Head of Digital Solutions at BDO South Africa

Specification    
Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver a digital solutions plan and budget annually that is aligned with the firm’s strategy and plan.
• Lead and manage the Application Development and Maintenance teams to deliver software, infrastructure and architecture that meets the needs of users.
• Serve as a key link between the customer (business) and IT (internal and external) with regards to application and data changes.
• Work effectively with Service Line Heads to ensure delivery against agreed priorities.
• Work closely with the COO, ICT Director and Service Line heads with the aim of meeting current and future user needs.
• In conjunction with the ICT Director, define and maintain the ICT technology strategy and infrastructure plan.
• Analyse business operations and the firm’s applications and systems and determine which digital solutions could improve efficiency.
• Identify and implement potential innovations that reduce manual processing. Also assist with automating and streamlining previously manual processes.
• Redefine and consolidate existing automated processes for more efficiency
• Make recommendations on whether to upgrade existing systems and applications or install new ones.
• Collaborate with the appropriate functions and users to evaluate and identify technology platforms for delivering the Firm’s products and services.
• Understand the use cases (and/or user stories) in order to oversee the design of the architecture for the applications/solutions to be built.
• Review and apply best practices to establish architecture and frameworks consistent with and supportive of the Firm’s strategy.
• Create and oversee protocols and procedures for the use of any new software applications.
• Align the team to agreed development standards and help determine how emerging technologies can be applied to advance our business strategy
• Ensure that all production releases are implemented according to change control and adhere to all phases of the software development lifecycle
• Deliver architectural artefacts as required, such as requirements specifications, change requests, use cases, test cases, test plan, etc.
• Ensure delivery consistent with Agile processes across the team.
• Implement mechanisms to monitor, manage and provide progress on all software development activities and projects.
• Accountable for the on time and to quality delivery of digital solutions projects.
• Put processes in place to regularly monitor application environments to ensure that applications are functioning optimally
• Liaise with IT infrastructure and IT (internal & external) for any changes required to server environments to ensure an optimal application environment
• Monitor the roll-out of new software applications to ensure there are no problems.
• Oversee the resolution of any problems with business application software.
• Ensure service delivery from vendors as per service level and software license and maintenance agreements
• Ensure all staff are trained on the use of any new software applications
• Research the external environment, and where appropriate identify and recommend external partners for the delivery of best in class technologies suitable for BDO applications.
• Identify and implement those technology trends that will be able to support the future success of the firm.
• Responsible for his/her own work planning against objectives set in agreement with the COO.

Communication and information

• Ensure effective internal communications both within the digital solutions team and across the firm.

Financial and People Management

• Accountable and responsible for effective financial management, planning and monitoring of the Digital Solutions business unit

Staffing, Management and Resources

• Ensure that the skills and experience of the team is consistent with the technological and business needs for providing quality in present and future services.
• Establish clear organisational structures and succession plans aligned with appropriate responsibilities, accountabilities and personal development for all staff in line with any anticipated growth.
• Provide support for all staff in keeping with the BDO Values.

Policies and Procedures

• Comply with all relevant policies and procedures
• Complete all documents required by the firm policies and procedures

Other

• Undertake additional tasks and responsibilities as may be reasonably expected of the role and as necessary in order to achieve the objectives of the Digital Solutions team and BDO

Requirements    

• Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge and Skills
• Qualifications
• B degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology or a related field
• Master’s Degree in Business or Computer Science or a related field preferred.

Requirements

• A deep understanding of modern development architectures and both on-premise, Hybrid, PaaS and SaaS based software solutions, ideally with Agile methodologies and practices.
• Experience working as a junior IT specialist.
• Broad working knowledge of computer networking, installation, and administration. DevOps experience preferred.
• Experience with database management and project management.
• Excellent technical skills.
• The ability to remain up to date with the latest software developments.
• Working experience of ITIL, SQL, HTML/5CSS3, NET, C# or JavaScript preferable

Competencies: Knowledge and Skills
Job Competencies

• Excellent communication skills (Verbal and written).
• Entrepreneurial flair (Business Acumen and Cost Saving Strategies)
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and work well under pressure.
• Critical thinker and problem-solving skills
• Strong leadership, management, and customer service skills.
• Great analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• A true innovator
• BDO Core Competencies
• Relationships and Collaboration
• Exceptional Client Service
• Business Growth
• Engaging people
• Inclusive Agile Leadership
• Quality, Risk management and Operational transformation

Job Closing Date  

•  21/05/2021