Country Technology Lead - Italy

Job Description:

The Country Technology Lead (or Local CTO Italy) will act as the senior technology representative for Italy, serving as the primary liaison between the Italian business organization and the company’s centralized Technology function based in Spain. The role is responsible for ensuring that technology solutions, services and initiatives effectively support restaurant operations, commercial objectives and business growth across Italy, while remaining fully aligned with the company’s technology standards, architecture, cybersecurity and governance framework.

Combining strategic business partnering with operational technology oversight, the position will represent Italy’s technology needs within the central organization, coordinate the local execution and adoption of centrally managed initiatives, oversee local technology suppliers and ensure the reliable performance of restaurant, corporate and digital technology services across the Italian market.

This role offers the opportunity to play a key part in shaping the technology experience of one of the most important international markets of a very well-known international restaurant brand. This role operates at the intersection of business and technology, influencing strategic decisions locally while leveraging the scale, innovation, and capabilities of a centralized technology organization serving multiple markets and iconic restaurant brands across Europe.

Responsibilities:

Business Partnership & Technology Leadership:
- Act as a trusted technology advisor to the Italian leadership team and key business stakeholders.
- Represent local business priorities, operational requirements and market-specific needs within the centralized Technology organization.
- Ensure alignment between Italy’s business objectives and the company’s technology strategy, standards, architecture and roadmap.
- Facilitate effective communication and coordination between local stakeholders and centralized technology teams in Spain.

Restaurant Technology Operations:
- Oversee the operational health and performance of technology across restaurants in Italy.
- Monitor the effectiveness of critical restaurant technologies, including POS, payment platforms, kiosks, networking infrastructure, digital menu systems and other in-store technologies.
- Coordinate the resolution of critical technology incidents impacting restaurant operations, working closely with centralized support teams and external partners.
- Support restaurant openings, remodels, relocations and major operational technology initiatives across Italy.

Digital & Commercial Technology:
-Monitor and challenge the performance of customer-facing digital channels within the Italian market.
-Partner with Digital, Operations, Marketing and Commercial teams to identify opportunities to improve the digital customer experience and operational efficiency.
- Support the local deployment, adoption and business readiness of new digital products, services and capabilities.

Vendor & Supplier Management:
- Manage relationships with local technology suppliers, service providers, telecommunications partners and field service organizations.
- Monitor service delivery, contractual commitments and SLA performance.
- Coordinate local supplier activities to ensure alignment with company standards, operational requirements and country priorities.
- Support procurement processes, contract renewals and vendor performance reviews when required.

Technology Governance & Compliance:
- Promote adherence to corporate technology policies, cybersecurity standards, data protection requirements and operational procedures.
- Support local technology audits, compliance reviews and risk management activities.
- Escalate technology-related risks, incidents and compliance concerns through the appropriate governance channels.

Program & Change Management:
- Coordinate the local execution of centrally driven technology projects and transformation initiatives.
- Support testing, piloting, deployment, communication and adoption activities in Italy.
- Ensure business readiness and a successful operational transition when new solutions and services are introduced.

Requirements:

- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Telecommunications, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
- At least 7 years of experience in technology leadership, business technology, retail technology, hospitality technology or multi-site operational environments.
- Strong understanding of restaurant, retail, hospitality or franchise technology ecosystems.
- Proven experience managing technology vendors and external service providers.
- Experience supporting multi-site environments and business-critical technology services.
- Solid understanding of restaurant technologies, payments, networking, digital channels, service management and operational support models.
- Familiarity with cybersecurity, PCI DSS, GDPR and technology governance frameworks.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively across business and technology functions.
- Ability to operate successfully within a centralized, matrixed organization and influence without direct authority.
- Strong business orientation, with the ability to translate operational and commercial needs into effective technology priorities and solutions.
- Fluency in English and Italian is required (also, Spanish is highly desirable but not mandatory)
- Willingness to travel regularly across Italy and occasionally to Spain.

Company Description:

The company is an international restaurant group operating across multiple European markets through well-established global restaurant brands. Its Technology organization follows a centralized model, with the core Technology function based in Spain and local technology leadership providing market-specific accountability and execution.