IT Operations Manager (Randburg) at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• Build high-performing, scalable, enterprise-grade applications & build capability in others to do the same. This includes but is not limited to applying critical thinking, design thinking and problem solving skills in an agile team environment to solve complex technical problems (Front End, Back End and Integration) with high quality solutions & leading all phases of the development lifecycle to deliver.

Job Description

Product & Service Direction Setting, Solution Design & Performance Management

• Assume ‘one stop shop’ accountability & ownership for the ITSM / ITOM platform/s and associated Databases. Assume this responsibility by ensuring the ongoing development and evolution of expertise in ITSM /ITOM & associated Enterprise technologies & tools.
• Work with CIO’s and business product owners to define the product strategy for the ITSM/ITOM Platform. This includes but is not limited to optimisation and configuration of existing capabilities but also the identification, design and configuration of entirely new capabilities
• Leverage a deep understanding of the organisations internal environment & external environment (e.g. regulatory), & identify opportunities to leverage the ITSM /ITOM platform to its full potential and achieve associated business (efficiency & effectiveness) benefits e.g. shift from reactive to proactive operations management, shift from manual activity to automated delivery etc.
• Act as the single point of partnership & assume responsibility for managing the senior business interface (product owner & broader set of stakeholders) relationship for our chosen platform technology
• Collaborate across the tech value chain (CSO, CTO, Service Engineering teams etc.) & the business value chain to guide the business on the appropriate solutions (cost to value) & the range of strategic technical choices to be made within the platform
• As a result of the above and broader planning processes, define & ensure approvals of the ITSM /ITOM platform/s roadmap (short, medium & long term) and associated business cases and budgets
• Work with business product owners / SME’s & process engineers to understand the business processes & identify associated opportunities based on platform capabilities
• Leverage specialist analysis tools, frameworks, techniques and practices to elicit, define and organize, document & model business requirements (process & data), across multiple stakeholder groups, into platform user stories
• This includes the design the unique platform processes to deliver on business requirements (now and future)
• Translate & document these user stories into a technical solution vision & specifications (Full Stack, Cross System) detailing integration points, business & technical impact & associated risk / opportunities to be realised
• Apply design thinking practices to define & design detailed product solutions & associated functionality this includes but is not limited to e.g. translating business requirements into product parameters & end user enablement, designing product consumption patterns, building the platform processes that deliver on the core business process, translating these into appropriate configuration requirements for the platform
• Lead & facilitate the complete design of the config / new capability solution blueprints in partnerships with various technical experts e.g. architects
• Ensure all stakeholders are aligned and have the relevant information for effective technical decision making throughout the product development lifecycle
• Lead the detailed scoping, prioritisation & integration planning for the design & deployment of platform product solutions across multiple stakeholder groups with relevant project teams
• Take ownership for leading discussions in the Group Architecture forum and acquiring the appropriate approvals for platform enhancements & new capabilities
• Assume one stop shop accountability for the delivery of the product & solutions (End to End)
• Design & produce platform related management information & translate this into business insights for integrated and effective ITSM/ITOM across the organisation (e.g. CMDB updates, monitoring information and incidents etc.).
• Identify, source & produce, accurate, reliable, consistent information & ensure this information is maintained in the ITOM database (e.g. CMDB) to enable effective estate management
• Meaningfully contribute & ensure solutions align to the design & direction of the Group Architecture standards, principles, preferences & practices. Short term deployment must align to strategic long term delivery.
• Meaningfully contribute & ensure solutions align to the design and direction of the Group Infrastructure standards and practices e.g. OLA’s, IAAS, PAAS, SAAS, Containerisation etc.
• Strategically & operationally monitor the performance of products (includes defining measures of success) and services (all applications) – ensuring ongoing adoption, optimization & cost to value for our businesses (think bank wide)
• Stay ahead of the curve on all platform capabilities, future enhancements and practices with and beyond the product service provider (be defined as a platform specialist by the Service Provider)
• Ensure knowledge management practices are implemented and knowledge transfer takes place to mitigate any risks related to key man dependencies associated with the product (ensure ready now succession)

Managed Services

• Lead the commercial negotiation & contracting processes with our chosen platform providers in collaboration with procurement and sourcing
• Close commercially viable (new & or; renewals) deals on behalf of the organization
• Act as the single point of contact for MSP’s and (overall product management, product changes, challenges, and or issue resolution, product enhancements etc.)
• Ensure the implementation of effective relationship & communication management routines that enable successful service provision & or product implementation & management to the organization
• Lead the on-boarding process for MSPs & ensure the environment is conducive to partnership service provision (everything is in place in the physical / other environment)
• Ensure partnership delivery on all parameters – ensuring we obtain value from the partnership / product and the various contract inclusions

DevOps and DevOps Delivery Management

• Cascade the product vision and strategy to all support, engineering & architecture teams and involve said teams in the product design and evaluation processes for optimal results
• Provide strategic product & roadmap advisory to all platform engineers, support engineers & architects on the configuration & implementation of all product solutions (including all business and test requirements)
• Leverage the required expert level (own) skill & knowledge on the platform and platform capabilities, architecture & Infrastructure, manage all configuration, development & development practices & outputs across the platform
• Coach & guide teams on the effective design and configuration of our ITOM Platforms to deliver against business requirements
• Ensure the most optimal design & deployment of platform solutions in the organization with a strong focus on release, quality & backlog management
• Ensure all product configurations and new platform capabilities are thoroughly tested in compliance with our development & testing frameworks and approaches
• Effectively manage the DevOps / Config / Optimisation & Maintenance pipeline & associated releases for maximum customer impact & minimum business risk
• Effectively monitor all Platform activity and data and ensure effective risk management & controls are designed and implemented e.g. data updates, IT Asset Management updates etc.
• Lead all change & communication processes related to product configurations, changes and releases with senior stakeholders across the value chain
• Assume ownership for & lead problem & incident management processes (in cases of) across the platform (this includes direct responsibility for resolution of escalations)
• Assume ownership & accountability for all product related project delivery and ensure delivery on time and on budget
• Proactively identify, monitor & manage all platform related risk & identify opportunities for their long term mitigation with relevant & sustainable solutions
• With fluency in the deployment of agile methodologies, resource & manage the appropriate number and nature (skill & capability) of squad based teams to execute on both Run & Change elements of delivery
• Work in collaboration with transformation & change teams for effective resourcing and delivery management of various projects - own resources and other (e.g. business)
• Ensure agile practices are implemented and sustained for effective delivery to business e.g. RETRO’s etc.
• Positively & proactively manage business owner relationships including building business owner technical capability to enable balanced & best fit decision making
• Coach & Mentor platform teams on the technical & business requirements to effectively deliver on solutions. To do this, display expertise in the platform technology as well as the business processes.

People

• Proactively attract, recruit, develop, retain, reward & deploy a diverse resource base aligned to an ever evolving tech environment (ahead of demand)
• Build a high performance team environment through self-directed teams by driving performance management & measurement that is aligned with agile working practices (including daily, weekly, etc. sprint routines, regular & honest feedback etc.)
• Accountable for the right people in the right teams to deliver on our tech strategy (always!)
• Leverage coaching techniques in all squad related activity to drive a higher quality design and deployment of technical products and services

Financial Management, Risk & Governance

• Carry the ‘one stop shop’ accountability for all risk associated with technical decision making (from ideation to deployment)
• Manage & Apply the organization risk & governance frameworks
• Ensure decisions on product design, product capabilities and their configuration are aligned to chapter & guild guidelines & are sustainable for the enterprise
• Proactively involve / engage chapter & guild leads in product design & infrastructure decision making, applying an enterprise wide lens as required
• Deliver on time & on budget (always)

Education

• Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology