Digitalisation Manager - Afrosai-E at Auditor-General of South Africa

• The Digitalisation Manager will lead initiatives to support Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in developing and implementing their digitalisation strategies. The role will focus on digitalisation strategy development, strengthening digital systems, processes and capacities within SAIs to enhance efficiency, collaboration and data-driven auditing. In addition, the Digitalisation Manager will contribute to improving the Secretariat’s own digital tools and systems, ensuring that internal practices effectively support and complement the wider digital transformation of member SAIs, in line with the Secretariat’s mandate and strategic objectives.   

Roles & Responsibilities

Strategic Function

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of customized business applications to support SAI’s business operations.
• Support the implementation of the SAI’s plans and Organisations project and initiatives.

Product Management:

• Lead the development and implementation of digitalisation strategies to support SAIs in strengthening their systems, processes and capacities for digital transformation (includes scanning of the environment to ensure a clear understanding of business needs through collaborating with stakeholders to understand their objectives, challenges and opportunities, and identify areas where digital solutions can drive value and enhance business performance).
• Provide advisory support and guidance to SAIs on digital solutions, data management, cybersecurity and change management, fostering knowledge exchange and good practice across the network.
• Design and deliver capacity-building initiatives to enhance SAIs’ capabilities in digital governance, innovation and the effective use of technology.
• Collaborate with SAIs to identify needs, assess existing systems and recommend appropriate digital tools and platforms that promote efficiency, transparency and collaboration..
• Support initiatives of sharing insights, risks and experiences.
• Support the development and dissemination of digital standards, frameworks and policies that align with the Secretariat’s strategic objectives and the needs of member SAIs.
• Contribute to the improvement and modernisation of the Secretariat’s internal digital systems, workflows and tools to ensure they effectively support service delivery to SAIs. Assist during the unit testing phase of new developments and maintenance to the application system:
• Verify that solutions are effectively tested and quality assured.
• Sign-off correct program code, syntax, or logic errors as required (Technical)
• Sign off and make sure that the delivered solutions/applications are in line with the business requirements
• Support the integration of digital solutions across Secretariat functions, such as Communications, Finance, HR and programme management, to enhance organisational efficiency and collaboration.
• Support change management efforts within SAIs and the Secretariat, ensuring staff have the skills and resources to use new systems effectively.
• Champion a digital-first culture within the SAIs, fostering digital literacy and awareness and promoting a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation
• Monitor and evaluate digital initiatives across SAIs and the Secretariat, producing performance reports, lessons learned and recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Stay informed of emerging technologies and trends relevant to the public sector and audit institution digital transformation and advise on their potential application within the region.
• Report progress of the programme at regular intervals to the line manager and relevant governance bodies as appropriate.

Stakeholder Management:

• Maintain effective relations with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage relationships with vendors and service providers involved in the implementation of digital systems and solutions
• Consistently assess stakeholder feedback on performance objectives agreed with both internal/external stakeholders.
• Manage service level agreements (SLAs).
• Engage with both internal and external stakeholders to identify and evaluate performance barriers to continuously improve service delivery.
• Manage the feedback process to stakeholders by tracking all queries received, getting the relevant information and formulating appropriate responses according to the approved protocol.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand their objectives, challenges, and opportunities, and identify areas
• where digital solutions can drive value and enhance business performance
• Serve as a strategic advisor to business units, providing insights and recommendations on digital strategies, trends, and emerging technologies to drive innovation and competitive advantage.
• Stay abreast of the latest digital technologies, trends, and best practices, and share knowledge and recommendations with stakeholders to drive continuous improvement and innovation.
• Lead the development and execution of digital strategies aligned with business goals, including customer experience, digital marketing, data analytics, and process automation.
• Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify industry trends, customer preferences, and digital opportunities that can inform and shape the digital roadmap.
• Champion a digital-first culture within SAI’s, fostering digital literacy and awareness, and promoting a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with external vendors, partners, and industry experts to leverage their expertise and resources in supporting digital initiatives

People Management:

• Manage own performance to drive productivity.
• Manage change related activities to and make sue the adoption or roll-out of products and services.

Financial Management & Operational Management:

• Ensure compliance to SAI’s policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with internal processes and procedures.
• Manage supply chain processes within scope of work.

Other responsibilities

• Perform and/or manage other projects, tasks and assignments not stipulated on the Job description as and when required.

Skills, Experience & Education

Technical Competencies:

• Programming / Software Development
• Give support during system designs, code, verifies, tests, documents, amends and refactors moderately complex programs/scripts.
• Give support and guidance in applying agreed standards and tools to achieve a well-engineered result.
• Monitors and reports on progress.
• Identifies issues related to software development activities.
• Proposes practical solutions to resolve issues.
• Collaborates in reviews of work with others as appropriate.

Software Design

• Oversees and undertakes complete design of moderately complex software applications or components.
• Support and applies agreed standards, guidelines, patterns and tools.
• Assists as part of a team in the design of components of larger software systems.
• Specifies user and/or system interfaces.
• Creates multiple design views to address the different stakeholders’ concerns and to handle functional and non-functional requirements.
• Assists in the evaluation of options and trade-offs.
• §Collaborates in reviews of work with others as appropriate.

User Experience Design

• Oversees and applies standard techniques and tools for designing user interactions with and experiences of selected system, product or service components.
• Reviews design goals and agreed security, usability and accessibility requirements. Creates storyboards, static wireframes and dynamic or workable prototypes.
• Assists, as part of a team, with overall user experience design.
• Assists in the evaluation of design options and trade-offs.
• Consistently applies visual design and branding guidelines.

Testing 

• Give support during designs test cases and test scripts under own direction, mapping back to pre-determined criteria, recording and reporting test outcomes.
• Participates in requirement, design and specification reviews, and uses this information to design test plans and test conditions.
• Applies agreed standards to specify and perform manual and automated testing.
• Oversees testing tasks and building test coverage through existing or new infrastructure.
• Analyses and reports on test activities, results, issues and risks.

Problem Management

• Investigates problems in systems, processes and services.
• Assists with the implementation of agreed remedies and preventative measures.

Formal Education:

• This position requires a minimum Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Technology and Engineering, or a related field.
• Certification in Project Management, Information Systems, or a related field.
• A postgraduate qualification in digital strategy, information systems management, or a related area is desirable

Experience Requirements

• Minimum of 5–7 years of professional experience in digital transformation, information systems, or ICT management.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing digital strategies or enterprise systems in a comparable organisational environment.
• Proven ability to lead digital projects from design to deployment, including stakeholder engagement and training.
• Experience in process improvement and change management within public or international organisations.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity, data protection and information governance frameworks.