Head of IT, Africa Division

 

 

 

Job & Competency Profile

Job Title Divisional IT Manager

Department Divisional IT Management

Salary Grade

Subordinates Application/Systems Analyst’s

Reports To Group CIO

Primary Purpose of the Job

• The Divisional IT Manager is accountable for the effective leadership, performance, and continuous

improvement of information technology services within the division, in alignment with Group IT

strategy, standards, and governance.

• The role acts as the single point of accountability for divisional IT outcomes, ensuring technology

enables operational excellence, business growth, data-driven decision-making, and risk-managed

innovation.

• Working in close partnership with Group IT and divisional leadership, the role translates business

strategy into fit-for-purpose technology solutions, ensures reliable service delivery across African

operations, and drives measurable business value from IT investments.

• The role has direct accountability for the day-to-day operational performance, stability, availability,

and supportability of divisional IT systems and services.

Education/Experience/Qualifications/Skill Requirements

Qualifications : Minimum • Relevant IT Degree or Diploma.

• Minimum of 7 years professional IT experience, including

proven IT management experience.

• ITIL certification.

• Strong background in systems analysis and solution

delivery.

 

Advantageous

• Leadership or Management Development Programme.

• Experience operating IT services across multiple African

countries or emerging markets.

• Exposure to ERP, facilities management systems, and

enterprise platforms.

• Project management certification such as Prince2, PMBoK,

SAFe, or equivalent.

Knowledge • IT service management and governance frameworks such

as ITIL and COBIT.

• Enterprise systems, systems integration, and data

platforms.

• Cyber security, data protection, and technology risk

management.

• Business analysis, process design, and solution

architecture.

 

 

• Financial management, budgeting, and business case

development.

• Vendor, contract, and SLA management in multi-country

environments.

• Understanding of technology challenges in emerging and

developing African markets.

Specialist Skills • Software knowledge and understanding

• Process design and documentation

• Understanding/Knowledge of Business and Financial

Processes

• Enterprise Systems Knowledge (ERP, Computer Aid

Facilities Management, Procurement)

• Hardware knowledge and understanding

• IoT knowledge and understanding

• IT Infrastructure & Networking

• Business Analysis & Business Case development

• Sound knowledge of Microsoft Products (Office 365)

• Data, Information Security and Cyber Security

• Systems Operations Management

• IT Governance & Compliance – COBIT and ITIL

• Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

• Working knowledge of various system integration formats

• Supply chain knowledge/understanding advantageous

• Vendor an SLA Management

• People Management

• Strategic Planning

• IT/Technology Infrastructure Design and Planning

Technical Competencies • Analytical and critical thinking skills.

• Strong planning, prioritisation, and execution discipline.

• Risk-aware problem solving and innovation.

• Clear, concise executive-level communication.

Leadership and Behavioral • Strategic thinking with a regional perspective.

• Strong business acumen and decision-making capability.

• Ability to influence and collaborate across cultures and

geographies.

• High emotional intelligence and resilience.

• Comfort operating in complexity and ambiguity.

Measures of Success • Reliability and performance of divisional IT services across

African operations.

• Business satisfaction and adoption of technology solutions.

• Delivery of IT initiatives on time, within budget, and with

realised benefits.

• Effective management of cyber risk and regulatory

compliance across countries.

• Financial discipline, cost optimisation, and vendor

performance.

• Maturity, capability, and engagement of the divisional IT

team.

 

 

Key Performance Areas

Objectives Key Job Outputs

Divisional IT Leadership

and Strategy Execution

▪ Own and execute the divisional IT operating plan aligned to Group

IT strategy and divisional objectives.

▪ Serve as trusted technology advisor to divisional leadership and

regional Exco structures.

▪ Shape and manage the divisional IT demand portfolio across

African markets, balancing run, grow, and transform initiatives.

▪ Ensure alignment to Group IT architecture, platforms, standards,

and policies while enabling local operational realities.

▪ Acts as the accountable owner for divisional IT operational

demand and prioritisation, within Group IT governance and

approval frameworks.

ICT Policy and Strategic

Planning

▪ Enforce Group IT policy and procedures which support the needs

and strategic objectives of the Division.

▪ Development, management, and review of the strategic direction

of the divisional IT function in support of the division’s strategic

plans with the support of Group IT.

▪ Contribute and advise on the overall strategy in the context of IT

as a support function with divisional objectives representative.

▪ Keep abreast of emerging trends in technology and their potential

implications on the division’s goals and objectives.

▪ Initiate the development of a divisional IT service management

plan and report regularly on performance.

▪ Maintain a pro-active role in the enabling of business analysis by

offering appropriate IT systems and solutions to all divisional

users.

▪ Secure an appropriate level of user ownership and participative

management of the planning process for the division.

▪ Identifying opportunities for team training and skills advancement

Business Partnership

and Value Enablement

▪ Translate business requirements into stable, supportable, and

sustainable technology solutions suitable for multi-country African

operations.

▪ Prioritise IT initiatives based on strategic value, operational risk,

and delivery capacity.

▪ Ensure benefits realisation and value tracking for divisional IT

initiatives.

▪ Support tenders, new business opportunities, and client

engagements across Africa from a technology, risk, and cost

perspective.

Financial and Vendor

Management

▪ Own the divisional IT budget, forecasting, cost control, and

reporting across African operations.

▪ Develop and evaluate IT business cases aligned to Group financial

governance and regional priorities.

▪ Manage divisional IT vendors and service providers operating

across multiple countries.

▪ Drive cost optimisation, value-for-money, and contract

performance in emerging market contexts.

 

 

IT Service Delivery and

Operations

▪ Accountable for the stability, availability, and performance of

divisional applications and IT services across African regions.

▪ Ensure effective IT service management practices aligned to ITIL

and Group standards.

▪ Implement pragmatic service delivery models suitable for

environments with variable connectivity, power stability, and

supplier maturity.

▪ Manage divisional SLAs and service performance with internal

teams and service providers.

▪ Ensure incidents, requests, and escalations are managed through

approved Group IT support channels.

Data, Analytics, and

Information

Stewardship

▪ Act as the operational custodian of divisional data for operational,

financial, and client systems across multiple countries, in line with

Group data ownership and standards.

▪ Ensure data quality, integrity, master data consistency, and

controlled localisation where required.

▪ Enable analytics, reporting, and insight-driven decision-making in

partnership with Group Analytics.

▪ Support consistent reporting and performance visibility across

African operations.

Cyber Security, Risk,

and Compliance

▪ Act as divisional cyber and technology risk owner across African

jurisdictions.

▪ Ensure compliance with POPIA, country-specific data protection

regulations, and Group IT governance standards.

▪ Promote cyber awareness and secure user behaviors across

geographically distributed teams.

▪ Coordinate divisional cyber incidents, audits, and remediation

actions in collaboration with Group IT.

Change, Innovation,

and Continuous

Improvement

▪ Lead operationally focused technology change and user adoption

to improve stability, efficiency, and service consistency across

diverse cultural and operational environments.

▪ Drive continuous operational improvement through

standardisation, simplification, automation, and controlled

digitisation.

▪ Identify and reduce technical debt and unnecessary system

fragmentation.

▪ Pilot and scale innovation initiatives that support growth in African

markets.

People and Capability

Management

▪ Lead, develop, and performance-manage the divisional IT team

across multiple African locations.

▪ Build future-fit IT capabilities aligned to divisional growth and

Group IT direction.

▪ Drive succession planning, skills development, and effective use

of regional partners.

▪ Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and service

excellence across borders.

 

 

Service Provider

Management

▪ Manage, monitor, and review the relationships with divisional

direct IT service providers and ensure that high levels of service

are received and maintained.

▪ Manage and review current divisional IT outsourcing agreements

and identify and negotiate new solutions in an expanding

outsourcing environment with the support of Group IT.

▪ Participate in divisional IT contract negotiations, signing of legal

contracts and various service level agreements within pre-agreed

limits with the support of Group IT.

Business Requirements

Gathering

To construct a requirements document outlining the needs of the

business and answering the question as to how the solution will be

achieved systemically

▪ Facilitate business requirements gathering process

o New functionality

o New Reports and BI Dashboards

o Data changes requiring scripting

▪ Facilitate the drafting of the Business Requirements Document

(BRD) include to-be process flows

▪ Interface with developers with regards to systems design and

configuration

▪ Facilitate BRD Signoff

Project Management

▪ Ensure the effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of

relevant divisional IT projects with support and guidance from

Group IT PMO’s office.

▪ Define all systems requirements surrounding the project

▪ Develops plans and objectives and participates in cross-functional

projects and business initiatives to improve operational

performance for the division.

▪ Project costing and benefit quantification

▪ Constructing and presenting the Business Case

▪ Keeps Group IT PMO’s office well informed of status of

development effort and serves as liaison between IT staff and

project manager.

▪ Constructing Request for Proposal (RFP)

▪ Effectively managing service provider resources

▪ Communicate project intentions, benefits, and progress to

relevant stakeholders

▪ Manages IT resources within budget and project schedule.

▪ Provide weekly and ad hoc project progress feedback to IT

management team and coordinate IT team resources where

required

Administration and

Reporting

▪ Support Group IT in ensuring the accurate and timeous

submission of the divisional IT report.

▪ Contribute to providing accurate monthly IT report data on

general statistics and problems in the division.

▪ Report on all divisional IT security or data breaches.

▪ Provide reports/motivations for all IT requirements.

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledge receipt and understand the contents:

 

 

NAME

 

SIGNATURE

 

DATE

 

MANAGER

 

 

EMPLOYEE