Application Manager : Party Due Diligence at Sanlam Group

What will you do?

• This is a technical (Engineering) management role, reporting to the SGT Executive Head: Application Platforms.
• The Application Manager role is a role within the SGT Application Management structure and is specifically intended to bring technical oversight, operational stability and disciplined engineering practices to the applications being developed and supported.
• The Application Manager is accountable for the end-to-end management, stability, and evolution of a defined portfolio of business applications, comprising both bespoke-built and vendor-supplied solutions. The role involves leading software engineering teams, establishing and maintaining modern engineering practices, coordinating with product vendors, and ensuring delivery of high-quality, secure, and reliable software that supports Sanlam’s business objectives. 
• This individual will provide both strategic and operational leadership to ensure that applications remain fit-for-purpose, cost-effective, compliant, and continuously improved within an Agile delivery environment.

What will make you successful in this role?

Application Portfolio Management

• Take ownership of a small portfolio of applications, including software development lifecycle management, FinOps, budgeting, cost recovery and performance monitoring.
• Ensure applications remain aligned with business needs, technology strategy, and compliance standards.
• Develop and maintain application roadmaps (Functional & technical) in collaboration with business stakeholders and architecture teams.
• Coordinate operations including upgrades, patches, and enhancements for both bespoke and vendor systems.

Software Engineering Leadership

• Establish and maintain sound software engineering practices for bespoke applications (Including Coding standards,
• CI/CD, test automation, code reviews, documentation).
• Foster a DevSecOps culture within the team to ensure fast, secure, and reliable delivery.
• Introduce improvements in tooling, testing, deployment, and observability.
• Ensure all solutions adhere to Sanlam’s architectural and security standards.
• Consistently maintain evergreen principles.

People and Team Management

• Lead and mentor a small multidisciplinary Agile delivery team (developers, analysts, testers, test automation engineers, DevOps engineers).
• Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Support career development and skills growth within the team.
• Ensure capacity planning, resourcing, and succession planning for key roles.

Agile Delivery & Stakeholder Management

• Operate within an Agile framework, while being empowered to adapt or enhance delivery processes as needed.
• Facilitate effective collaboration between product owners, business stakeholders, and technical teams.
• Drive delivery predictability, transparency, and quality.
• Ensure incidents, defects, and enhancements are managed effectively and business value is optimised.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with IT policies, data protection standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Resolve critical compliance and audit gaps.
• Manage application risks, including technical debt, obsolescence, and security vulnerabilities.
• Prepare and present regular performance, risk, and roadmap reports to senior stakeholders.

Qualification

• Grade 12
• Appropriate Technical Post Matric 3-year qualification in Information Systems or Engineering.
• Management training would be beneficial.

Experience:

• 5+ Years of experience in managing software development & Support teams.
• 10+ Years of IT experience in general.
• 5+ Years of proven experience regarding enterprise application ownership.
• Experience in Cloud environments would be beneficial
• Working experience in Microsoft and Open Systems technologies would be beneficial

Knowledge:

• Agile software development practices.
• DevSecOps and modern engineering practices. 
• Good understanding of application architecture.
• Significant knowledge of Microsoft and Open Systems technologies