Director ,IT Applications

Job Purpose :

Director IT Applications leads and manages the IT Applications Team, responsible for systems support, development, and a large community of bank users. With a strong understanding of banking and financial services systems, applications, and supporting users, while adhering to ITIL Standards and ensuring customer-focused service. Overseeing application and software implementation, document and maintain bank-wide solutions aligned with organizational standards. Responsible for managing and developing a team of application/software development and support staff, to provide line management, development team leadership, and continuous capability development. Prioritizing and allocating work, to ensure applications and systems meet agreed SLAs and KPIs. Expertise includes application fixes, tuning, performance monitoring, troubleshooting, deployments, support, and documentation of standards and procedures. The role emphasizes outstanding customer service.

Key Roles & Responsibilities:

Strategic Responsibilities

• Formulate and implement departmental strategies and goals aligned with the Application Development unit’s direction. Report performance to the Head of IT.
• Develop and monitor departmental budgets based on planned expenditures. Report to the Head of IT on budget performance.
• Develop and maintain Application Development policies and procedures that comply with leading practices. Ensure consistency throughout EDB.
• Ensure IT systems and applications operate effectively, efficiently, and cohesively to achieve high operating standards.
• Adopt leading IT practices from the banking sector and other sectors.
• Monitor application quality and ensure adherence to quality standards and internal customer satisfaction.
• Enforce robust change management practices for applications and software solutions.
• Ensure the Applications team delivers a professional, customer-focused, and high-performing support service.
• Support team member professional development and performance management.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to ensure all objectives and commitments are met.
• Maintain and improve application and software support methods, standards, KPIs, and SLAs across all EDB IT-supported applications and software.
• Ensure quality management processes are followed, including robust, fully tested, high-quality support methods, procedures, and tools.
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with key stakeholders, including IT, business, relevant third parties and strategic suppliers.
• Manage IT application/system access requests, ensuring compliance with agreed SLAs, security policies, and procedures.

Operational Responsibilities

• End-to-end management of software solutions and applications used by EDB Business and the back office.
• Partner with business heads and stakeholders to achieve business objectives from software and applications. Act as a main advisor during the business case phase.
• Manage application teams throughout the acquisition, development, and deployment cycles: business case, acquisition, analysis, design, development, quality assurance, deployment, and post-live support.
• Align application development, acquisition, and enhancements with stakeholders based on business objectives and team capacity.
• Adopt various software acquisition/development approaches, such as Agile and SCRUM.
• Enforce digitization and automation across EDB applications.
• Review contracts related to applications, including licensing and vendor support agreements.
• Ensure vendor compliance with contracts to ensure products adhere to governing rules and regulations.
• Oversee the gathering of requirements, functional, and technical designs, development, testing, and implementation of in-house applications based on the Bank’s preferred platforms and leading practices.
• Lead technical teams, including business partners and subcontractors, during project execution.

Technical Skills :

• Application Support and Development
• Software Development Practices and Trends
• Project Management
• Software Development Lifecycle (Waterfall & Agile)
• Native Cloud Development
• Secure Coding
• Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) Pipelines
• Computer Operations
• User and Customer Relationship Management
• Data Analysis
• Banking Operations
• Banking Applications
• E-Banking Applications
• Programming
• Software Installation
• System Analysis, Design, Integration, Testing, and Troubleshooting
• Process improvements
• Collaboration
• Facilitation
• Formulation
• Consulting experience

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, Post-graduate in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent industry experience)
• Additional professional qualification eg:, ITIL, CISA, CISSP.