An agricultural bank is hiring a Head of Information Technology Infrastructure

Location: CenturionJob summary:The xxxxxx is South Africa’s only specialist agricultural bank established in 1912, the bank’s sole objective is to serve South African commercial and emerging farmers and bring specially designed financial services within their reach. These services enable farmers to finance land, equipment, improve assets and obtain production credit. xxxxxx provides financial services that have moved with the times and continues to provide services to agri-business and constantly reviews its offerings to ensure that they match the needs of an industry. As change has swept across the sector in South Africa the socio-economic makeup of agriculture has altered, bringing new entrants from historically disadvantaged backgrounds on to the land, these new farmers, facing the challenges of establishing sustainable agri-businesses across the agricultural value chain, xxxxx has been a commercial lifeline offering appropriately designed financial products that facilitate personal and commercial viability in a sector that is vital to the sustainability of South Africa and its people.Main purpose of the role:To oversee, integrate, and optimise the Bank’s IT infrastructure, support, and service delivery functions. This includes ensuring stable and secure infrastructure systems, reliable first- and second-line support, efficient IT service management, and proactive disaster recovery. The role manages vendor relationships, asset and access management, and ensures that IT support services meet agreed business service levels while driving customer satisfaction, cost efficiency, compliance, and innovation. The role will also be required to manage DR environment as well as form a critical part of the Cloud implementation and management. Key performance areas:Infrastructure & Service Delivery Strategy:Develop, implement, and monitor the integrated IT infrastructure and service delivery strategy.Plan capacity, scalability, and availability to meet current and future business requirements.Align infrastructure and service delivery planning with the corporate strategy.IT Support & Service Delivery Management:Oversee 1st and 2nd line support across applications, infrastructure, data, telephony, networks, and security.Manage helpdesk operations, query resolution, and escalation protocols.Monitor and report on SLA compliance for end-user support.Infrastructure Management:Oversee data centre operations including server rooms, UPS, fire systems, cooling, and housekeeping.Ensure an optimal design and implementation of network and cloud infrastructureEnsure high network uptime and adequate bandwidth for operations.Vendor & Contract Management:Build and maintain relationships with IT vendors and service providers.Review, negotiate, and renew hardware, software, and licensing contracts in a timely manner.Ensure accurate software asset managementDisaster Recovery Planning Management:Develop, implement, and maintain disaster recovery and IT related business continuity plans.Conduct annual disaster recovery testing and update plans accordinglyCollaborate with IT leadership to strengthen cybersecurity practices and controls.People Management:Participate in the selection and appointment of new team members.Conduct regular meetings and promote open and ongoing communication with the team.Ensure departmental performance management and capacity planningBudget & Financial Management:Governance, budgeting, and management of change delivery in the IT Infrastructure, including the oversight of incremental changes and major change and upgrade programmes.Analyse the business plan to determine the financial requirements within area of responsibility.Manage budget in accordance with policies, procedures and legal requirementsEducation and experience required:Minimum Qualifications: • Bachelor’s DegreeMinimum Expereince10 years experience in Infratsructure management and at least 5 years in infrastructure senior management8 - 10 Years in the below: Management of IT infrastructure support, operations, and service deliveryHands-on experience in desktop, application, and network support (LAN/WAN/SAN)Database administration & Data Centre operationsService Desk management and end-user supportDisaster recovery planning and executionVendor and contract managementExposure to ERP environmentsCritical competencies:Infrastructure & Service Delivery Strategy DevelopmentStorage, Network & Cloud ManagementService Desk Management & IT Support ToolsBudget and Financial ManagementDisaster Recovery Planning Management and Cyber SecurityPeople Management