Vice President , Application Support & Operations (Location Chicago or London)

Role Location - Chicago or London

Objective of Role:

LaSalle Investment Management is seeking a Vice President, Application Support & Operations, to oversee the administration and operational support of core business applications used across real estate investment operations. This role provides leadership for application administration activities to ensure system stability, performance, security, and continuity for business‑critical platforms.

The Vice President, Application Support & Operations is responsible for application maintenance, upgrades, vendor coordination, and ensuring consistent service delivery aligned with operational standards and compliance requirements.

Accountabilities:

System Administration, Security & Operations

• Oversee end‑to‑end system administration of third‑party applications, including system configuration, security management, maintenance, updates, and technical support.
• Establish and maintain change management procedures for upgrades, hotfixes, stored procedures, and SQL enhancements.
• Lead application upgrade initiatives, including Yardi hardware and software upgrades, through planning, testing, deployment, and validation.
• Coordinate disaster recovery testing and maintain business continuity and backup strategies for applications and reporting configurations.
• Maintain documentation, operating procedures, and compliance standards to ensure consistent system performance and audit readiness.

Performance Monitoring & Vendor Management

• Monitor application performance, system availability, response times, and support metrics to identify improvement opportunities.
• Implement performance optimizations within system parameters to enhance reliability and user experience.
• Triage system issues and coordinate resolution with internal technology teams and third‑party vendors.

Team Leadership & User Support

• Lead and supervise application administrators responsible for managing business‑critical systems.
• Coordinate daily operational activities including system monitoring, user access management, maintenance tasks, and issue resolution.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex application support issues.
• Establish service level standards, procedures, and training to support consistent service delivery.
• Support development of user training materials and documentation related to system features, reporting, and operational processes.

AI Awareness & Governance

• Stay informed of AI capabilities introduced by application vendors and assess potential operational value.
• Ensure adherence to internal AI governance frameworks, including data privacy, security, and ethical usage standards.
• Coordinate with technology partners as needed to ensure compliance with enterprise policies.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:

Experience

• 7+ years of enterprise application administration experience, including experience in a supervisory or leadership capacity.
• Experience supporting business applications within real estate, financial services, or investment management environments.
• Knowledge of real estate investment operations, including property management, asset management, fund accounting, and financial reporting processes.
• Demonstrated ability to manage system upgrades, operational support activities, and vendor relationships.

Technical Skills

• Strong knowledge of application administration, including user access controls, security configurations, and system maintenance.
• Proficiency in SQL, reporting tools, and application data structures.
• Required understanding of Yardi, including database schema and international/global configurations.

Leadership & Communication

• Proven ability to lead and develop technical support teams.
• Strong organizational and coordination skills.
• Clear communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non‑technical users.

LaSalle is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from all sections of the community