Chief Technology Officer: Santam Partner Solutions (Home+) at Santam Insurance

Job Description:

• Develop and implement a technical vision and long-term strategy, ensuring alignment with the company’s overall business objectives.
• Lead, motivate, and manage the technology team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Engage with board members, investors, and other stakeholders to communicate the technology strategy and address concerns.
• Oversee the design and development of the technology platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, and user-friendly experiences.
• Technically enable the  product development lifecycle from concept to delivery and continuous improvement.
• Identify and integrate new technologies and innovations to enhance the platform’s capabilities and user experience.
• The CTO needs to build an in-depth knowledge of the market trends, customer behaviors, and competitive landscape to drive technology enablement that meets market demands.
• Develop an understanding of customer needs and pain points (supply and demand side) to drive user-centered design and product development.
• The CTO must understand the business model to align technology development with revenue streams, value propositions, and customer segments.
• Develop a strong understanding of the business case and commercialisation plans to support enabling the strategy from a technology perspective
• By integrating an understanding of the business case into each aspect of their role, the CTO ensures that technology serves as a true enabler of business success, driving innovation, efficiency, and value creation in a platform-enabled ecosystem venture. The symbiosis between technological acumen and business insight is critical in navigating the multifaceted landscape of platform ecosystems effectively.
• Develop and maintain an optimal IT architecture to support the platform's scalability and functionality needs
• Ensure the successful implementation of technology solutions, managing risks, and addressing technical debt.
• Oversee the ongoing maintenance, support, and enhancement of the platform to ensure operational excellence.
• Develop strategies to grow and nurture the ecosystem, including partner engagement, API development, and developer relations.
• Build out a world class API market place to enable partnerships (Channels, SaaS, PaaS)
• Ensure smooth integration with third-party services, vendors, and other ecosystem partners.
• Engage with the developer community and other ecosystem participants to foster collaboration and co-creation.
• Ensure that data is core and centre to the platform strategy and architecture. The CTO's role in data is vast and multifaceted, bridging technical, strategic, and ethical dimensions. As data becomes increasingly central to business operations and strategy, the CTO's role in managing and leveraging this asset is critical
• Saleability: Ensure that data infrastructure can accommodate growth in data volume and velocity.
• Integration: Supervise the integration of different data sources, ensuring a cohesive data environment
• Data Protection: Implement robust data protection measures to safeguard sensitive information against breaches.

Key Responsibilities;

• Analytical Tools: Introduce and manage tools and platforms that aid in data analysis, such as business intelligence tools.
• Data-Driven Culture: Support promoting a culture where decisions are made based on data-derived insights
• Operational Efficiency: Support optimising data-related operations for speed, cost, and effectiveness
• Implement rigorous security protocols to protect the platform and user data from cyber threats.
• Ensure compliance with applicable group policies, laws, regulations, and industry best practices related to technology and data.
• Identify and mitigate technology-related risks, including those related to data privacy and intellectual property.
• Stay abreast of the latest industry trends, technologies, and market demands to inform strategic decision-making.
• Allocate resources to research and development initiatives to drive technological advancements and competitive advantage.
• Develop knowledge management processes to facilitate learning and information sharing within the organization.
• Develop and manage the technology budget, ensuring optimal allocation of resources to meet business objectives.
• Negotiate and manage contracts with vendors and service providers to ensure value for money and quality service.
• Optimize the allocation of human, technological, and financial resources to achieve organizational goals.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of technology operations and initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives based on performance data and user feedback.
• Foster a learning environment and support the professional development of the technology team.
• Attract, retain, and develop top-tier technology talent to support the organization’s goals.
• Engage with customers to understand their needs and gather feedback on the platform's performance and features.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with ecosystem partners, vendors, and other stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and co-creation.
• Effectively convey technological concepts, strategies, and challenges to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring understanding and alignment.
• Actively seek and integrate feedback from business stakeholders to refine technology strategy and product development.

Qualifications & Experience;

• University Degree and/or qualification in an IT related discipline such as mathematical-scientific field or information technology or other relevant professional experience.
• Platform-enabled ecosystem businesses
• Deep experience in platform and software architecture and building digital products from early-stage through scaling and maturity
• Solid background in engineering leadership positions, leading larger engineering teams >20, shown ability to develop & scale teams 
• Good understanding of the SDLC of Apps/Mobile (B2C)
• Being comfortable with and passionate about open-source components
• Experience working with third-party integrations
• Good understanding of product management and ability to work closely with leadership team
• Ability to manage internal and external stakeholders through clear and concise written and verbal communication

 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
• Ability to inspire and motivate a team
• Strong co-ordination, prioritisation, organisational and planning skills
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and networking skills across all levels
• Professionalism, excellent judgement, use of discretion and problem-solving abilities 

Competencies;

• Collaborates 
• Customer focus 
• Drives results  
• Flexibility and adaptability 
• Cultivates Innovation 
• Talent enablement