Head of IT: Shared and Value Services at Mr Price Group

Our Head of IT exists to enable and enhance IT capability to deliver on the group’s current requirements and future strategy.

You’ll be working with the teams in Technology to ensure that infrastructure is available to run the services that have been developed/selected. 

Your Areas of Responsibility:

Strategy Development:

• Translate business strategy into tactical IT strategies to address key business requirements, drive capability and produce delivery roadmaps & associated domain architecture.

• Contribute to the development of the IT divisional strategy.

Cloud  Economics Strategy and Value realisation

• Maintain and improve on the strategic positioning and direction of cloud (public and private) services for the group.

• Setup and maintain a Cloud Centre of Excellence that governs and provides guidance on cloud usage, optimisation, standards, policies and strategy.

• Provide constant business case feedback to the group on value realisation within cloud related projects to maintain optimum consumption patterns.

Service Delivery & Project Execution:

• Plan, implement & evaluate IT service delivery and project execution in a specific area(s) of the business to align with the standard service management matrix (incl. SLAs).

• Continuously drive IT capability to deliver on group strategic intent. Contribute IT expertise & advice to influence discussions and decision-making within the group and respond to internal (MRPG) client requests.

• Utilise Agile and/or Kanban type project methodologies to streamline delivery

• IT Service Management

• Align the business to ITIL processes and carry out operations that conform to such a framework as is required to govern effectively, including:

  • Incident Management

  • Asset and Config management (CMDB)

  • Availability and capacity management

  • Change and release management

  • Problem management

  • Continual service improvement

Service Desk

• Deliver level 1, 1.5 and 2 support services for all IT infrastructure, cloud, security and shared service technologies and platforms deployed in the group.

• Continually strive to improve service levels and delivery support mechanisms to resolve incidents faster and more effectively.

• Automate workflows and decrease overall costs for IT operations

Business Continuity Management

• Manage a BCM program that aligns to the IT risk management strategy as well as business requirements.

DevSecOps and Automation

• Manage the application and infrastructure DevSecOps framework with regards to technologies used, centralization of capability and depth of adoption.

Store Operations

• Manage and deliver on the retail store expansion strategy by deploying all technology related activities for a store rollout.

• Streamline the deployment process and keep abreast of latest retail store technologies to improve store performance for customers

End User Support

• Manage and evolve IT end-user support services to focus on productivity, digitization and personal user experience.

• Ensuring security, uptime, ease of use and fixing problems before or as the user realises it.

Monitoring & Reporting

• Maintain and improve on a company-wide central monitoring solution that adds value, increases visbility and contributes to overall IT environment stability

Financial Management:

• Develop departmental budget and monitor/control spend in order to deliver strategy. Collaborate with other IT executives to ensure financial feasibility where there are departmental/project overlaps - where the primary financial responsibility sits in another department, there is always a secondary responsibility to deliver within budget.

Risk Management:

• Keep abreast of legislative requirements and best practices (e.g. RICA, POPI, ECT act) to highlight risks to the business and ensure compliance at all times.

• Track, monitor and manage IT audits and risk management across the respective portfolios

Team Management:

• Ensure that the workload within the team is distributed fairly and in line with the team's priorities and skills to deliver on departmental KPI's / targets.

• Keep abreast of talent pool to contribute to the recruitment of top talent.

• Drive succession, training and development within the team to ensure resource capability and business continuity.

Vendor Management

• Manage related IT vendors and contractors, including activities such as selecting vendors, negotiating contracts, controlling costs, reducing vendor-related risks and ensuring service delivery.

Security Management

• Ensure that, at all times, the technology landscape within the realm of control is secure and, as far as possible, safe from any external hacking or phishing attacks that could cause reputational damage and or information leakage.

What are our minimium requirements to apply?

• A completed degree in IT or Business Management, or, similar relevant field

• You have 15-20 years IT Managed Services Experience AND 10-15 years in a management role. Retail experience mandatory.

• You have extensive experience in running IT Enterprise managed services for private and hybrid cloud, networking, DevOps, Security, IT innovation

• Extensive knowledge of a large scale ICT environments that deliver profitable and tangible results through the deployment and operations of a wide range of different technologies.

• Broad service management process experience related to ITIL V3+ and ISO 20000.

Our ideal person will also have the following key attributes:

Outstanding communication, interpersonal and leadership skills; organization and time-management skills; effective negotiation and vendor management skills; proactive problem solver with the ability to think ‘out of the box’; attention to detail.