IT Operations Manager

Mukuru; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Mukuru is seeking an IT Operations Manager to lead the IT Operations team, delivering reliable IT services for about 1,500 staff across multiple countries. Hybrid, primarily office-based, with travel to offices as required.

You will own vendor relationships, budgets, risk, and drive the IT Operations roadmap with the IT Infrastructure Architect, including the adoption of AI tools and automation across IT Operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT, computer science or related field.
• ITIL Foundation or higher would be advantageous.
• 8+ years' experience in IT operations or infrastructure.
• 4+ years managing technical teams.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune and Azure.
• Experience managing outsourced network, connectivity and telephony providers.
• Experience managing IT Operations budgets and vendor contracts.
• Experience leading IT Operations across multiple sites or countries.
• Experience applying AI tools and automation within IT Operations is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of POPIA would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead the IT Operations department and ensure service delivery across offices and branches.
• Line manage the Lead Systems Engineer, Senior Systems Administrator and End User Services Manager.
• Act as the senior technical escalation point for IT Operations.
• Manage vendor relationships with MySky, ISPs, VoIP and PBX providers.
• Oversee connectivity, power resilience, and disaster recovery planning.
• Oversee IT deployment and decommissioning for offices and branches.
• Manage IT Operations budgets and device refresh budgets.
• Deliver the IT Operations roadmap with the IT Infrastructure Architect.
• Drive adoption of AI tools and automation in IT Operations.
• Plan recruitment and team capacity with HR.
• Collaborate with InfoSec, HR, Finance, Facilities and ZenDesk.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Vendor management

Strategic thinking

Analytical thinking

Decision making

Verbal and written communication

Composure under pressure

Commercial awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT or Computer Science

Tools

Microsoft 365

Entra ID

Intune

Azure

Job description

Lead the Technology That Keeps Mukuru Moving

As an IT Operations Manager, you will lead Mukuru's IT Operations team and be accountable for the reliable delivery of IT services to approximately 1,500 employees across offices and branches in several countries. You’ll be the senior technical lead for the team, own key vendor relationships, budget and risk, and deliver the IT Operations roadmap alongside the IT Infrastructure Architect.

This is a hybrid, primarily office-based role, with travel to offices and branches as required.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead the IT Operations department and take accountability for service delivery across offices and branches.
• Line manage the Lead Systems Engineer, Senior Systems Administrator and End User Services Manager, including setting objectives, managing performance and developing the team.
• Act as the senior technical escalation point for IT Operations.
• Own key relationships with MySky, ISPs, and VoIP and PBX providers, including contracts, performance reviews and escalations.
• Own connectivity and power resilience, including ISP failover, redundancy, UPS and generator cover for network equipment.
• Oversee IT deployment and decommissioning for offices and branches, including connectivity, networks, telephony, CCTV, access control and UPS.
• Manage the IT Operations budget and device refresh budget, including final approval of significant spend.
• Deliver the IT Operations roadmap with the IT Infrastructure Architect, setting priorities and allocating resources.
• Drive the adoption of AI tools and automation across IT Operations, including ticket triage, knowledge management and reporting.
• Set out-of-hours and on-call arrangements and approve changes to IT Operations systems.
• Own IT Operations risk management, business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Own IT Operations policies covering areas such as acceptable use, devices, BYOD, joiners and leavers.
• Run twice-yearly access reviews and respond to audit and compliance requests.
• Own operational reporting across service desk metrics, assets, system availability and vendor performance.
• Plan recruitment and team capacity with HR.
• Collaborate with InfoSec, HR, Finance, Facilities and the ZenDesk team on shared processes such as onboarding and offboarding.
• Act as an escalation point outside business hours when required.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in IT, computer science or a related field would be advantageous.
• ITIL Foundation or higher would be advantageous.
• 8+ years' experience in IT operations or infrastructure, including 4+ years managing technical teams.
• Hands-on technical experience with Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune and Azure.
• Experience managing outsourced network, connectivity and telephony providers.
• Experience managing IT Operations budgets and vendor contracts.
• Experience leading IT Operations across multiple sites or countries.
• Experience applying AI tools and automation within IT Operations is strongly preferred.
• Experience with IT risk management, audit and compliance would be advantageous.
• Knowledge of POPIA would be advantageous.
• Willingness to travel to offices and branches when required.
• Willingness to act as an escalation point outside business hours when required.
• Ability to work in a hybrid, primarily office-based role.

Skills That Will Help You Succeed

• Leadership and people management
• Stakeholder and vendor management
• Strategic and analytical thinking
• Decision-making
• Verbal and written communication
• Composure under pressure
• Commercial awareness

Ready to Lead IT Operations?

This role brings together technology, leadership, service delivery, vendor management and operational resilience. If you have a strong technical foundation and experience leading IT Operations across complex environments, this is an opportunity to take ownership of the technology services that support Mukuru's employees across multiple locations.