IT Manager of Application Services - Catering Solutions

Job Description

The IT Manager of Application Services – Catering Solutions is responsible for the operational excellence, strategic advancement, and ongoing support of a portfolio of mission-critical catering and hospitality applications. This role leads a team that supports cloud-based, web, mobile, and remotely deployed solutions that enable catering, event-based, and hospitality operations across the organization.

This leader partners closely with Lines of Business (LOB) IT leadership, Front Line Service Managers, corporate functions, and third-party providers to ensure applications are reliable, secure, scalable, and aligned to business strategy. The role requires a strong balance of technical leadership, business acumen, people management, and strategic thinking.

ROLE DESCRIPTION

Application Portfolio Scope

The portfolio includes catering and event-based hospitality systems that support, but are not limited to:

• Order entry and customer management
• Recipe, menu, and product management
• Event and operations management
• Billing, escrow, and financial reporting
• Forecasting, analytics, and metrics
• CRM, consumer engagement, and experience platforms
• Integrations supporting inventory, retail merchandise, loyalty programs, procurement, payment services, tax, and treasury

This role also oversees application integrations, interfaces, and data exchanges (master, reference, transactional, and metrics data). Due to the nature of our business, the role requires occasional after-hours and weekend support coverage.

Job Responsibilities

1. Support & Operations

• Ensure stable, reliable, and secure application services
• Lead incident management, root cause analysis, and problem resolution
• Drive continuous improvement to reduce operational incidents and cost of poor quality
• Maintain monitoring, performance tuning, resiliency, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans
• Ensure compliance with architecture, security, regulatory, and software standards
• Manage contracts, licenses, audits, vulnerabilities, and application risk

2. Requests & Enhancements

• Manage demand intake and prioritization with business partners
• Deliver enhancements, configurations, integrations, APIs, and reporting
• Adhere to SDLC and quality assurance standards, including testing and user sign-off
• Communicate releases and changes through formal release notes

3. Projects

• Manage project portfolio to deliver on-time, on-budget, and on-value outcomes
• Lead major enhancements, upgrades, re-platforming, and migrations
• Oversee patching, service packs, security updates, and application expansions
• Maintain project artifacts, governance documentation, and stakeholder communications

4. Service Transition

• Lead application intake and readiness assessments
• Identify and remediate transition gaps prior to production support
• Develop and maintain operational runbooks
• Integrate new applications into existing support frameworks

5. Strategy & Architecture

• Define and maintain application roadmaps aligned to business and IT strategy
• Manage platform lifecycle, technical debt, and compliance timelines
• Collaborate with IT leadership and Enterprise Architecture on solution design
• Evaluate emerging technologies and global deployment needs

6. Team Productivity & Leadership

• Lead and develop a high-performing, agile team
• Promote standardized processes, tools, and best practices
• Optimize productivity through metrics, automation, and technology
• Build future leaders through coaching, development, and cross-functional exposure

7. Financial & Business Value

• Manage operating and capital budgets with strong financial controls
• Ensure ROI for platform investments with executive sponsorship
• Drive year-over-year productivity gains through automation, AI, and sourcing strategies
• Manage third-party SLAs and vendor performance

Qualifications

Experience & Skills

• 5+ years of IT leadership and people management experience in a corporate environment
• 3+ years of product ownership or application leadership for hospitality or retail systems
• Proven experience leading large, complex application portfolios and projects
• Deep knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) and full SDLC
• Strong project management, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to balance strategic vision with tactical and operational execution
• Proven success partnering with senior leaders, operations, vendors, and global teams
• Experience developing application roadmaps with a focus on total cost of ownership and speed to market
• Knowledge of food service, hospitality, facilities, or related regulated environments

Education

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Concentration in IT or a related discipline preferred

Travel Requirements

Approximately 5–10% travel, including domestic and limited international travel, to support business units, vendors, and project initiatives

About Aramark

Our Mission

Rooted in service and united by our purpose, we strive to do great things for each other, our partners, our communities, and our planet.

At Aramark, we believe that every employee should enjoy equal employment opportunity and be free to participate in all aspects of the company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military status, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by applicable law.

About Aramark

The people of Aramark proudly serve millions of guests every day through food and facilities in 15 countries around the world. Rooted in service and united by our purpose, we strive to do great things for each other, our partners, our communities, and our planet. We believe a career should develop your talents, fuel your passions, and empower your professional growth. So, no matter what you're pursuing - a new challenge, a sense of belonging, or just a great place to work - our focus is helping you reach your full potential. Learn more about working here at http://www.aramarkcareers.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.