Head of IT

Role Overview: 

Have you ever thought of joining a hyper growth startup that’s redefining its industry? Look no further! We are one of the fastest growing companies in our sector, using innovative technology and solving the hardest problems to bring African sports fans an unrivalled digital sports entertainment experience, online, offline, 24/7.

As our Head of IT, you will lead and manage the IT strategy, infrastructure, and security for the organization, including the Service Operations Department. The Head of IT ensures optimal technology operations and maintains a strong security posture, overseeing IT operations, cybersecurity, and vendor management while safeguarding data integrity, availability, and confidentiality and ensuring compliance with industry standards.

What You Will Be Doing:  

• IT Strategy Development: Align IT strategy with organizational objectives to support business growth.
• Department Leadership: Manage system administration, network management, user support, and IT operations for optimal service delivery.
• System Oversight: Design, implement, and manage IT systems for scalability and performance.
• Digital Transformation: Drive initiatives using emerging technologies to enhance processes and efficiency.
• Budget Management: Oversee IT budget for cost-effective technology investments.
• Security Strategy: Develop and manage information security strategies to protect against cyber threats.
• Policy Establishment: Create security policies and protocols to safeguard IT systems and data.
• Risk Management: Identify, assess, and mitigate information security risks through regular assessments.
• Incident Response: Monitor systems and respond to security breaches or threats.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements (e.g., NDPR, PCI-DSS).
• Audit Conduct: Perform IT and security audits, reporting on risks and remediation efforts.
• Data Protection: Implement encryption and access controls for sensitive information.
• Team Development: Mentor IT, security, and service operations teams, promoting innovation and excellence.
• Staff Management: Oversee recruitment, training, and performance management of IT staff.
• Training: Provide regular information security awareness training for staff.
• Audit Preparation: Manage responses to external audit findings and corrective actions.
• Governance Frameworks: Manage IT governance frameworks (COBIT, NIST, ITIL) for efficient operations.
• Vendor Management: Develop risk management policies for third-party vendors, ensuring compliance.
• Service-Level Agreements: Manage SLAs with vendors to meet performance and security standards.
• Business Continuity: Collaborate with vendors on continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Incident Management: Lead the incident management process for IT service disruptions. 

What You Need for This Role:  

Qualifications and Experience:

• 10+ years in IT management, focusing on cybersecurity and information security.
• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Strong background in IT infrastructure, cloud services, network management, and cybersecurity.
• Proven experience leading IT and security teams in large environments.
• Familiarity with third-party risk management and vendor governance.
• Expertise in security frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST) and regulatory compliance (GDPR, PCI-DSS).
• Experience in disaster recovery planning and business continuity.
• Relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, CISA, CEH) preferred; Prince2 Practitioner Certification is desirable.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Ability to execute IT strategies aligned with business goals.
• Cybersecurity Expertise: In-depth knowledge of risk management and incident response.
• Vendor Management: Experience in managing third-party relationships and ensuring compliance.
• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical skills for identifying risks and resolving IT issues.
• Regulatory Compliance: Familiarity with industry regulations and best practices.
• Communication Skills: Ability to convey complex technical concepts clearly.
• Project Management: Experience in leading cross-functional projects.
• Collaboration: Work effectively with departments like legal and finance to align policies.
• Innovative: Seek opportunities to leverage technology for business value.
• Proactive: Identify risks early to maintain system security.
• Detail-Oriented: Careful management of security protocols and processes.
• Results-Oriented: Focus on delivering secure IT services that meet business objectives.
• Collaborative: Strong team player who effectively leads cross-functional teams.

How you do it – Expectations for fulfilling your role:  

As a general rule at KingMakers we want people to be: 

• Customer Focus: We keep the customer at the center of everything we do.  
• Passion & Dedication: We are passionate about what we do, employing only smart, honest, dedicated, and results oriented team players.  
• Openness, Honesty & Directness: We embrace a culture of candor and work together towards the right solution whilst being open, honest, and willing to give and receive feedback, judgment-free. We play the ball, not the person.  
• Innovation & Big Thinking: We always look for ways to innovate whilst not losing sight of what's important. The bigger we think, the more we inspire, the better the outcome.   
• Ownership & Accountability: We think like owners. If we see a problem, we find a solution. We are pragmatic and always strive to do more with less. 
• Speed & Focus: We plan, we strategize, but mostly, we DO. Without doing, there is no progress, we can always change direction but only if we start moving. Fast beats slow.  
• Low Ego: The best solutions are achieved when we leave our egos at the door. We always seek opportunities to learn in every situation. No job too small.  
• Fun: On balance, we believe in having fun whilst working. We maintain perspective as best as we can, and together, we celebrate our successes.