Technology Operational Readiness Manager

Absa Group; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 300,000 - 400,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading finance and banking institution in Johannesburg seeks a candidate to support technology operational readiness plans. You will work across teams to ensure successful technology updates with minimal disruption while managing risks and enhancing continuous improvement within operational frameworks. A Bachelor's degree in Information Technology is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology required.
• Strong understanding of operational readiness processes.
• Experience in communication across various teams.

Responsibilities

• Support technology operational readiness plans implementation.
• Coordinate operational readiness inputs from stakeholders.
• Monitor BU-specific change and release performance.

Skills

Expertise in technology architecture

Operational readiness planning

Risk management

Excellent communication skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology

Job description

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and a strong position as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future, and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

Support the development and implementation of technology operational readiness plans by working across tribes and embedded within squads to enable successful deployment of technology updates and changes in our production environments with minimal to no disruption or impact to service provision to customers.

Job Description

• Build expertise in bank-wide architecture and technology stacks (products & services) to enable effective operational readiness planning and execution.
• Provide operational readiness support and advisory to Service Delivery & Technology Product & Service tribes and squads.
• Coordinate and consolidate operational readiness inputs (e.g., technology roadmaps) from stakeholders including service delivery and technology teams at BU level for change and release planning.
• Facilitate BU level operational readiness, change, and release planning processes.
• Develop BU-specific detailed change and release documentation and communicate across the change and release lifecycle, including scope, risks, prioritization, schedules, resource requirements, roles, responsibilities, integration points, quality assurance, and monitoring.
• Participate in integration processes at a portfolio level to align operational readiness, change, and release plans.
• Identify operational readiness risks and opportunities, translating these into BU-wide service delivery and technology team plans.
• Prepare change controls and change approval process documentation; participate in change governance forums.
• Coordinate operational readiness reviews, document outcomes, and gather insights.
• Leverage insights from reviews and past events to identify risks and suggest mitigation solutions at the portfolio level.
• Ensure operational readiness plans align with Group Architecture, Infrastructure, Security, DR, and regulatory standards, identifying risks and opportunities.
• Document and manage detailed project, program, and orchestration plans for changes and releases at BU level, including milestones, schedules, dependencies, testing, QA, and approval criteria.
• Develop and distribute change and release communications, aligning with portfolio communication plans.
• Oversee the successful implementation of BU changes and releases.
• Monitor BU-specific change and release performance and metrics post-production, implementing mitigating actions as needed.
• Monitor incidents, identify risks, and coordinate resolution during change and release processes.
• Prepare BU change and release reports pre, during, and post-implementation.
• Stay informed on operational readiness, change, release, and incident management best practices.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of operational readiness frameworks and tools.
• Support digitization, automation, and orchestration of operational readiness services.

Accountability: Finance, Risk & Governance

• Participate in risk and governance processes, including audits.
• Support remediation of non-compliant activities to ensure timely, quality, and standards-compliant outcomes.
• Align all BU operational readiness plans with Group and regulatory standards.
• Prepare management information, knowledge, and document management processes aligned with standards.
• Deliver accurate and actionable MI and performance reports to support strategic decisions.

Accountability: People

• Coach and mentor Scrum Leads, Service Delivery, and Technical teams on frameworks, tools, and processes.
• Contribute positively as a member of agile teams, participating in routines and providing honest feedback.
• Conduct peer reviews, testing, and problem-solving within and across teams.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity employer. Preference will be given to candidates from designated groups to promote workforce diversity. The bank reserves the right not to fill the position.