Job Description

Senior Manager: Digital Transformation is accountable to the Chief Knowledge and Digital Officer (CKDO) of the Coega Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd.



MANDATE

The CKDO chairs a digital delivery board or that meets every three to six months. (Note: This depends on the perceived speed of change that the board has identified.) Participants of the board will be derived from the ICT Steering Committee.


The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation participates in the following governance domains: business strategy and planning, enterprise architecture, IT strategy and planning, and marketing strategy and planning.



DESCRIPTION

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Works with, the CEO, CKDO, and EXMA to create a digital vision for the organisation, and to identify the opportunities for differentiating digital capabilities and solutions. Leads the process to identify and evaluate internal digital asset capabilities and strengths. Assesses external digital opportunities and threats as key inputs to making the best decisions on business strategy, given digital realities. Leads the development of the digital business strategy and roadmap and ensures its integration with the organisation strategic planning process, and the resulting business strategy and plans. Provides a single point of coordination and executive oversight for all digital initiatives and transformation projects. Ensures that the organisation is developing the digital assets and capabilities that will be needed to survive and thrive in the midterm and long term. Acts as a champion and change agent in leading the organisational changes required to create and sustain organisation digital capabilities. Defines and reports on digital business KPIs and metrics that represent progress against digital goals. Acts as a thought leader on emerging digital business models and technologies, articulating the digital future and the organisation's role in it internally and externally. Builds and maintains external relationships in academia, as well as with industry bodies, vendors, and technology analysts to learn and influence. Manages a team of analysts, researchers, technologists, and champions in executing the organisation's digital business mission. Incubates new organisation capabilities. Partners with the CKDO and ICT organisation to develop and exploit new digital business solutions to create a competitive edge for the organisation. May also own and lead development teams and projects directly. Partners with the HR function to build digital talent in the organisation.

REPORTING LINE AND TEAM STRUCTURE

Reporting to the CKDO, the Senior Manager: Digital Transformation is a member of OPSMA or such like structures. As with all senior business leaders, from time to time, the Senior Manager: Digital Transformation is required to represent the company as a whole and must have broad knowledge of all aspects of the business. The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation often also has broad organisational authority to drive cross-organisational collaboration and integration as needed.


The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation will typically work with a catalyst team of analysts, researchers, technologists, and champions. Some small teams might incubate larger future capabilities, but the intent is to transfer those to the relevant line organisations in the enterprise, not to build a "ICT empire."


The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation role also includes an execution component, it may also be combined with the CKDO, digital business unit leader, digital marketing officer and/ or CEO. Eventually, new capabilities incubated directly by the Senior Manager : Digital Transformation are likely to transfer or migrate to these other roles, so healthy relationships must be maintained.

GOVERNANCE AND KEY RELATIONSHIPS

The CKDO chairs a digital delivery board or that meets every three to six months. (Note: This depends on the perceived speed of change that the board has identified.) Participants of the board will be derived from the ICT Steering Committee.


The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation participates in the following governance domains: business strategy and planning, enterprise architecture, IT strategy and planning, and marketing strategy and planning.


The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation needs to influence and build strategic relationships with the following key stakeholders:

The CEO and executives --

The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation must deeply engage with these stakeholders in a two-way dialogue to understand the highest-level goals of the organisation as input to the digital strategy, and to ensure all of these stakeholders understand the key digital issues for internal planning and external communication.

The CKDO and senior IT leadership team --

Most, if not all, digital initiatives will be implemented or integrated into the internal IT assets and capabilities, or cloud-based services, with deep implications for IT. Senior Manager: Digital Transformation needs to build a strong partnership with the IT organisation to execute the digital strategy.

The digital marketing officer --

Given that a lot of digital business initiatives are customer-experience-centric, the Senior Manager: Digital Transformation will work with the digital marketing officer (owner of the customer interface) to ensure that the digital front-office assets, capabilities, and campaigns are integrated with the digital back office and digital head office, and also with a long-term, digital business strategy.

Head of HR --

Part of the digital business strategy will be to plan for, source and develop digital talent. An external digital business focus has to be married with an internal digital workplace focus. The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation needs to partner with HR to create that digital workplace. This involves strategic workforce planning, and to develop a strategy to close gaps in digital skills and competencies and internal tools and technologies that are key to the execution of the digital business strategy.

Business unit executives --

The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation solicits input and gains an understanding of the digital business issues and opportunities from each business unit, integrating them into the development of the organisation digital business strategy.

The external digital community --

The Senior Manager: Digital Transformation needs to establish And maintain strategic partnerships with academia, informationally intensive/advanced industries, online communities, and technology vendors to advance the organisation's digital capabilities.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education

+ A Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science/ Information Systems or related field, or equivalent work experience.
+ An MBA will be desirable.

Experience

+ 10 or more years of business experience, ideally in business management, IT management or marketing, ideally with some independent P&L responsibilities
+ Five or more years of progressive leadership experience in leading cross-functional teams and enterprise-wide programmes, operating and influencing effectively across the organisation and within complex contexts
+ Preferably five or more years of experience in information-intensive industries or digitally advanced enterprises
+ Experience in innovating business models and developing new channels, business models or business transformation
+ Strategy and management consulting experience desirable

Knowledge/Skills

+ Deep understanding of the evolving digital world on both the demand side (how people/companies are using technology) and the supply side (emerging technologies)
+ Extensive knowledge of digital marketing, analytics, supply chain management, Finance, HR, Operations and Customer and Service Provider Management.
+ Strong business acumen
+ Excellent analytical, strategic conceptual thinking and consulting skills
+ Strong influence and negotiation skills
+ Ability to effectively drive people, process, and technology change in a dynamic and complex operating environment
+ Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to explain digital concepts and technologies to business leaders, as well as business concepts to technologists

Key Behaviors/Competencies

Table 1 features the competencies that are important to the success of the Senior Manager: Digital Transformation role in your unique environment.

This is a senior-executive-level position. The jobholder is typically expected to demonstrate all of the required competencies at a proficiency level of advanced or expert. Table 1 provides the behavioral descriptors at the expert level.

Table 1. Competency Definitions and Required Proficiency Levels -- Expert

Competency

Definition

Required Proficiency Level -- Expert

Building relationships

Builds formal and informal professional networks. Maintains and extends networks within, across and external to organisational boundaries. Obtains and shares information, ideas, and problems. Solicits advice, support, championship, sponsorship, and commitment that result in a smooth transition of change, as well as the development of mutually acceptable solutions. Develops digital ecosystem partner relationships within the company's industry and emerging adjacent industries. Maintains and forms alliances with recognized experts and decision makers. Partners with a wide circle of contacts, often globally, and involves them in generating mutually beneficial, long-term opportunities and negotiating win-win outcomes. Represents the company on strategic issues that are affecting multiple organisations, the community, and the professional field. Draws on a wide base of relationships inside and outside the work environment. Would ideally have an individual brand presence in the industry.

Business enterprise knowledge

Solicits information on the enterprise's direction and goals, as well as the industry's competitive environment, to determine how the Senior Manager : Digital Transformation function can add value to the organisation and customer satisfaction. Makes decisions and recommendations that are clearly linked to the organisation's strategy and financial goals, reflecting an awareness of external dynamics. Demonstrates awareness by providing clear explanations for actions taken, relative to customer requirements, needs and industry trends. Sponsors enterprise-wide initiatives. Defines strategic imperatives in terms of the links between increased value, organisation needs and technological solutions. Procures support and funding from the leading stakeholders in the organisation. Explains complex relationships and technological solutions in terms that meet the needs of the affected parties.

Change advocate and leader

Identifies and acts on opportunity breakthroughs and continuous improvement. Guides the organisation leadership to take an "outside-in" view of the digital possibilities for the future of its industry. Encourages different styles of prudent risk taking, and exploration of alternative approaches and organisational learning. Demonstrates personal commitment to change through actions and words. Mobilizes others to support change through times of stress and uncertainty. Reviews, sponsors, and approves recommendations for enterprise-wide change programmes that impact cross-functional key processes. Partners with other business leaders to identify opportunities for significant technology/process enhancements. Lobbies for changes that impact the strategic business direction. Approves strategic monitoring criteria, and reviews high-impact organisation performance trends. Evaluates progress against key performance drivers and assesses organisational opportunities and risks. Solicits the support of business leaders in planning and spearheading organisation change initiatives.

Influencing others

Communicates ideas or positions in a persuasive manner that builds support, agreement, or commitment. Takes actions that directly or indirectly influence others to create buy-in, gain trust and motivate actions in others or win concessions without damaging relationships. Thinks through and executes a variety of useful planned actions or initiatives (with both direct and indirect influence) as part of a sequenced, multistep, complex campaign for gaining support and ownership from others. Deliberately uses information or concepts to implement and influence strategy for multiple audiences, in high-risk situations or in situations involving different perspectives to reach a common goal or have a positive impact on the organisation.

Innovation

Improves organisational performance through the application of original thinking to existing and emerging methods, processes, products, and services. Employs sound judgment in determining how innovations will be deployed to produce ROI. Devises unusual or radically different approaches to deliver value-added solutions. Analyses previously used concepts, processes, or trends, and devises new efficiencies that are not obvious to others. Directs creativity toward the effective implementation of technology-related solutions. Employs sound judgment when selecting from a variety of creative ideas for implementation.

Results orientation

Sets and accomplishes challenging goals. Defines standards in terms of doing what is appropriate and doing it well. Competes resourcefully and takes calculated risks to achieve results. Continually measures the organisation's performance against the best-in-class peer group and sets a vision and plan to exceed those benchmarks. Takes measured risks in investing organisation resources in significant initiatives that transform organisational processes and/or practices to comply with world-class standards of practice.

Strategic thinking

Examines issues and creates plans with a long-term perspective. Generates ideas, and critically evaluates future scenarios. Applies external and internal factors to strategy development. Considers long-term strategic impact when making decisions or setting direction. Ensures that short-term goals support long-term strategy. Takes a holistic system perspective. Envisions, compares, and contrasts multiple, potential, long-range, enterprise-wide futures. Empathizes with multiple points of view. Challenges planning assumptions. Develops, research and tests hypotheses. Facilitates the creation and exploration of scenarios. Identifies trends and inconsistencies. Applies creativity and critical analysis in designing and creating organisational commitment for new objectives. Approves, sponsors, and spearheads the implementation of strategic initiatives, securing the support of senior management.

Assist in driving the Smart-SEZ Concept; Liaise with various Stakeholders and internal and external customers to ensure the by-in and utilisation of these systems; Business Analysis and System Analysis, to ensure a proper fit between IT solutions and Business Requirements; Development of Business Cases for IT Systems; Understanding of Mapping Business Process Flows as an enabler for IT Systems design; Interface with various business stakeholders to ensure that IT Systems requirements are adequately captured; Management of various IT Systems Service Providers; Project Management of IT Systems Implementation in terms of Quality, Time, and Cost; Management of the Development and Implementation Lifecycle for IT Systems; Development and Maintenance of Systems Configuration documentation; Management of a team of IT professionals consisting of Functional Analysts, Software Technical Experts, Hardware Technical Experts, Data and Database Experts, Software Development Specialists; Business Process Analysts; Business Analysts; Information Systems Managers and Administrative staff; Manage Innovation; Manage Customer Satisfaction; Ensure continuous Change Management of all Systems implemented; and Manage external Consulting assignments/ projects;

Furthermore, the incumbent is to ensure that:


They need to be aware of and have access to the CDC's SHEMS; They need to be aware of their responsibilities and duties as laid out in the CDC's SHEMS; Ensure work is performed in a safe and environmentally friendly manner;

The incumbent has the authority to:


Immediately stop any person(s) on CDC property from committing an unsafe or destructive act or omission; Take whatever immediate steps they deem necessary to prevent injury or environmental damage when confronted with an unsafe or destructive condition.

Closing date: 04 March 2025

CDC is an employment equity employer and placement will be in accordance with our Employment Equity Plan.

The appointment of candidates is subject to the verification of all their credentials (employment history, educational, financial, criminal and any other checks as may be necessary). Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and if you have not heard from us within one month of submitting your application, please consider it unsuccessful.

CDC reserves the right not to make an appointment to any advertised position. No late applications will be considered.

All applications must be forwarded to

recruitment@coega.co.za

LOCATION: Gqeberha - Head Office


EMPLOYMENT TYPE: PERMANENT


GRADE: D3