Associate Infrastructure Owner

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Job Summary

The jobholder will ensure effective planning, provisioning and maintaining of end to end technology infrastructure services and solutions within Absa Bank (Mauritius) limited, including but not limited to network connectivity services, voice and contact centre services as well as data centre services.
The individual will also be required to participate and contribute to business projects and initiatives of the Digital Transformation and Technology function in line with the strategy of the bank.

Job Description

Accountability:   Design, maintain and Manage the technology Infrastructure of the bank

• Ensure fit for purpose IT Infrastructure solutions & network design for the bank, provisioned and capacitated to meet business requirements of the bank, in line with industry best practices and group standards with a special focus on security and resilience.
• Manage the Voice infrastructure and solutions of the bank and ensure availability of services to the 24/7 Contact centre.
• Manage the data centre environment of the bank, in line with industry best practices and group standards, ensuring the data centre operation guidelines are adhered to.
• Ensure the highest level of system availability and performance is achieved through regular and proactive monitoring of all network & voice services for early identification of faults and minimal impact for the business.
• Actively manage relationship with the services providers ensuring appropriate services are provided to the bank, vendor performance is measured against targets and service level agreements are met.
• Handle all aspects of incident management, from identification of faults through to resolution, supplier liaison and providing regular progress updates to technology and business stakeholders.
• Ensure effective scheduling of technology changes in line with Absa’s change management standard and with minimal customer impact
• Ensure system administration, performance tuning and capacity planning: continuously assessing the services to ensure it is appropriate for current and planned developments and making recommendations for change
• Ensure that comprehensive documentation of all services supported including resilience capabilities are available and maintained up to date
• Keep in close touch with new technologies and solutions in the various infrastructure areas under his responsibility and provide technical guidance to technology leadership on services appropriate for the bank, outlining business benefits to be derived from investments in IT infrastructure
• Ensure cost efficiency of the services availed of by ABML through continuous discussions with suppliers

Deliver Projects and Initiatives

• Drive and deliver projects and initiatives of the Digital Transformation and technology function, aligned to the strategy of the bank
• Understand and analyse business requirements and opportunities, scout for and assess solutions and technologies that would be appropriate and make recommendation for implementation
• Ensure the different stages of the project delivery process are followed, including ideation, design, approvals, implementation, testing and go live, in line with Absa’s policies and standards
• Own and be accountable for delivery of identified solutions, communicating progress to stakeholders on a regular basis

Improve Customer Experience

• Always have a “Customer” first attitude and ensure all customer queries / calls are attended to on priority.
• Act on customer feedback and internal stakeholders’ feedback to constantly improve the product proposition. 
• Participate in internal brain-storming sessions for development of new products and services or amendment to existing services
• Regular internal follow-ups for open customer issues and ensure that customer’s TAT is not impacted by providing alternative or workaround solutions to get the work done.
• Facilitate a customer obsession culture within and across teams for the long term success of the brand and continuous business growth
• Provide insights, key learning’s and digital behavioural trends to relevant stakeholders on digital and technology projects

Risk Management

• Collaborate with Technology Risk and Compliance team, ensuring appropriate controls are in place in the areas under his responsibility
• Contribute and deliver to the improvement of the risk profile by delivering improved governance, risk management, controls and compliance requirements.

• Ensure all issues identified within the ABML infrastructure (network, voice infrastructure and Data centre environment) are logged and remediation plans are put in place to address the risks identified

Mandatory Risk and Control objective Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Absa Policies and Standards. Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the role.People Management

• Build strong and productive working relationships with colleagues, technology teams and stakeholders to understand the requirements and expectations and deliver excellent business results through a shared purpose
• Develop a deep sense of ownership and drive a high-performance culture that ensures individual and team accountability across levels
• Responsible for driving own Performance Development, discussing and agreeing challenging KPIs with line manager and ensuring regular check ins throughout the year
• By utilizing skills matrix, identify training and development requirements, formulating own plan to be agreed with team leader. 
• Responsible for ensuring own plan is completed within agreed timescales. 
• Undertake all necessary training in order to perform the role to the required standards, including gaining accreditation where appropriate
• Undertake all necessary trainings in order to align to the strategic direction of ABML and Absa group and ensure effective IT support in line with new technologies

Role/Person SpecificationPreferred Education:

• Degree in computer science or in any Information Technology related fields

Preferred Experience:

• At least 3 years in IT Infrastructure, Networks and operations role
• Experience of banking / financial services preferred
• Familiarity with ITIL-style management procedures
• Familiarity with agile project management styles a distinct advantage

Knowledge & Skills:

• Good knowledge of LAN/WAN & SD-WAN architectures, Network Security & VoIP
• Good knowledge of server architecture (Windows & Linux)
• Sound knowledge of Network management & monitoring tools and reporting
• Understanding of Contact Centre/IVR and Cloud solutions
• Sound understanding of Datacentre operations and management
• Financial management – budget preparation and managing to budget

Technical Competencies:

• Cisco Network & Security certifications
• Working experience with Fortigate and Arista solutions
• Good understanding of ITIL processes and associated concepts
• Familiarity with Virtual Platforms (VMWare, Nutanix)
• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner preferred

Behavioural Competencies:

• Strong customer liaison and relationship management skills
• Excellent communication and presentation experience
• Must be able to work under pressure, take clear ownership of issues and projects and drive to ensure a successful closure

Education

Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC): Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences (Required)