HEAD - APPLICATION SUPPORT

Role Overview:

Head of Application Support will lead the enterprise application support function, ensuring seamless operation, performance, and enhancement of mission-critical systems including core lending platforms, CRM, digital channels, and analytics tools. This role demands strategic leadership, technical expertise, and strong stakeholder management to align technology with business goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and implement Application Support strategy aligned to NBFC business and IT objectives.
• Establish governance mechanisms, SLAs, and escalation matrices for all production systems.
• Lead, mentor, and develop Application Support team to ensure high availability and strong service orientation.
• Oversee end-to-end support of business applications including LMS, LOS, CRM, Collection, Payment Gateway, Treasury, Accounting, Co-lending, Insurance and Digital Channels etc.
• Manage incident, problem, and change management processes following ITIL best practices. Maintain complete documentation SOPs, runbooks, incident logs, and knowledge base.
• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for recurring issues and ensure permanent corrective actions.
• Monitor daily health checks, batch jobs, integrations, and data flows across applications.
• Coordinate with application vendors (e.g., Nucleus, Salesforce, Oracle, IDfy, Perfios, etc.) for issue resolution, upgrades, and enhancements.
• Review vendor SLAs, performance, and ensure adherence to agreed turnaround times.
• Manage AMC and support contracts, renewal timelines, and vendor escalations.
• Act as the key escalation point for business teams for any production issues.
• Ensure timely communication, updates, and impact assessment for incidents or planned downtimes.
• Work closely with business users, product owners, and development teams for functional alignment and continuous improvement.
• Implement monitoring dashboards, alerts, and proactive health checks for critical applications. Publish daily/weekly/monthly performance reports, SLA dashboards, and downtime analysis.
• Drive automation to reduce manual dependency in routine support tasks and reconciliations.
• Standardize processes for release management, deployments, and environment stability.
• Ensure compliance with internal IT policies, regulatory and audit requirements (RBI, ISO etc.). Participate in audits, DR drills, and business continuity exercises.
• Track and report key metrics such as incident volumes, MTTR, uptime %, and recurring issues.
• Present improvement plans and highlights risk areas to senior management.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Strong knowledge of NBFC domain processes Lending, Collections, Payments, CRM, Treasury, Accounting, Co-lending etc.
• Hands-on understanding of key platforms such as Nucleus LMS, Oracle Fusion, Salesforce, or similar systems.
• Sound understanding of APIs, integrations, middleware, and database performance.
• Expertise in ITIL processes and service management tools (ServiceNow, Mange Engine etc.).
• Proven ability to manage vendors and internal cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or master's in computer science, IT, or related discipline.
• 1218 years of experience in Application Support / Production Support, preferably in NBFC or BFSI.
• Minimum 5 years in a leadership or managerial role handling multi-application environments.
• ITIL certification preferred.