Head of FM Technology: Technical Support Services

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

Job Summary

The Head of FM Tech: Technical Support Services will be expected to lead the agile solution design, deployment & ongoing optimisation & evolution of enterprise-wide systems and services (full stack engineering & ownership / control) across multiple sub-functions in complex & high impact business areas. Business complexity is determined by customer impact, number of integration points, complexity of business rules & processes, level of operational readiness and introduction of new or changing old Tech (e.g. redo platforms).

The role is critical for ensuring that core finance and business systems operate reliably, are secure and compliant, integrate seamlessly, operationally resilient and enabling Finance Management for effective business use. The role is accountable for the stable, secure, and compliant operation of FM Technology platforms, enabling Finance to operate reliably across all reporting and business cycles.

Job Description

KEY FOCUS AREAS

• Ensure systems are resilient, maintained, and available against agreed service levels to achieve platform stability and availability
• Owns user access, security controls, and compliance with audit, risk, and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee Change & Release Control that governs production releases and operational change to minimise risk and disruption
• Leads operational management and incident resolution, root‑cause analysis, and prevention of recurring issues
• Optimises system performance and drives automation to improve efficiency and reliability
• Acts as a core technology leader within FM Tech, working in close partnership with the Financial Management and Treasury leadership to ensure systems meet financial, regulatory, governance, and control requirements

ACCOUNTABILITIES

Product & Service Direction Setting, Solution Design & Performance Management

• Work with the CIO & business product owners to define the product & technical strategy for core big data platforms. (Full Stack – End to End)
• Act as the single point of partnership & assume responsibility for managing senior stakeholder relationships
• Assume one stop shop accountability for the delivery of the product & solutions
• Apply design thinking practices to deliver architecturally sound technical product & service solutions (and explain / guide / coach others on this architecture holistically and technically)
• Lead & facilitate the design of the product & or service solution blueprints aligned to the organization strategy
• Collaborate across the tech value chain to guide the business on the appropriate technical solution (cost to value) & the range of strategic technical choices to be made
• Lead the detailed scoping, prioritisation & integration planning for the design & deployment of products & services with & across multiple stakeholder groups (Front End, Back End & Integration) – (aligned to solution blueprints)
• 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.
• Strategically & operationally monitor the performance of products and services (all applications) – ensuring ongoing optimization & cost to value for our businesses (think bank wide)

DevOps (with deep knowledge & understanding of context within which we develop architecturally & infrastructurally)

• Leverage the required expert level (own) skill & knowledge in architecture & Infrastructure, design and manage all development & development practices & outputs across squads (apply knowledge on virtualization, containerization, automation, storage & serverless technologies (e.g. AWS, Azure, Google, & on prem-Cloud, etc.)
• Ensure the most optimal design & deployment of technical products and services in the organization (via pipeline – not manually)
• Design & Implement Automation Testing, Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery Strategies & frameworks across squads for effective solution development & deployment .
• Ensure solution designs deliver on the key technical principles of: self-service, repeatability, testability, scalability & resilience
• Guide code development practices and processes through an understanding of complex concepts and developmental practices such as threading, parallel processing, asynchronous programming, domain driven design, lambdas etc. & coding language expertise
• Guide & ensure the delivery of quality development (code) based on own experience in developing across a range of applications including but not limited to: server side, client side, web socket based programming, batch & real time, building architectural patterns, security / security domains)
• Effectively manage the DevOps pipeline & associated releases for maximum customer impact & minimum business risk
• Manage the maintenance & optimization of applications, products & services as a ‘way of doing things / culture’ within the development teams. You are fully accountable for the longevity of applications aligned to Group Architectural practices.
• Coach & Mentor senior developers across squads on the technical competencies to effectively deliver on DevOps solutions (see Dev competency model in skills & competencies section). To do this, display proficiency in the Senior level competency requirements.

Delivery Management (where there is a specific product / service you manage)

• 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 programmes at all levels (SI, BU etc.)
• Ensure agile practices are implemented and sustained for effective delivery to business.
• Positively & proactively manage product owner relationships including building product owner technical capability to enable balanced & best fit decision making
• Proactively engage with & partner with stakeholders and broader enablement functions to drive alignment & leading practice in technology design & deployment

Leading Talent

• Oversee talent acquisition, development, and retention strategies to build a high-performing team.
• Embed people processes and values into business routines, reinforcing a strong leadership culture.
• Develop workforce capabilities to meet business plan execution requirements and future readiness
• Create inclusive team environments that support performance, wellbeing, and growth.
• Address escalated people issues and ensure application of performance and development processes
• Develop future leaders through mentorship, stretch assignments, and tailored development experiences
• Provide expertise and advice in the development and implementation of human capability and accountability frameworks across functions
• Direct the development and implementation of human capability strategies to support people management priorities

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Establish governance frameworks that ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and best practices in data management
• Collaborate with risk management teams to identify data-related risks and develop robust mitigation strategies across all streams in data operations
• Implement governance, risk, and compliance frameworks in business processes and team routines
• Promote risk awareness and lead the response to regulatory changes and emerging issues
• Support audit readiness and ensure operational teams adhere to compliance requirements
• Define and consolidate the risk profile for the business unit, manage critical risks, and ensure resolution feedback to stakeholders
• Enable the development and implementation of integrated corporate governance frameworks in areas of specialisation
• Influence the implementation of effective internal controls systems and corporate governance practices

Education/Qualification:

• Post Graduate Degree: Honours Degree, Post Graduate Diploma, or Professional Qualification (Advantageous)

Work Experience:

• At least 10 years’ experience in operational leadership within a large enterprise, ideally within data, analytics, Finance or digital function
• 5 – 7+ years’ experience with designing and building, BI systems and complex data eco systems
• 5 – 7+ years’ experience working in big data environment (advantageous for all, a must for high volume environments) – optimising and building big data pipelines, architectures and data sets with e.g. Java, Scala, Python, Hadoop, Apache Spark and Kafka
• Strong background in establishing governance, KPIs, and performance frameworks for data-led functions
• Demonstrated ability to manage strategic initiatives, risk oversight, and cost control in a data or digital operations context
• Experience leading large cross-functional teams, graduate programmes, managed services and business transformation projects
• Familiarity with regulatory standards related to data, compliance, and financial services
• Strong SAP leadership experience in complex environments
• Deep, hands‑on understanding of the SAP ecosystem, including S4/HANA, ECC, BW
• Full ownership of:
• SAP platform stability, upgrades, and lifecycle management
• System integrations and roadmap planning
• Vendor and SI management (implementation partners, AMS providers)
• SAP security, authorisations, and compliance

COMPETENCIES

• Strategic Thinking and Innovation
• Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Business Acumen
• Communication and Collaboration
• Influence & Adaptability
• Strong Leadership and People management skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised