Chief Technology Officer at Santam Insurance

What will you do?

• We have an exciting opportunity for a Chief Technology Officer based in Cape Town with our Kandua business, a division of Santam Partnership Solutions.
• The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) will be responsible for defining and driving the overall technology vision and execution for our Home Services Marketplace.
• This role will lead the engineering, infrastructure, and technical strategy of the organization to deliver secure, scalable, and high-performing solutions.
• The CTO will play a pivotal role in shaping the company’s digital roadmap and ensuring that technology is a key enabler of innovation, operational excellence, and growth.
• The CTO will work closely with the CEO and executive leadership to align technology initiatives with business priorities and foster a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Technology Leadership:

• Define and lead the company’s long-term technology strategy in alignment with business objectives.
• Ensure the design and delivery of scalable, secure, and user-friendly platforms and systems.
• Drive the adoption of best practices in architecture, development, infrastructure, and DevOps.

Engineering Team Leadership:

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing, cross-functional engineering team.
• Foster a culture of innovation, ownership, and accountability.
• Support professional growth and career development through coaching and performance feedback.

Execution & Delivery Oversight:

• Oversee the planning and delivery of technology projects, ensuring timely and high-quality outcomes.
• Implement agile practices and ensure iterative development, testing, and deployment cycles.
• Manage technical debt and ensure sustainability of platforms through clean and maintainable code.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with Product, Data, Operations, Design, and Commercial teams to co-create solutions.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable plans for non technical stakeholders.
• Represent technology in executive and board-level conversations.

Security, Compliance, and Infrastructure:

• Ensure the security, resilience, and compliance of all systems and infrastructure.
• Oversee the implementation of cybersecurity protocols and risk management frameworks.
• Guide infrastructure decisions across cloud, hosting, and internal systems.
• Innovation & Emerging Technology:
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends.
• Champion innovation initiatives and encourage experimentation within the team.
• Evaluate and implement tools and technologies that enhance business
• performance and efficiency.

What will make you successful in this role?

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 5 years experience in a senior technology leadership role (e.g., CTO, VP Engineering) in a fast-scaling environment.
• Strong technical foundation in system design, architecture, cloud computing, and software development.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, develop, and scale high-performing engineering teams.
• Experience working in agile and fast-paced environments.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and strategic thinking skills.

Desired Skills

• Expertise in cloud services (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Familiarity with microservices architecture, containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), and DevOps tools.
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and automated testing frameworks.
• Experience with front-end and back-end technologies (e.g., React, Node.js, Python, Java).
• Understanding of data strategy, analytics, and privacy regulations.
• Strong understanding of software quality assurance and security best practices.
• Strong and proven leadership/management skills and competencies in working in a distributed and diverse organization in a challenging and changing environment.
• Delivery orientated and target focused with an ability to operate at both strategic and operational level
• Excellent top communicator, leader, and motivator of people with strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to ‘think-out-of-the-box’ / lateral thinking with a balance short and long-term thinking
• High drive/self-starter/proactive and anticipate requirements
• Strong negotiation skills