Senior Manager – IT Infrastructure Management & Op

The Group is seeking a Senior Manager, to lead the strategic planning, implementation, and management of the organization’s IT infrastructure and operational services.

JOB OVERVIEW:

The Senior Manager - IT Infrastructure Management & Operations is a key leadership role responsible for managing the Group's IT infrastructure, including production systems, databases, IT assets and IT operations. The Senior Manager ensures that these systems are managed, maintained, and operated in a manner consistent with leading practices, with a focus on availability, capacity, security, and reliable processing. This includes overseeing a team of IT professionals, collaborating with other departments to ensure the smooth operation of business-critical applications, and developing and implementing IT policies and procedures that are aligned with the company's overall strategic and business goals. The Senior Manager will have a strong technical background in IT infrastructure and operations, experience leading and managing teams of IT professionals, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
1.    Solution Delivery

•    Provide guidance to Business Project teams by reviewing requirements and recommending appropriate solution designs for Infrastructure and Database related services through Solution Architecture techniques and processes.
•    Develop solution design options that align with the company's Strategic and Operational Objectives.
•    Ensure timely and cost-effective implementation of approved Infrastructure, Database, and IT Security projects as well as assisting with Business projects.
•    Provide oversight to solution delivery teams to ensure that projects are delivered according to specifications and within budget and timelines.
•    Collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure that solution designs align with existing systems and future business needs.

2.    Production Control
•    Ensure that changes made to Production systems and Databases have been duly scheduled, tested and proper arrangements made to ensure the security, availability, performance, and support of said changes or services via the Operation, Change & Release Readiness Processes.
•    Develop, test, communicate, and enforce appropriate baseline configurations based on sound Enterprise and Solution Architecture principles/models/standards and manage in line with leading Governance practices.
•    Ensure that when changes are made to the production environment, these baselines are updated, and appropriate controls are in place to ensure that system changes can be configured, operated, and supported in line with group standards.
•    Develop and implement effective controls to manage risks related to the production environment and ensure that appropriate measures are in place to detect and mitigate potential threats.
•    Work with stakeholders to develop and implement disaster recovery plans to minimise the impact of any system downtime or failure.

3.    Incident & Request Management 
•    Develop and maintain processes and controls to execute all requests within agreed SLAs.
•    Establish a service catalogue that outlines clear inputs, outputs, and quality standards for services and establish reliable standards and controls for request monitoring, feedback, escalation, and benchmarking.
•    Serve as an escalation point for the Service Desk team as necessary.
•    Ensure that incident management processes are established, documented, and followed to resolve incidents in a timely and effective manner.
•    Work with stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve service levels and customer satisfaction.

4.    Availability and Capacity:
•    Develop and implement proper procedures and controls to monitor, assess, service and report on all systems in production based on their availability, performance, and capacity.
•    Establish a preventative maintenance plan and schedule that is clearly documented, communicated, and managed to ensure optimal resource utilisation (time, cost, and manpower) and achieve a balance of under and over maintenance.
•    Oversee the management of outsourced managed services and ensure that appropriate controls and measures are in place to monitor and manage their performance.
•    Work with stakeholders to identify and address any capacity or availability issues and develop plans to optimise system performance and utilisation.
•    Ensure that appropriate measures are in place to monitor and report on system performance and utilisation metrics.

5.    IT Project Governance:
•    Develop and implement project governance framework for the Group’s technology projects.
•    Ensure project governance aligns with organisational goals and objectives.
•    Monitor and enforce project governance compliance across technology projects.
•    Provide guidance and support to project teams on project governance best practices.
•    Identify and mitigate vendor project risks to ensure project success

6.    Enterprise Architecture:
•    Develop and maintain the IT architecture models and define the target state ICT architecture for the Group, including identification of dependency architecture shared across the Group.
•    Participate in the analysis, evaluation, and development of enterprise long-term strategic and operating plans to ensure that the EA objectives are consistent with the Group’s long-term business objectives.
•    Work with stakeholders to identify and evaluate new technologies and solutions that can support business growth and innovation.
•    Ensure that enterprise architecture standards and best practices are followed in the design, development, and implementation of new systems and solutions.

7.    People Management
•    Lead, motivate, inspire and encourage employees through effective performance management – setting of clear goals and objectives and to ensure that performance assessments are completed and submitted on time and accurate.
•    Coach, train and supervise staff in the procedures, processes and management of Information Technology Infrastructure and Operations services.
•    Leave Management and Preparation of Enrolment Forms for approval in accordance with established procedures. Ensure equitable distribution of work which includes when any staff is on leave.
•    Devise ways to optimise procedures and keep staff motivated.
•    Train, motivate and direct employees to optimise productivity and promote professional growth; through continuous performance discussions, coaching and timely completion of appraisals.
•    Improve staff work processes: determine if inefficiencies exist and find solutions, develop and implement monitoring tools.
•    When required conduct interviews or assist with head hunting for appropriate staff.
•     Attend to all escalated discipline and grievance matters to ensure staff operate within the set professional guidelines of the company and fair treatment of all.
•    Weekly huddles with staff to discuss performance and any appropriate action to be taken.

8.    Perform any other job-related duties as assigned by the Group Chief Information Officer.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:
•    Post Graduate degree or First Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or related field from a recognised tertiary educational institution.
•    At least 10 years of experience in IT infrastructure and operations management
•    At least 5 years of experience in a leadership role
•    Proven experience in managing complex IT projects and budgets

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT:
As a regulated entity with obligations under the Know Your Employee guidelines, a Certificate of Character is required.

PERSON SPECIFICATION:
The Senior Manager - IT Infrastructure Management & Operations must have a strong sense of adaptability and be able to pivot quickly in response to changes within the organisation. The ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and communicate effectively with stakeholders is essential. The Senior Manager must be highly organised, detail-oriented, and possess strong problem-solving skills to navigate complex issues. In addition, the individual must have a strong customer service focus, ensuring that all activities align with the customer's needs and expectations. The Senior Manager must be able to make sound decisions and maintain a high level of integrity at all times.

Applications will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.