Head of ICT at HFC Limited

Principle Accountabilities

• Lead ICT strategic and operational planning to achieve Bank’s goals by encouraging innovation, prioritizing ICT initiatives, and coordinating the evaluation, deployment, and management of current and future IT systems.
• Establish, maintain, and direct the ICT strategic and tactical goals, policies and procedures for the Bank.
• Oversee the deliberate empowerment and capacity building of ICT resources to increase inhouse operations and cut dependency on vendors and third parties.
• Oversee the implementation, maintenance and upgrade of key platforms of CBS, Payment, data warehouse and risk management systems across the bank.
• Manage mission critical enterprise applications at 99.99% uptime through a combination of skilled technical resources, proactive monitoring, capacity management and vendor engagement and internal capacity.
• Design, establish, and maintain a high availability network infrastructure for local and wide area connectivity and remote access that provides proactive notification.
• Ensure existing equipment and applications are leveraged and optimized to increase the return on investment and to enable the Bank & Bank’s to achieve its strategy.
• Ensure channels are managed in accordance with customer service value proposition as critical to service delivery. Channel’s will include but not limited to mobile app, internet banking, Agency banking & Branches.
• Work with the appropriate staff internally and externally to ensure that the applications and infrastructure in place remain secure.
• Actively engage Heads of Departments to ensure configuration and change management initiatives that are to be reviewed and approved are well planned out and have no or very limited negative customer impact.
• Develop a plan for global service delivery certification to include ISO 20,000 and 27,001.
• Lead and manage ICT staff in delivery of their objectives and oversee their development by establishing a clear career path through training, certifications, coaching and mentoring within an optimal ICT structure.
• Develop, track, and control the information technology annual operating and capital budgets.
• Develop and execute a working Bank’s-wide disaster recovery and business continuity plan and ensure the same is tested appropriately.
• Identify opportunities for the appropriate and cost-effective investment of financial resources in IT systems and resources.
• Participate in vendor contract negotiations for all new ICT equipment and software purchased for the Bank’s.
• Review hardware and software acquisition and maintenance contracts and pursue master agreements to capitalize on economies of scale.
• Ensure continuous delivery of IT services through oversight of service level agreements with end users and monitoring of IT systems performance.

Key Competencies and Skills

Technical Competencies

• In-depth knowledge of network design, data center management, cloud infrastructure, and virtualization.
• Expertise in cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001), encryption, threat intelligence, and incident response.
• Understanding of digital banking technologies, mobile and web platforms, API integrations, and customer experience (CX) optimization.
• Proficiency in database management (SQL, NoSQL), data warehousing, and analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Developed and implemented IT strategy that has a positive and direct impact on the corporate strategy.
• Familiarity with core banking systems (CBS) or similar platforms, along with ERP, CRM, and HRMS solutions.
• Expertise in cloud services (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and virtualization technologies (VMware, Hyper-V).
• Sound understanding of portfolio, programme and project management and a track record of delivering and enabling large-scale complex change programmes.

General Competencies

• Strong business acumen.
• Understanding of customer needs and the ability to implement digital solutions that enhance the customer experience.
• Ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership, board members, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment and support.
• Strong analytical skills to address challenges and identify opportunities.
• Ability to adapt to changing technologies and industry trends.
• Experience in managing multiple projects with varying scopes and deadlines.

Leadership Competencies

• Capability to inspire and motivate teams with a clear vision for technology’s role in banking.
• Develop and implement robust IT Strategic framework.
• Ability to analyze complex and ambiguous situations and make organization-wide decisions.
• Ability to inspire and influence teams.
• Experience in leading teams through organizational change.
• Ability to mentor and develop team members, fostering a collaborative environment.
• Skilled in building and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

Academic & Professional

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business, or related field.
• Relevant Certification in Digital technologies, Banking systems, Project Management, Database Management, Networks and Information Security.
• Service delivery certification such as ITIL, ISO etc. 

Experience

• 10 years’ experience in managing and supporting technology services in a busy ICT environment with thorough knowledge of banking operations with at least 5 years in a senior management role.
• Proven experience inbuilding, leading, and developing IT teams, fostering a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and accountability for a period of not less than 5 years.