Head Of IT - Technology & Operations (Reitz, Free State)

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The Head I&T: Technology & Operations is a leadership role responsible for delivering I&T Operational services to the business.
2. Client is transforming its I&T Operations & Technology department, and we seek a leader to rethink and transform how we provide operational support.
3. The focus will be on DevOps Infrastructure, role-based configuration management, and full I&T automation to minimize customer downtime.
4. This position reports directly to the Executive Head Information & Technology and involves working across the organization to ensure service delivery meets or exceeds expectations.
5. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated track record of building high-performance teams supporting large I&T ecosystems, system administration, and monitoring.
6. Responsibilities include managing Tier 1 Service Desk, Tier II Support, Desktop Engineering, Server estate (physical and virtual), IT Asset Management (ITAM), Physical and logical network, I&T asset procurement, asset management, and a Cyber Security portfolio.
7. The role requires interfacing with company leadership, directors, vendors, and staff to define operational requirements, develop related strategies, policies, and procedures, and provide advisory consulting for the protection of information system assets.
8. The scope of responsibilities includes all technology resources authorized by the company in the transmission, processing, and storage of information assets
9. Supervise a team of I&T infrastructure professionals.
10. Develop and coach team members in the areas of technical aptitude, customer service and communication to enhance the quality of support delivered.
11. Design and facilitate a performance measurement framework.
12. Continuous evaluation and enhancement of the Incident
13. Management process in line with ITIL best practice.
14. Assist with monitoring, mentoring, coaching and assisting team members to deliver quality support.
15. Plan, coordinate and set priorities for technical support and system administration. These duties include but are not limited to work schedules, standard operating procedures, projects, and maintenance in accordance with the companys and I&T priorities and requirements.
16. Manage incident classification, prioritization & escalation processes.
17. Communicate updates to customers and I&T colleagues on issue identification, status updates and resolution progress.
18. Plan and recommend departmental workflow or system modifications to increase efficiency capacity and utilization.
19. Prepare operational cost estimates for current and proposed projects.
20. Manage strategic vendors, contractors, and consultant relationships.
21. Responsible for adhering to all company data archiving policies, procedures as well as monitoring and status reporting.
22. Maintain knowledge of state-of-the-art technologies by attending training product demonstrations seminars and user groups.
23. Resolve existing problems and develop solutions to recurring problems.
24. Provide input and manage short and long-term Technology budgets.
25. Maintain knowledge of information security best practices, applications and industry security trends.
26. Documentation and maintenance of Technology Architecture artefacts
27. Establish & manage Cyber Security function.

REQUIRMENTS

1. Grade 12
2. Batchelors degree in Information & Technology or related
3. Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (ITIL, Cobit and TOGAF would be an added advantage).
4. 10+ years management experience leading complex technical projects in an enterprise operation.
5. An emphasis and motivation for assisting in the development and success of others.
6. Exceptional communication skills both verbal and written. (The ability to understand and communicate Afrikaans would be an advantage.)
7. Excellent technical skills on the latest technology platforms.
8. Strong work ethic with a fierce dedication to exceeding expectations.
9. Impeccable organizational skills with the ability to multitask and deliver results under pressure.
10. Ability to address tactical issues in the short-term while maintaining strategic vision for the long-term.
11. Effective manager who has achieved success working with diverse teams in different environments leveraging strengths of individuals to deliver superior results.
12. Strong appreciation for business value and understanding of the trade-offs in varying levels of customer service.
13. Ability to engage in detailed technical discussions with strong analytic reasoning and problem-solving skills.
14. Experience with IT Service Management (ITSM), Information Technology Infracture Library (ITIL) & Control Objects For IT (Cobit) principles and how to apply them in real world environments.
15. Strong time management and troubleshooting skills.
16. Able to work outside of standard hours including weekends.
17. Ability to think quickly and clearly during critical incidents where minutes of downtime equate to significant revenue loss.
18. Confident speaking in front of an audience with the interact and connect with Executives, Senior Business Management, Board members, engineers, and technical contacts.
19. Ability to understand and articulate complex concepts in a clear and concise manner.
20. Strong personal desire to improve and expand industry-related knowledge.
21. Ability to develop effective relationships.
22. Proven expertise in designing and implementing a successful customer service strategy in a dynamic environment; strong knowledge of modern best practice customer service models and approaches to supporting growing businesses.
23. Ability to identify, analyse and solve varied unrelated problems.
24. Ability to modify standard operating procedures when necessary to develop alternative courses of action when problem solving.
25. Ability to document policies and chair management level boards.
26. Be willing to relocate to Reitz in the Free State.

RUMUNERATION

R1.5 To R2.0 Million Per Annum (Total Cost To Company)