Head: Digital Transformation Programme Management Office at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The Head: Digital Transformation is responsible for leading the Digital Transformation Office, driving portfolio management, project delivery, change management, and adoption of new ways of work to ensure DBSA’s transformation initiatives are strategically aligned, well-governed, and deliver measurable business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities    
Strategic Delivery

• Develop and execute a comprehensive digital transformation strategy aligned to the organisation’s overall business objectives and long-term vision.
• Oversee the portfolio of transformation programmes, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities.
• Translate strategic priorities into clear digitalisation goals, initiatives, milestones, and measurable outcomes.
• Develop both long-term and short-term digitalisation strategies and implementation plans aligned to approved budgets and resource frameworks.
• Drive enterprise-wide adoption of digital solutions through structured communication and stakeholder engagement internally and externally.

Digital Transformation

• Provide thought leadership on emerging digital trends and their application to DBSA’s mandate.
• Champion and drive digital transformation initiatives, leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency, improve service delivery, and unlock new value streams within the DBSA.
• Lead the adoption of digital tools and technologies to automate, streamline, and enhance facilities operations, including smart building systems, digital service portals, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and integrated workplace management systems.

Portfolio and Programme Management

• Establish and manage a portfolio management framework to prioritise, track, and report on transformation initiatives.
• Deliver transformation projects on time, within scope, and within budget, with measurable business outcomes.
• Drive adoption of programme/project management methodologies (Agile, PRINCE2, PMP) across the transformation office.
• Monitor programme risks, dependencies, and benefits realisation.

Innovation and Technology Enablement

• Promote the adoption of digital tools, automation, and analytics to improve operational efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and process optimisation across the Bank.
• Benchmark DBSA’s transformation practices against global best practices.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service delivery and client experience.
• Identify, assess, and evaluate emerging technologies for strategic business value, operational efficiency, and competitive advantage.
• Lead pilot initiatives, proofs-of-concept, and experimentation programmes to validate new technologies and solutions before enterprise-wide implementation.
• Drive the identification and implementation of innovative technology solutions to enhance business processes and unlock new growth opportunities.
• Foster a culture of innovation, digital adoption, and structured experimentation across the organisation.
• Monitor industry trends and technological advancements to ensure the organisation remains forward-looking and digitally competitive.

Change Management and Adoption

• Develop and execute comprehensive change management strategies and frameworks to enable successful digital adoption across the organisation.
• Champion new ways of work, agile practices, and organisational change management.
• Lead change initiatives to ensure seamless integration of new systems, processes, and digital solutions.
• Build the transformation capability across teams through structured stakeholder engagement and training programmes to build digital capability and awareness.
• Proactively identify and address resistance to change to ensure smooth transition and sustained adoption.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to foster a digital-first mindset and strengthen future-fit skills and capabilities.

Stakeholder Management and Reporting

• Build and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including leadership, government, partners, and service providers.
• Develop and implement a structured stakeholder engagement framework for digital and transformation initiatives.
• Influence stakeholder alignment and provide strategic advisory support to enable effective decision-making.
• Establish partnerships with technology vendors, consultants, and academia, and represent the organisation in industry forums.
• Leverage data to inform decisions and drive value creation.
• Deliver clear, timely reporting and high-quality dashboards, presentations, and insights to executives, the Board, and stakeholders.

Governance, Risk Management, Compliance & Controls

• Adhere to IT governance frameworks (COBIT, ITIL) and digital transformation governance standards.
• Oversee compliance with relevant legislation, including POPIA, cybersecurity, and data protection laws.
• Develop and maintain transformation risk registers, ensuring mitigation strategies are implemented.
• Provide consolidated risk and compliance reporting to Executive Committees and the Board.
• Drive compliance of digital initiatives with applicable legal, regulatory, and ethical standards.
• Design and implement governance frameworks for data, technology, and digital assets.
• Establish and enforce robust governance frameworks and reporting mechanisms to promote transparency, compliance, and effective decision-making across operations.

People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning to maximise individual and collective potential.
• Lead the data analytics business unit and ensure effective execution of strategy.
• Implement human capital strategies and workforce planning.
• Foster a culture of performance, learning, and collaboration.
• Drive talent development initiatives, including coaching, performance management, and career pathing, to build and retain a skilled and motivated team.
• Contribute to building synergies & cooperation across functions in the DBSA.
• Oversee day-to-day operations of the Digital Transformation Office to ensure efficiency and service excellence.
• Coordinate performance scorecards (KPIs) aligned to transformation outcomes and IT service delivery.

Key Measurements of Outputs

• % alignment of transformation initiatives to DBSA’s approved digital strategy and Decadal Strategy priorities.
• Timely delivery of programmes and projects against approved timelines, scope, budget and achieving defined business outcomes.
• Adoption rate of new ways of work (Agile practices, collaboration tools, automation) across business units.
• Change management effectiveness through stakeholder engagement, training completion, and adoption indicators.
• Accuracy of portfolio and budget forecasting (CAPEX and OPEX vs actuals) and adherence to cost optimisation targets.
• Quality and timeliness of reporting to executives, Board, and external stakeholders.
• Level of compliance with IT governance frameworks (COBIT, ITIL) and transformation governance standards, including audit outcomes.
• Reduction in transformation risks, timely mitigation of dependencies, and assurance reviews.
• Stakeholder satisfaction with transformation initiatives, measured through surveys, feedback, and engagement outcomes.
• Number of process optimisation initiatives implemented and measurable efficiency gains.
• Percentage of staff trained in digital tools, agile practices, and change management methodologies.

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Digital Literacy

• Conduct research and have awareness of the latest trends in the digital space that affect the Organisation and the business unit.
• Seek out new approaches and interventions to improve digital agility.
• To identify technical problems when operating devices and using digital environments, and to solve them (from troubleshooting to solving more complex problems).
• Stay abreast of the latest trends and incorporate them in driving change in the business.

Digitalisation

• The ability to understand, contribute to, and drive the adoption of digital technologies and processes within an organisational context to improve efficiency, create new value, and transform operations.

Business Development

• Takes overall lead for proactive business development at the national and regional level.
• Initiates, reviews, and interprets competitor environment reviews and takes actions accordingly.
• Formulates and modifies market approaches based on competitor analyses.
• Leads the formulation, development, and implementation of the business development strategy to generate new business opportunities in the public and private sector delivery of infrastructure.
• Identifies and develops new markets, products, and clients.
• Positions the DBSA as the preferred development partner, lender, and advisor.
• Leads the participation and presentation of the DBSA at investment conferences and roundtable discussions.
• Coordinates business activities to ensure that investment initiatives are in support of government BEE strategies, broader national and regional economic development strategies.
• Promote compliance and alignment with the strategic imperatives of both individual clients and the DBSA of investment and development interventions.
• Builds capacity to coordinate, control and manage the activities and efforts required for the implementation of the plan.
• Builds capacity to conduct project origination exercises.

Strategic Planning

• Establishes challenging, attainable goals and objectives based on a customer focus perspective.
• Looks to the future with a broad perspective.
• Ensures performance measures are in place to monitor progress and assess accomplishments and achievement of strategic goals and objectives.
• Develops initiatives to achieve goals and objectives.
• Articulates the vision and plans to others.

Solution Focused

• Identifies broad, highly complex problems based on a multitude of factors, many of which are complex and sweeping in nature, difficult to define and often contradictory.
• Creates procedures to articulate the nature of problems and to identify and weigh alternate solutions.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of solutions using approaches tailored to the situation.

Minimum Qualification

• A Postgraduate Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, Digital Transformation, or a related field.
• Certification in project or change management (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2).

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 12 years’ experience in digital transformation, IT strategy, or enterprise change programmes, with at least 5 years in a senior management role leading enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives in the banking or financial services environments.
• Proven track record in leading large-scale, complex transformation initiatives within corporate, financial services, or public sector environments.
• Demonstrated expertise in portfolio management, programme delivery, and benefits realisation.
• Strong background in IT governance, risk management, and compliance frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise systems, digital platforms, and analytics tools.
• Experience in organisational change management, including embedding new ways of work and agile practices.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and influence senior executives, boards, and external stakeholders.
• Exposure to process optimisation, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage complex digital portfolios.

Desirable Requirements

• Postgraduate qualification (MBA, Master’s in Digital Transformation, Enterprise Architecture, or Process Engineering).
• Proficiency in change management tools (e.g, Prosci).
• Data literacy and experience with business intelligence tools (e.g, Power BI, Tableau).

Deadline:3rd August,2026