IT Executive (Retail)

Clicks Group; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 3,000,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Clicks Group seeks a strategic technology leader to own the end-to-end omnichannel technology strategy, delivery, and optimization across retail and customer-facing platforms. This role drives omnichannel growth, elevates customer experience, and strengthens digital revenue performance.

You will lead enterprise initiatives across stores, e-commerce, loyalty, and pharmacy systems, partnering with Commercial, Marketing, and Operations to co-drive revenue outcomes and innovation through AI and

Qualifications

• 12+ years in retail, digital, or omnichannel IT environments
• Experience leading large-scale customer-facing and digital platforms
• Experience delivering complex digital transformation programmes
• Experience in pharmacy, healthcare retail, or regulated environments

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the Retail and Omnichannel Technology Strategy, aligned to commercial growth, customer experience, and digital transformation priorities.
• Own and enable digital revenue growth, ensuring retail technology platforms directly support sales, basket size, and customer lifetime value.
• Be accountable for end-to-end customer journey technology performance across stores, e-commerce, mobile, loyalty, and pharmacy systems.
• Drive omnichannel integration, ensuring seamless and consistent customer experiences across all touchpoints.
• Lead the design and scaling of customer-centric platforms, including personalisation, loyalty, promotions, and digital engagement solutions.
• Partner with Commercial, Marketing, and Operations leadership to co-own customer and revenue outcomes enabled by technology.
• Drive innovation that delivers measurable commercial impact and customer value and differentiation through emerging technologies (AI, personalisation, digital health, automation).
• Ensure high availability, resilience, performance and responsiveness of all customer-facing and store systems.
• Lead delivery of large-scale digital and retail transformation programmes, ensuring speed to market and measurable business value.
• Build and lead high-performing, product-aligned retail IT teams, embedding agile, product, and customer-centric ways of working.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Revenue growth

Customer experience leadership

Strategic thinking

Executive stakeholder management

Product and platform leadership

Delivery of digital platforms

Speed to market vs stability

Vendor management

Innovation mindset

Data-driven decision making

UX/UI awareness

Education

Honours degree in IT/CS

MBA or equivalent

Project management certification (e.g., PMP, Agile)

Job description

Job Purpose

To lead the end-to-end technology strategy, delivery, and optimisation of all retail and customer-facing platforms, enabling omnichannel growth, superior customer experience, and digital revenue performance.

The role is accountable for ensuring that technology directly drives revenue growth, customer engagement, and brand differentiation, positioning Clicks as a leader in omnichannel retail and pharmacy.

Job Objectives

• Define and execute the Retail and Omnichannel Technology Strategy, aligned to commercial growth, customer experience, and digital transformation priorities.
• Own and enable digital revenue growth, ensuring retail technology platforms directly support sales, basket size, and customer lifetime value.
• Be accountable for end-to-end customer journey technology performance across stores, e-commerce, mobile, loyalty, and pharmacy systems.
• Drive omnichannel integration, ensuring seamless and consistent customer experiences across all touchpoints.
• Lead the design and scaling of customer-centric platforms, including personalisation, loyalty, promotions, and digital engagement solutions.
• Partner with Commercial, Marketing, and Operations leadership to co-own customer and revenue outcomes enabled by technology.
• Drive innovation that delivers measurable commercial impact and customer value and differentiation through emerging technologies (AI, personalisation, digital health, automation).
• Ensure high availability, resilience, performance and responsiveness of all customer-facing and store systems.
• Lead delivery of large-scale digital and retail transformation programmes, ensuring speed to market and measurable business value.
• Build and lead high-performing, product-aligned retail IT teams, embedding agile, product, and customer-centric ways of working.

Key Deliverables and Accountabilities

• Accountable for the contribution of Retail and Digital Technology to revenue growth, customer conversion, basket size, and customer lifetime value across all channels.
• Own enterprise prioritisation of retail technology initiatives, ensuring optimal trade-offs between commercial impact, customer experience, operational risk, and delivery capacity.
• Ensure stable, resilient, and high-performance in-store and customer-facing technology environments that enable uninterrupted retail operations, customer service excellence, and pharmacy execution.
• Accountable for the end-to-end technology experience of business stakeholders across Retail, ensuring high levels of responsiveness, service quality, communication clarity, and alignment to commercial and operational expectations

Job Related Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of retail and omnichannel ecosystems (POS, e-commerce, loyalty, pharmacy systems)
• Strong understanding of customer experience, digital journeys, and engagement platforms
• Strong prioritisation and trade-off decision-making capability in complex commercial environments
• Knowledge of API-driven architectures, system integration, and digital platforms
• Understanding of data-driven retail, personalisation, and customer analytics
• Knowledge of IT governance, security, and regulatory requirements in retail/pharmacy
• Experience with AI, recommendation engines, and personalisation platforms
• Knowledge of mobile-first and digital product ecosystems
• Exposure to cloud-native and scalable digital architectures

Job Related Skills

• Strong commercial acumen including revenue growth, margin optimisation, and cost management
• Proven experience owning or directly influencing revenue outcomes through digital or retail platforms
• Customer-centric thinking and customer experience leadership
• Strategic thinking with ability to translate into digital and technology execution
• Executive stakeholder management (Commercial, Marketing, Operations, EXCO)
• Product and platform leadership (Agile, product operating models)
• Delivery of large-scale, high-impact digital platforms
• Experience balancing speed to market with operational stability in high-volume retail environments
• Vendor and ecosystem management
• Innovation and experimentation mindset
• Data-driven decision-making and performance optimisation
• UX/UI and digital product awareness

Job Experience

• 12+ years’ experience in retail, digital, or omnichannel IT environments
• Proven track record leading large-scale customer-facing and digital platforms
• Demonstrated experience driving technology-enabled revenue growth and customer engagement
• Experience leading cross-functional product, engineering, and delivery teams
• Experience delivering complex digital transformation programmes
• Experience in pharmacy, healthcare retail, or regulated environments
• Exposure to loyalty ecosystems and high-volume transactional platforms

Education

• Honours degree (or equivalent) in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field
• Postgraduate qualification (MBA or equivalent)
• Project management certification (e.g., PMP, Agile)

Job Related Competencies

• Working with People
• Leading and Supervising
• Applying Expertise and Technology
• Presenting and Communicating Information
• Analysing
• Delivering Results & Meeting Customer Expectations
• Adapting and Responding to Change
• Entrepreneurial and Commercial Thinking