Senior Applications Functional Specialist

Essence Coaching Group; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 1 100 000; Full time

Job summary

A reputable organization in Pretoria is seeking a Senior Applications Functional Specialist to lead a team responsible for functional support and continuous improvement of business applications. The ideal candidate will have an Honours degree and 8-10 years of application support or business analysis experience. This role demands strong leadership skills, excellent problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to manage complex functional environments. The position offers an annual salary of ZAR 1,100,000 gross.

Qualifications

• 8-10 years of experience in application support or business analysis.
• Strong experience in functional and business analysis supporting applications.
• Ability to manage complex functional environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team providing functional support for business applications.
• Guide functional analysis initiatives and oversee projects.
• Manage client engagements to build strong relationships.
• Collaborate with business owners to define requirements.
• Support architects in developing business architecture.
• Manage change requirements and user acceptance testing.
• Provide expert input to project management and quality management.
• Apply industry best practices to improve processes.
• Identify and manage risks within functional streams.
• Develop training manuals and deliver sessions.
• Configure advanced business processes within systems.

Skills

Business and industry awareness

Quality assurance

Continuous improvement

Business transformation and optimisation

Elicitation techniques

Business analysis methodologies and tools

Testing and realisation practices

IT domain management

Education

Honours degree (NQF 8) in Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field

Job description

Senior Applications Functional Specialist

Location: Pretoria, Gauteng
Job Type: Full-Time, Onsite
Annual Salary: ZAR 1,100,000 gross

Overview

A leading organisation is seeking a Senior Applications Functional Specialist to drive and manage a team responsible for functional support, testing, analysis, configuration, and continuous improvement of business applications. This role involves leadership, client engagement, solution design, and end-to-end functional support.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a team providing functional support for business applications, including testing, analysis, configuration, and system setup.

• Guide functional analysis initiatives and oversee cross-functional projects, including multi-year programs.

• Manage client engagements, ensuring strong relationship building and continuous communication.

• Collaborate with business owners to define requirements, identify optimisation opportunities, and propose solutions.

• Support architects in developing business architecture, frameworks, and implementation roadmaps.

• Manage change requirements, specifications, and user acceptance testing.

• Provide expert input to project management, systems development, quality management, and change management teams.

  >

• Apply industry best practices to improve business processes and workflows.

• Identify and manage risks within assigned functional streams.

• Develop training manuals, training plans, and deliver training sessions for new initiatives.

• Configure advanced business processes within systems to enhance functionality and provide specialist support.

• Ensure quality assurance of all work produced by application functional specialists.

Requirements

• Honours degree (NQF 8) in Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.

• 8-10 years of experience in application support, business analysis, project environments, or software implementation.

• Strong experience in functional and business analysis and supporting application implementations.

• Knowledge and skills in:

  • Business and industry awareness

  • Quality assurance

  • Continuous improvement

  • Business transformation and optimisation

  • Elicitation techniques

  • Business analysis methodologies and tools

  • Testing and realisation practices

  • IT domain management

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Strong leadership capabilities

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills

• Confident communicator with stakeholder-management experience

• Ability to manage large, complex functional environments

• Highly organised, detail-oriented, and focused on quality