Digital Workplace Lead at The South African Breweries (SAB)

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Product Strategy & Roadmap: Define and champion the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for endpoint management, compliance, and related digital workplace initiatives. This includes EDR solutions, hardware and software inventory, Active Directory, Microsoft 365 services (e.g., Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams), Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), and endpoint management capabilities.
• Budget Management (OPEX & CAPEX): Develop, manage, and forecast operational (OPEX) and capital (CAPEX) budgets for the Digital Workplace tower, ensuring cost-effectiveness, alignment with organizational financial goals, and optimal resource allocation. This includes managing software licenses, hardware procurement, cloud subscriptions, vendor contracts, and team-related expenses.
• Requirements Gathering & Prioritization: Collaborate with IT operations, security, compliance, OT teams, and business stakeholders to gather and prioritize requirements for new features, enhancements, and system improvements across both IT and OT environments.
• Technical Leadership & Guidance: Provide expert-level technical guidance on on-premises endpoint management solutions, including SCCM (now Microsoft Configuration Manager), Active Directory, Group Policy, and endpoint security (EDR/antivirus). Extend this expertise to cloud-based solutions like Microsoft 365 administration and Microsoft Entra ID for identity and access management, device management, and security.
• System Administration & Optimization: Work closely with system administrators to optimize existing on-premises and cloud infrastructure for performance, scalability, and security, ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations.
• Team Leadership & Management: Lead, mentor, and manage a team of onsite technical specialists responsible for the daily operation and support of endpoint management, M365, and on-premises infrastructure. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and high performance.
• Compliance & Security (IT & OT): Lead efforts to ensure all endpoint management solutions meet strict security standards and compliance requirements (e.g., data privacy, regulatory audits). This includes managing and reporting on endpoint compliance status across both IT user devices and OT operational endpoints, understanding the unique security considerations of each.
• IT/OT Convergence: Act as a key liaison and driver for the convergence of IT and OT systems, ensuring secure and efficient data flow and management between enterprise IT and industrial control environments. Understand the distinct requirements, risks, and best practices for managing endpoints in OT critical infrastructure.
• Vendor Management: Evaluate, select, and manage relationships with vendors of resource augmentation, endpoint management and related technologies, including contract negotiation and performance monitoring within budgetary constraints.
• Troubleshooting & Support Escalation: Act as a subject matter expert for complex troubleshooting and escalated issues related to endpoint management, deployment, M365 services, Entra ID, and compliance across IT and OT.
• Reporting & Analytics: Develop and maintain metrics, dashboards, and reports to track the performance, health, and compliance of endpoint devices and M365 services, and to provide financial insights into IT/OT spending. 12. Documentation: Create and maintain comprehensive product documentation, technical specifications, and operational procedures.

Minimum Requirements:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., Microsoft Certified: Endpoint Administrator, Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert, ITIL, CompTIA CySA+ / CASP+ for IT/OT security, or financial management certifications) are a strong plus.

Experience:

• 7+ years of progressive experience in IT, with at least 3-5 years in a product management or product lead role focused on digital workplace or infrastructure, combined with significant hands-on experience as an on-premises system administrator.
• Demonstrated experience in leading and managing technical teams. Proven track record of managing significant IT OPEX and CAPEX budgets, including financial planning, forecasting, and cost optimization