With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.
Job Summary
The Head of Technology – Digital will be responsible for the growth, acceleration, and continuous improvement of ABSA's mobile and digital channels across 10 African markets. This leadership role is accountable for the strategic development, implementation, and optimization of digital products, ensuring that ABSA’s mobile banking app, digital wallet, internet banking, USSD services, and emerging mobile platforms deliver seamless customer experiences and drive business growth. The role involves a blend of strategic oversight, product development, UX optimization, and experimentation, all aimed at enhancing the adoption and usage of ABSA’s digital platforms.Job Description
1. Strategic Technology Leadership
10–15+ years’ experience in senior IT leadership roles, with a proven track record delivering large-scale digital initiatives within banking.
Operate effectively within a federated Cluster CIO model, aligning Group and regional priorities.
Drive innovation while ensuring operational stability and resilience across digital platforms.
2. Digital Channel Growth & Acceleration
Lead the growth and acceleration strategy for mobile and digital channels across Africa.
Drive increased adoption and usage of mobile banking, digital wallets, internet banking, USSD, APIs, omni-channel platforms, and emerging digital channels.
Position digital channels as the primary customer engagement and servicing platform, reinforcing ABSA’s digital-first ambition.
3. End-to-End Digital Product & Platform Ownership
Own the full product lifecycle from business case definition to agile delivery and continuous optimisation.
Lead large-scale digital transformation programmes balancing innovation, stability, and customer experience.
Work closely with cross-functional teams (product, engineering, UX, marketing, data) to deliver high-impact, scalable digital solutions.
Ensure alignment of digital platforms with broader business strategy, growth objectives, and competitive positioning.
4. User Journey Optimisation & Experience Excellence
Continuously optimise user journeys across digital channels, reducing friction in high-volume transactions such as payments, transfers, and onboarding.
Oversee UX strategy to ensure intuitive, secure, and engaging customer experiences.
Monitor and improve digital sentiment using TNPS, behavioural analytics, journey analytics, heat maps, funnel analysis, and abandonment rate analysis.
Drive engagement, retention, and long-term customer loyalty through measurable improvements in experience.
5. Insights-Driven Strategy & Commercial Focus
Develop and execute data-driven growth strategies across all customer segments.
Lead experimentation, A/B testing, and structured innovation initiatives to refine performance and adoption.
Maintain strong commercial focus, ensuring digital platforms materially contribute to revenue growth, customer acquisition, and efficiency gains.
Implement scalable experimentation and performance monitoring frameworks with clear KPIs and measurable outcomes.
6. Digital Onboarding & Activation
Lead seamless end-to-end digital onboarding and activation capabilities across markets.
Enable fully digital account opening and product activation with strong security, compliance, and customer simplicity.
Improve speed, ease, and conversion rates across onboarding journeys.
7. Pan-African, Multi-Country Leadership
Operate effectively across 10+ African markets with diverse regulatory environments and varying levels of digital maturity.
Collaborate with and influence multiple country CIOs to ensure adoption, alignment, and shared best practices.
Balance central governance with local market needs within a federated operating model.
8. Technology Delivery, Architecture & Engineering Standards
Strong grounding in Agile delivery methodologies and modern engineering practices.
Deep understanding of APIs, microservices architecture, cloud technologies, payment systems, and digital banking platforms.
Oversee mission-critical, high-availability digital ecosystems with stringent performance expectations.
9. Risk, Cyber Security & Compliance
Ensure digital platforms are secure, compliant, and resilient by design.
Maintain robust oversight of technology risk, cyber security controls, audit requirements, and regulatory obligations across African jurisdictions.
10. Commercial & Financial Management
Manage large, multi-country technology budgets with strong cost discipline and value optimisation.
Lead vendor and partner management across core banking platforms, digital providers, and fintech partnerships.
11. Leadership & Culture
Lead high-performing, cross-functional teams in complex, matrixed environments.
Demonstrate resilience, adaptability, and strong change leadership capability.
Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
Proven experience leading digital transformation in banking, particularly mobile banking, digital wallets, internet banking, and omni-channel ecosystems.
Demonstrated success delivering digital product development in agile environments at scale.
Multi-market experience across African regions with understanding of regulatory and digital maturity differences.
Strong executive presence with the ability to influence CIO-level and senior business stakeholders.
Confident operating in a federated governance model across regional and country structures.
Exceptional collaboration and communication skills.
Strong technical understanding of digital banking platforms, payment systems, APIs, microservices, and cloud environments.
Familiarity with agile tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence or similar).
Deep analytical capability using behavioural data, journey analytics, and performance metrics to drive decision-making.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field (Master’s degree preferred)
Education
Bachelor's Degree: Information TechnologyAbsa 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