Lead Specialist: Solutions Delivery & Testing at Cell C

Purpose of Role:

• To manage and execute specific business requirements through both Business as Usual (BAU) and release processes, by engaging with various business departments to align requirements, propose solutions and facilitate testing and User Acceptance Testing (UAT), ensuring the successful integration and delivery of projects.

Main Responsibilities
Requirements Alignment and Solution Development

• Lead engagement with Information Technology, Digital, Commercial and Wholesale teams to assess received requirements, manage feedback and report progress and timelines to the requirements originator and Business, ensuring feasibility and alignment with organisational goals
• Influence and shape requirements and new product delivery across various business domains, by driving solution design decision ensuring alignment with Business Requirement Specifications and promoting adoption of efficiency improvements in design activities
• Oversee and coordinate all phases of the project life cycle, including requirements review, analysis, test planning, execution and reporting, ensuring alignment between requirements, solution development, strategy and architecture, while actively supporting a diverse and inclusive working environment

Testing and User Acceptance

• Manage and govern testing and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) sign-off between Business Support Systems (BSS) and various business units, validating that all testing has been completed and supporting the test team for UAT and sign-off to ensure successful integration into the live environment
• Manage the testing of new products and services by participating in quality assurance reviews and validation of requirements, conducting billing sessions/workshops with stakeholders as necessary, to ensure all products and services are delivered at the accepted level

Project Management and Release Planning

• Drive release planning and execution governance by ensuring alignment with Business on release plans, requirements and delivery milestones, demonstrating efficiency improvements for newly introduced design activities and promoting their adoption within the team
• Proactively identify, assess and mitigate project and/or test risks by escalating or delegating issues to appropriate project team members and applying expert problem-solving capabilities, to identify early project design bottlenecks while liaising with the Senior Manager to mitigate them
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with project managers, peers, superiors, vendors and service delivery managers, ensuring successful project delivery and adherence to departmental and company policies and procedures by all vendors

Documentation and Quality Assurance

• Review quality assurance of testing and validation of requirements by ensuring billing sessions/workshops with stakeholders occur as necessary, providing timeous feedback to relevant stakeholders on all billing-related issues
• Provide specialist leadership and mentorship to team members by guiding the resolution of complex design challenges and contributing to solution architecture discussions and technical governance forums

Process and Operational Delivery

• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process optimisation
• Analyse and resolve complex business and operational challenges by identifying root causes, assessing impacts and implementing sustainable solutions
• Consolidate information to review work progress that provides input to reporting, decision making and the identification of improvement opportunities

Finance / Budget Management

• Monitor and promote compliance with financial policies, procedures and cost management principles to ensure operational effectiveness and budget accountability

People Management

• Provide technical leadership for assigned projects by providing insight based on expert knowledge into the solution approach and drawing from the knowledge of implemented systems, so as to support business at a technical level in the analysis of new or enhancing product activities
• Liaise with technical teams of supporting and integrating partners to define integration and operational architectures of new systems, encouraging changes in behaviour towards an agreed target operating process and model
• Provide assessments and Subject Matter Expert (SME) consultation for the development of technical solutions, influencing adherence to departmental and company policies and procedures by all vendors
• Leverage knowledge and expertise to create an engaging, enabling and productive work climate aligned to the employee value proposition
• Foster and champion a high-performance, collaborative and inclusive work environment that supports employee engagement, capability development and organisational success

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree (NQF Level 7) in Information Technology or related field
• SQL/ITIL certification (advantageous)

Experience

• Minimum 9-10 years’ experience in Technical Testing and Service Delivery within the Telecommunication environment or related field
• Minimum 2-4 years’ leadership experience
• Experience in systems integration, SDLC models, and DevOps practices
• BSS and integration layers experience with Huawei network design as a plus