Senior Manager: Business & Technical Services

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

Sector: Logistics | Express | Supply Chain | Information Technology

Management Level: Senior Leadership

Role Context

This role sits at the core of business and IT integration, with responsibility for ensuring that technical services, infrastructure, and support functions operate seamlessly to support business continuity and performance.

The successful candidate will play a critical leadership role in aligning IT service delivery with business objectives, ensuring system reliability, and driving continuous improvement across service, infrastructure, and support environments.

Purpose of the Role

The Senior Manager: Business & Technical Services will be responsible for leading and managing the delivery of business-critical IT services, infrastructure, and support operations within a complex, high-performance environment.

The role focuses on:

• Ensuring high availability, performance, and reliability of IT systems and infrastructure
• Driving service excellence through effective IT service management and support structures
• Managing risk, compliance, and business continuity frameworks
• Leading technical teams and aligning service delivery with business needs

This position requires a technically strong, operationally focused leader who can manage both strategic direction and day-to-day service delivery while operating across multiple stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• IT Service Delivery & Support Operations
  • Ensure continuous improvement of customer satisfaction through effective IT service delivery and support strategies
  • Oversee Helpdesk and user support services, ensuring SLA targets are consistently met or exceeded
  • Monitor service desk performance, incident trends, and IT request volumes, leveraging data-driven insights to proactively identify systemic issues and drive continuous service improvement
  • Lead incident, problem, and root cause analysis to drive proactive issue resolution and service improvement
  • Ensure IT services enhance end-user productivity and overall business performance
  • Maintain accurate and up-to-date technical documentation and shared knowledge bases
• Infrastructure, Systems & Technical Operations
  • Oversee IT infrastructure including networks, servers, applications, and telephony systems to ensure maximum uptime
  • Lead system upgrades, patching, deployments, and installations with minimal business disruption
  • Ensure timely replacement and lifecycle management of end-of-life equipment
  • Oversee database maintenance, performance, and enhancements across business-critical platforms, including customs and regulatory systems
  • Ensure configuration management processes are executed accurately and consistently
  • Lead planning and execution of system, network, and application deployments aligned to business requirements
  • Ensure all technical projects and system implementations meet defined milestones, timelines, and business requirements
• Risk, Compliance & Business Continuity
  • Own and govern the country-level Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP), ensuring full organisational readiness, resilience, and tested recovery capability across all critical systems
  • Proactively assess and communicate technical risks and implement effective mitigation strategies
  • Ensure compliance with ISO standards, internal policies, and infrastructure governance frameworks
  • Ensure alignment with data protection regulations (e.g. POPIA, GDPR equivalents) in partnership with the Data Protection Officer (DPO)
  • Lead structured change management processes to minimise risk and prevent unplanned downtime
  • Ensure all changes follow structured governance processes, including impact assessment, risk evaluation, defined acceptance criteria, and controlled testing and implementation
  • Support the Data Protection Officer (DPO) in ensuring compliance with data protection regulations and proactively communicate technical risks impacting data security and privacy
• Stakeholder Engagement & Business Alignment
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure alignment between business and IT
  • Influence stakeholder buy-in and commitment to initiatives through effective engagement
  • Ensure business requirements are clearly defined and translated into effective technical solutions
  • Align local performance with regional and global standards, reporting frameworks, and service expectations
• Leadership & People Management
  • Lead, develop, and manage high-performing technical and support teams
  • Ensure appropriate staffing levels aligned to operational and project requirements
  • Drive a culture of accountability, service excellence, and continuous improvement
  • Recruit, coach, and develop talent to maximise team performance and capability
  • Provide strategic leadership to define, implement, and enforce SOPs, SLAs, and performance frameworks across IT service delivery
• Operational Governance & Financial Management
  • Oversee IT operations to ensure timely and effective response to business and user needs
  • Monitor and optimise IT costs, infrastructure utilisation, and vendor performance
  • Manage procurement processes and vendor payments to ensure service continuity and cost control
  • Ensure alignment with global performance measures and governance standards

Minimum Requirements

• Education
  • Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Management, or a related field

• Experience
  • Minimum 8+ years’ experience in IT service management, technical operations, or business systems support
  • Minimum 6 years’ experience in a senior leadership or management role
  • Strong experience in IT service delivery frameworks and infrastructure management
  • Proven experience managing SLAs, OLAs, and service performance environments
  • Solid understanding of incident, problem, and root cause analysis processes
  • Experience in risk management, business continuity, and disaster recovery planning

• Certifications
  • ITIL
  • PMP or equivalent project management certification
  • COBIT
  • ISO-related certifications

Advantageous Experience

• Experience operating within large-scale, multinational or high-availability environments
• Exposure to data protection and compliance frameworks (e.g. POPIA, GDPR)
• Experience supporting customs-related or regulatory systems
• Experience in complex, service-driven operational environments

Key Competencies

• IT Service Management & Operational Excellence
• Infrastructure & Technical Leadership
• Risk Management & Business Continuity
• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence
• Analytical Thinking & Problem Solving
• Change & Incident Management
• Performance Management & Continuous Improvement
• Team Leadership & Capability Development

Employment Equity

All suitably qualified candidates will be given fair consideration.

Remuneration

• A competitive total target compensation package is offered, aligned with the seniority and scale of the role.