Chief Manager – Technology Architecture & Design at Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)

Job Summary

The job is meant to oversee the development and Management of KRA’s Enterprise architecture and support the transition of KRAs Core Business Capabilities to the desired present and future capabilities in order for KRA to realize its mandate. Also responsible for Solutions Design and technology innovation. Ensures alignment of Business with Technology and is responsible for defining and driving the execution of Technology Strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Managerial / Supervisory Responsibilities

• Team Management (Fit for future capacity building & training, Performance Management)
• Technology Strategy Development and Execution Management.
• Identification of key business capability gaps and alignment of business capabilities for agility.
• Define & align KRA’s long term Enterprise Architecture transformation Strategy to support business strategy.
• Oversee building of business plans/cases, strategic direction, and standards for procedures and policies as they relate to KRA’s Systems architecture.
• Align the current and future architecture Standards to industry standards and frameworks while keeping alignment to KRA’s enterprise architecture guidelines.
• Establish Enterprise Architecture principles and governance processes to support agility.
• Ensure Simplification, agility/adaptability and cost effectiveness of the End to End IT Enterprise and Data Architecture (Applications, Infrastructure and related Enterprise Architecture principles, frameworks & governance) including maintaining updated AS-IS and TO-BE reference architectures and transition plans for various technology domains.
• Creation of technology plans that optimize KRA business and technology capabilities and implementation of digital strategies. Analyzing and monitoring the technology portfolio against strategic goals, identifying innovation gaps and prioritizing investments in new technologies that have impact to revenue, customer experience or operational efficiency.
• Solutions Architecting & Design to ensure solutions are built and integrated right.
• Virtually lead delivery of all Technology Modernization/Digitization and Innovation Programs.
• Optimization of vendor contracts to reduce CAPEX, OPEX and Time to market.
• Identification of industry business and technology trends and evolutions and relating them with the internal business and technology landscape to help the business identify, assess and respond to emerging opportunities and risks, including influencing/shaping the KRA ecosystem.
• Lead experimentation of new technologies, coordinate and support innovations implementation.
• Lead cross-functional teams on technology solutions and services selection and sourcing, while optimizing the technology sourcing process.
• Align technology investments to strategic goals and ensure benefits realization from technology investments.
• Planning and support of Architecting and innovation Tools.
• Budgeting for the section and for Technology Transformation initiatives.
• End to End technology status reporting.
• Attract, recruit and develop the best talent for the section.
• Team Engagement though constant feedback, communication and performance discussions.

Operational Responsibilities / Tasks

• Day-to-day operations of the section
• Sharing, with Management and Project Teams, best practices and lessons learned in technology implementations.
• Collaborating with all relevant parties in order to review the objectives and constraints of each solution and determining conformance with the Enterprise Architecture. 
• Identifying key Project implementation risks and analyzing potential impacts on the enterprise and on achievement of anticipated objectives.
• Participation in IT based Change Management activities.

Job Dimensions:

Financial Responsibility

Budgeting and forecasting;

• Prepare CAPEX & OPEX forecasts and budgets for technology transformation initiatives to meet business requirements.
• Continuously implement measures to optimize the end-to-end technology CAPEX and OPEX.
• Budgeting and financial management for the section.
• Monitor and control OPEX expenditure for the section as required meeting corporate objectives.

Responsibility for Physical Assets

• Responsible for working tools and team enablers for the section.

Decision-Making / Job Influence

• Responsible for making Strategic, Managerial and Operational decisions.

Working Conditions

• Work performed predominantly in an office setting.

Job Competencies (Knowledge, Experience and Attributes / Skills).

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in business, IT, Computing or related technology field from a recognized university.
• Master’s degree in business, ICT or a Project-related field from a recognized University is an added advantage. 

Professional Qualifications / Membership to professional bodies

The following qualifications, trainings and professional memberships will be an added advantage: -

• TOGAF, FrameworX or other architecture framework training.
• ITIL, PRINCE 2, PMP and Agile delivery methodologies.
• Software Quality Assurance
• Trainings/Certifications around Software Development and Database technologies, IT Security, Network, Cloud & Networking and Data Centre Design/Management.

Relevant Work Experience

• A minimum of 7 years’ working experience in technology design, development and delivery (solutions architecture & design, analysis, development, quality assurance & project management environment) roles within a busy ICT environment.
• At least 3 years work experience at the management level

Functional Skills, Behavioral Competencies/Attributes:

• Strategic agility
• Highly developed analytical thinking skills & problem solving.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills
• Provide a high degree of team leadership through complex projects.
• Develop information systems as strategic tools to help businesses compete in a global environment.
• Analyze emerging technologies and make recommendations for adaptation.
• Implement a process-based approach to meeting organizational goals.
• Strong communication skills to complement an aptitude for computer systems.
• Creative, flexible and adaptable.
• Project management.
• Risk management and analysis including sensitivity to data security.
• Strong decision-making skills
• Professional networking ability
• Puts customers first.
• Delivers results – Can Do. Focuses on enabling KRA to win. Sets & prioritizes challenging targets.
• Manages a changing environment – analytical, simplifies the complex & ambiguous. Thinks laterally & creatively. Displays sound judgment, solves problems.
• Makes a personal difference – positive & courageous. Open, trustworthy & trusting. Resilient, takes personal responsibility. Curious, seeks opportunities to learn