Digital Transformation Manager

WEP is an international education and youth mobility group enabling more than 10,000 young people each year to live, study, and travel abroad. Operating across 11 countries in Europe and beyond, WEP runs a diverse portfolio of programs including language travel, educational stays, camps, and high school experiences. The group has grown through a combination of organic development and targeted acquisitions, bringing together multiple brands, systems, and operating models. This creates a rich but complex environment where pragmatism, speed, and sound judgment matter more than theoretical perfection. WEP operates with a strong entrepreneurial culture. Teams are close to the business, decisions are expected to lead to action, and leaders are trusted to move forward even when all variables are not fully known. The group is actively investing in digital platforms, process simplification, and AI‑enabled improvements to better support growth, efficiency, and customer experience, without losing operational realism. This role sits at the heart of that journey: helping WEP evolve its digital ecosystem in a way that is coherent across countries, genuinely useful for teams, and firmly grounded in business impact.

Role overview

WEP is looking for a senior Digital Transformation & Platforms Lead with a strong entrepreneurial mindset to drive the evolution of its digital ecosystem across countries. This role goes beyond coordination and analysis. We are looking for a leader who is proactive, decisive, and comfortable taking ownership, including making sound decisions without always having a perfect or complete picture. The role focuses on translating business priorities into clear digital roadmaps, leading cross‑country process and platform transformation, and ensuring that technology choices are pragmatic, coherent, and value‑driven. The role requires a strong understanding of WEP’s IT landscape and infrastructure to advise leadership on critical technology and investment decisions, as well as a high degree of curiosity around AI and automation to identify concrete opportunities to improve processes and existing systems.

Why this role exists

WEP operates in a fast‑moving, multi‑country environment where digital decisions often need to be made with incomplete information, evolving constraints, and real operational pressure. This role exists to:

• Drive digital progress without waiting for perfect conditions
• Bring structure and momentum to complex, sometimes ambiguous initiatives
• Reduce fragmentation while remaining practical and business‑oriented
• Support leadership with clear, action‑oriented technology and platform advice
• Actively seek better, smarter ways of working through digital and AI‑enabled improvements

Key responsibilities

1. Digital strategy & roadmap leadership

• Define, structure, and continuously evolve the digital roadmap in line with business priorities
• Translate strategic objectives into clear initiatives, sequencing, and trade‑offs
• Take ownership of decisions and recommendations, even in situations where information is partial or evolving
• Challenge assumptions and move initiatives forward with an entrepreneurial, problem‑solving mindset

2. Cross‑country process & platform transformation

• Lead the transformation and harmonisation of key digital processes and platforms across countries
• Drive initiatives involving CRM, operational systems, customer‑facing platforms, workflows, and integrations
• Navigate complexity pragmatically, balancing standardisation with operational reality
• Act decisively to unblock progress when initiatives stall or lack clarity

3. Business systems & execution oversight

• Act as a hands‑on bridge between business teams, internal IT, and external partners
• Turn unclear or high‑level needs into workable, deliverable digital solutions
• Maintain execution momentum, clarify ownership, and ensure decisions lead to action
• Build and maintain a clear, high‑level understanding of WEP’s IT infrastructure, core systems, and integrations
• Support leadership with pragmatic advice on technology choices, platform evolution, and investment trade‑offs
• Clearly articulate risks, constraints, and opportunities to support fast, informed decision‑making
• Actively explore how AI and automation can realistically improve internal processes, decision‑making, and existing platforms
• Identify and prioritize concrete AI use cases with operational or financial impact
• Apply curiosity and experimentation with discipline, focusing on value, not hype

6. Stakeholder, vendor & governance leadership

• Work closely with leadership, country teams, operations, IT, finance, and external partners
• Drive alignment without excessive bureaucracy, keeping decisions practical and actionable
• Contribute to strong vendor governance and clear accountability across initiatives

What success looks like

• Digital initiatives move forward faster, with clearer ownership and fewer deadlocks
• Stronger coherence across countries without slowing down local execution
• Leadership receives clear, actionable recommendations on technology and platforms
• Decisions are taken pragmatically, even when information is imperfect
• AI and automation are used where they genuinely simplify work or improve outcomes
• Less fragmentation, more momentum, and visible business impact

Candidate profile

Must‑have

• Senior experience leading digital transformation, business systems evolution, or complex cross‑functional initiatives
• Strong entrepreneurial spirit: proactive, street‑smart, curious, and comfortable taking responsibility
• Proven ability to make sound decisions without always having full information
• Ability to understand and reason about IT infrastructure and system landscapes at a decision‑making level
• Exposure to CRM, operational platforms, or systems integration
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to be concise, to the point, and to explain complex IT topics in clear, accessible language
• C2 level in English (spoken and written), another language (French, Italian, German) is a great plus
• Strong experience working with teams across multiple countries and cultures
• Comfortable operating across both strategic and hands‑on discussions
• Experience navigating governance, risk, or cybersecurity topics
• Strong curiosity around AI, with a pragmatic understanding of where it creates real value
• Exposure to reporting, data visibility, or analytics initiatives

Scope clarification

This role does not primarily own:

• Deep technical architecture or low‑level implementation
• Day‑to‑day application support and service operations
• Dedicated BI or analytics delivery
• Formal cybersecurity ownership
• Web product or UX ownership

Who you will work with

You will work closely with group leadership, country teams, operations, IT, marketing, finance, and external partners to drive progress, make decisions, and deliver tangible impact.

The job posting is open to candidates of all genders (Italian Legislative Decree No. 198/2006).

WEP recruits, hires, trains, compensates, and promotes employees without discrimination based on religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or age. We recognize that a diverse mix of talents is essential to enable everyone to perform at their best. If you require any specific accommodations for the interview process, please let us know.