WFS Head IT Operations

Woolworths Financial Services; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Woolworths Financial Services seeks a Head of IT Operations in Cape Town. This role requires strategic leadership to manage the technology landscape supporting financial services. You'll align IT operations with business strategies, ensuring efficient and secure service delivery.

Qualified candidates should have over 10 years of technology leadership experience, with a background in financial services or retail. A Bachelor's degree in IT or related fields is mandatory.

Qualifications

• 10+ years relevant technology leadership experience.
• Minimum 5 years’ operating at senior management/leadership level.
• Proven experience leading enterprise-scale IT Operations functions.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and operational accountability for technology operations.
• Collaborate with Executive Leadership to align technology operations with WFS strategic objectives.
• Ensure effective monitoring and management of critical business services.

Skills

Leadership in technology operations

Cloud management

ITIL knowledge

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology

Postgraduate qualification in Business or Technology Management

Job description

Woolworths Financial Services | Full time

WFS Head IT Operations

Cape Town, South Africa | Posted on 07/07/2026

WoolworthsFinancial Services, or WFS as it is better known, is a JointVenture with Absa Bank, that supports the Woolworths retailbusiness by providing in-storecredit inthe formof the Woolworths StoreCard andoffering value-addedservices including credit cards, personal loans and short-terminsurance as well as life insurance linked to otherproducts.

Job Description

MAIN PURPOSE

To provide strategic leadership and operational accountability for the delivery, availability, resilience,security and continuous improvement of Woolworths Financial Services' technology operationslandscape. The role is responsible for ensuring that all production systems, infrastructure platforms, cloud services,networks, service management processes and operational support functions enable the successfulexecution of the WFS business strategy while meeting regulatory, risk, governance and customer servicerequirements.

The Head of IT Operations is accountable for maintaining a highly resilient and secure technologyenvironment that supports financial services products and services, drives operational excellence,protects customer and business data, and enables innovation through modern operational practices,automation and continuous improvement.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Grow Business Profitably

• Collaborate with Executive Leadership to align technology operations with WFS strategicobjectives and digital transformation priorities.
• Translate the IT Strategy into operational plans and ensure integrated execution acrossTechnology and Business teams.
• Drive operational efficiency initiatives that improve service quality, reduce costs and optimisetechnology investments.
• Identify opportunities to leverage emerging technologies, automation and operationalinnovation to improve customer and business outcomes.
• Establish operational goals and performance measures aligned to business objectives.
• Contribute to the development and execution of enterprise transformation initiatives.

2. Technology Operations & Service Delivery

• Maintain overall accountability for the availability, stability and performance of all productiontechnology services.
• Lead enterprise infrastructure operations across cloud, data centre, network, workplacetechnology and end-user computing environments.
• Ensure effective monitoring, observability and management of critical business services andtechnology platforms.
• Drive operational excellence through mature Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Capacity andAvailability Management practices.
• Establish and maintain Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Operational Level Agreements (OLAs) andoperational performance metrics.
• Lead Major Incident Management processes to minimise customer and business impact.
• Ensure operational readiness and supportability of all new systems, platforms and technologysolutions.
• Implement automation and continuous improvement initiatives to improve operational efficiencyand service reliability.
• Develop and maintain service management capabilities aligned to ITIL best practice.
• Partner with Security teams to strengthen cyber resilience and reduce operational risk.
• Maintain operational readiness for Disaster Recovery (DR), Business Continuity (BCP) andoperational resilience capabilities.
• Ensure regular testing and validation of recovery plans and resilience controls.
• Manage operational technology risks and ensure remediation of identified vulnerabilities.
• Ensure effective technology risk reporting to executive leadership, governance forums and auditors.

4. Cloud, Infrastructure & Platform Management

• Ensure effective management of hybrid cloud environments and strategic technology platforms.
• Oversee infrastructure lifecycle management, technology refresh programmes and capacityplanning activities.
• Drive cloud optimisation and FinOps practices to maximise value from technology investments.
• Ensure technology platforms support future business requirements and strategic transformationprogrammes.
• Establish relationships with technology suppliers, managed service providers and outsourcingpartners.
• Maintain accountability for supplier performance and service delivery outcomes.

6. Governance, Compliance & Audit

• Maintain accountability for delivering operational outcomes that meet WFS governance, riskand compliance standards.
• Ensure sustainable implementation of audit, risk and regulatory control requirements.
• Drive remediation of audit findings within agreed timelines.
• Establish operational governance structures that support effective decision-making andaccountability.
• Ensure operational compliance with internal policies, standards and control frameworks.
• Support regulatory reviews, audits and risk assessments.
• Lead and develop high-performing technology operations teams.
• Create an inclusive, customer-focused and performance-driven culture.
• Build leadership capability, succession pipelines and critical operational skills.
• Coach and develop managers and technical specialists.
• Foster collaboration across Technology, Risk, Finance and Business teams.
• Champion WFS values and role model desired leadership behaviours.
• Drive organisational change and adoption of new ways of working.
• Promote a culture of operational excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Leverage automation, AI-enabled operations, predictive monitoring and analytics to improveservice delivery.
• Drive adoption of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), DevOps and modern operational practiceswhere appropriate.
• Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies and regulatory developments relevant toFinancial Services.
• Identify opportunities to improve customer experience through technology operationsenhancements.

Requirements

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• 10+ years relevant technology leadership experience.
• Minimum 5 years’ operating at senior management / leadership level.
• Significant experience within Financial Services, Banking, Retail Financial Services or FinTech environments.
• Proven experience leading enterprise-scale IT Operations functions.
• Demonstrated experience managing cloud, infrastructure, service management and operationalsupport environments.
• Experience leading technology transformation, operational resilience and regulatory complianceinitiatives.
• Experience engaging executive leadership, governance committees, auditors and regulators.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering or related field.
• Postgraduate qualification in Business, Technology Management or Leadership is advantageous.
• Relevant certifications in Cloud, Governance or Technology Risk are advantageous

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Strong understanding of Financial Services technology platforms, operations and regulatoryenvironments.
• Deep expertise in IT Operations, Service Management and Infrastructure Management.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL, COBIT, Technology Risk and Governance frameworks.
• Knowledge of cloud technologies, modern infrastructure platforms and automation practices.
• Experience managing outsourced service providers.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and negotiation skills

Woolworths Financial Services is a proud South African brand, who iscommitted to transformation. Meeting our employment equity goals will be takeninto account in our recruitment decisions.