common ground and driving consensus. • Commercial and Business Acumen – You understand business models, competitive dynamics, and how technol-ogy creates competitive advantage. You can speak the language of business leaders and connect IT strategy to commercial outcomes. • Clear Communicator and Storyteller – You translate complex technical and organizational concepts into com-pelling, easy-to-understand narratives. You communicate with clarity and confidence to audiences ranging from C-suite to technical teams and are comfortable presenting globally. Qualifications for the role: • 12-15+ years of progressive senior-level experience in IT strategy, architecture, enterprise IT management, or related roles; significant hands-on experience developing and executing IT strategies in large, complex organiza-tions • Proven track record of developing and implementing enterprise IT strategies that drove measurable business outcomes (e.g., strategic initiatives delivered, organizational transformation, technology modernization, busi-ness unit alignment) • Deep knowledge of enterprise IT architecture, infrastructure, cloud computing, applications, and emerging tech-nology trends (AI, automation, cybersecurity, digital capabilities) • Strong understanding of business strategy, business models, and how IT creates competitive advantage; experi-ence working closely with business units and C-level business leaders • Experience managing complex stakeholder ecosystems, influencing without direct authority, and building align-ment across diverse technical and business teams • Demonstrated ability to simplify complexity and translate technical/strategic concepts into actionable, accessi-ble direction for diverse audiences • Excellent strategic communication skills; experience presenting to C-suite and executive audiences; ability to create compelling strategic narratives and roadmaps • Proven change leadership and organizational influence capabilities; experience driving adoption of strategic transformation across large, distributed teams • Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities; ability to assess complex environments, identify strategic opportunities, and recommend pragmatic solutions • Experience with IT governance, portfolio management, and translating strategy into operational execution and investment prioritization • Professional experience with strategy frameworks and methodologies (e.g., balanced scorecard, OKRs, enter-prise architecture frameworks, digital transformation models) • Fluent in English (written and spoken) to communicate effectively across a global, multinational organization; comfortable engaging with international teams and diverse cultural contexts • Comfortable with hybrid work model and able to engage effectively with geographically distributed stakeholders and teams • Proven ability to partner with IT architects, IT service delivery teams, and technical leaders; strong understand-ing of how technology strategy connects to architecture and execution Building a cleaner, smarter future takes all kinds of minds: the curious, the courageous, and the creative. That's why we welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences. Ready to make an impact? Apply today or visit https://www.abb.com to learn more about the impact of our solutions across the globe.