Executive: Information Technology - A& I at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Essential Experience & Qualifications:

• Minimum 15 years' progressive experience in senior IT leadership, with at least 5 years at an Executive level.
• Demonstrable track record of delivering large-scale digital transformation programmes within a complex, regulated financial services or insurance environment.
• Deep expertise across IT infrastructure, enterprise architecture, cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP), and cybersecurity.
• Proven experience managing substantial IT budgets and leading large, geographically distributed IT teams.
• Strong understanding of insurance sector regulatory will be advantageous
• Experience presenting to and influencing at Board level, with the ability to translate complex technology topics into business language.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Digital Transformation & Strategic Leadership

• Define, own and execute a multi-year digital transformation roadmap aligned to the Absa Financial Services strategic objectives and customer experience goals.
• Champion the adoption of emerging technologies — including AI, machine learning, cloud, and automation — to drive operational efficiency and competitive differentiation.
• Partner with the CEO and Executive Committee to embed technology as a core business enabler across all product lines and functions.
• Lead the evaluation and modernisation of legacy core insurance platforms (policy, claims, billing) to future-ready architectures.

IT Infrastructure & Operations

• Oversee the design, delivery, and performance of the entire IT infrastructure, including on-premise, hybrid and cloud environments.
• Ensure 99%+ system availability and service reliability across all customer-facing and key internal platforms.
• Drive cost efficiency and value for money in technology operations managing an IT budget effectively.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with key technology vendors, partners, and managed service providers.

Cybersecurity & Risk Management

• Own the enterprise cybersecurity strategy, ensuring robust protection of customer data, intellectual property, and critical business systems.
• Maintain and enhance compliance with our regulatory obligations, and proactively manage cyber risk.
• Lead the development and testing of business continuity, disaster recovery, and incident response frameworks.
• Foster a culture of security awareness across the organisation and lead regular risk reporting to various risk governance forums.

Data & Analytics

• Establish and evolve the data strategy, including data governance, data quality, and a modern analytics and reporting capability. Leveraging efforts in play across the ecosystem.
• Enable the business to leverage data as a strategic asset — from pricing and underwriting analytics to customer segmentation and claims intelligence.
• Oversee the development of enterprise data platforms, including data lake and data warehousing architecture.
• Work with the Chief Data Office and business executive team to drive AI and advanced analytics adoption across business units.

Leadership Development & Team Building

• Lead, inspire and develop a high-performing IT organisation of 100+ professionals, spanning engineering, operations, architecture and data.
• Build and sustain a culture of innovation, accountability, agility and continuous improvement within the IT function.
• Define and execute an IT talent strategy including hiring, succession planning, capability development, and retention.
• Act as a visible, accessible leader who develops future technology leadership talent and champions diversity within the team.

Education

• Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology