The IT Manager is responsible for overseeing the organization's information technology systems and infrastructure. This role is responsible for leading and managing quality specifically for Duck Creek deployments or similar insurance policy processing applications. The role collaborates with stakeholders to understand technology needs and provides recommendations on system improvements, upgrades, and cost-effective solutions. The role establishes and enforces IT policies and procedures, ensures compliance with data privacy regulations, and implements robust security measures to protect the organization's digital assets. The role also involves budgeting and resource allocation, vendor management, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and development within the IT team. Leads and manages test automation for large scale program utilizing agile methodologies on a complex software platform, primarily Duck Creek-based. Uses existing understanding of core business strategies for small business insurance segment to design and implement automation frameworks. Defines and implements a comprehensive automation strategy that optimizes test coverage and balances manual and automated testing efforts based on the feasibility and maintainability of the automation. Conducts regular test coverage reviews in partnership with Test Leads and Product Owners to ensure comprehensive testing across all products and complex workflows, continuously seeking opportunities to improve automation coverage and efficiency. Investigates production failures with all disciplines of the program to identify systemic issues and develop strategies to prevent recurrence. Partners with the Duck Creek Application Development Lead to establish suitable unit test coverage levels to complement automated regression testing and ensures efficient coordination between unit and regression testing efforts. Partners with Release Management team to support enterprise approaches for DevSecOps, CI/CD, and Release On Demand. Collaborates with UAT stakeholders across pricing, underwriting, and product teams to identify critical functionalities for each release and prioritize testing efforts to mitigate potential risks associated with the release. Leads the execution of QA regression confirmation for each release cycle, analyzing release changes and impacted areas to determine the scope of regression testing required. Also assess the impact of production defects on the codebase and designs regression tests to address them. Partners with Test Leads, Product Owners, and the Small Business Technology Asset Owner to confirm release quality for each release. Stays up-to-date on the latest automation testing tools and methodologies. Leads IT projects, from initiation to completion, ensuring adherence to project timelines, budgets, and quality standards and provides regular updates to stakeholders on project progress. Establishes and maintains relationships with external technology partners, vendors, and service providers, leveraging their expertise and resources to enhance the company's IT capabilities. Owns accountability for talent management and navigation of employee related issues that impact morale and work environment to ensure a high performing team including hiring, selection, succession planning, performance and compensation management, and employee development and career coaching as required. Manages priorities and workload distribution and removes barriers that impede progress. Collaborates with stakeholders to identify and prioritize IT projects, ensuring their successful implementation and timely delivery. Evaluates and selects vendors and partners, negotiating contracts and managing ongoing relationships. Monitors and maintains compliance with relevant IT regulations, security protocols, and data privacy policies. Develops and manages the IT budget, tracking expenses and identifies cost-saving opportuniti