Network Specialist. at Absa Bank Limited

Job Summary

• To prepare specialist operations information for all stakeholders of the business for informed decision making and to support the business. Selecting this role has a compensation & benefit impact in TZ (BBT). Please contact Reward for details.

Job Purpose:

• The jobholder will ensure effective design, provision and management of the end-to-end delivery of all infrastructure services i.e. Network (intranet, Extranet, Internet, Internet facing environments,3rd party connectivity via VPN’s, Internet breakouts), Load Balancers, Firewalls Data Centre Mobility, Voice Services, Wireless

Key Accountabilities:

Networks, Infrastructure and Data Centre Management 60%

• Responsible for ensuring 99.5% uptime of all the platforms being supported
• Ensure Absa Group IT standards and procedures are in place and adhered to.
• Support and manage the network infrastructure
• Management of all aspects of problem definition through to resolution, supplier liaison, development of escalation procedures and monitoring adherence to them.
• To carry out system administration, performance tuning and capacity planning, to continually assess the installation to ensure it is appropriate for current and planned developments making recommendations for change.
• Evaluate equipment requirements and proposals for supply, implementation, and development of new or existing services and systems.
• Keep updated with the latest trends in IT and IS development.
• Provide complete & expert support to IT Service and Support analysts, into resolution of complex problems, installation, operation and management of servers and clients.
• Act as an escalation point for the business in the absence of the Manager. 
• Install, test and audit hardware and software systems and configure the computers to ensure effective and secure systems.
• Design and Develop new network solutions for new initiatives
• Develop plans to ensure effective scheduling of IT Change ensuring the completion of Technology projects within expected time and cost frames.
• Ensure that projects are executed according to projects scope and that project deliverables are met by liaising effectively with Project Managers and the business.
• Ensure SLA’s are followed and met, through the monitoring and reporting of targets, and the undertaking of corrective action where necessary.
• Ensure all current IT systems are operating effectively.
• Ensure that documentation of server configurations, local area networks and any changes to the configuration/network design is carried out.
• Ensure the highest level of system availability and performance is achieved through measurement and proactive initiatives.
• Regular monitoring of all outstanding faults and liaison with the services providers regarding the faults and provide reports on a regular basis on network and bandwidth utilisation.
• Effectively manage and control the Data Centres

Risk Management 15%

• Build relationship with country Technology Risk and Compliance team and provide support wherever required.
• Ensure that processes and controls are executed in daily work and understand the reasons for the controls and the consequences for failing to adhere to prescribed processes.
• Test a sample of activities on a weekly basis by reviewing documentation and checking work completed by team members to see if control requirements are being adhered to. Coach the team members on areas for improvement and highlight major failures to the manager of the area
• Provide evidence/supporting documents to auditors or management assurance consultants during formal reviews
• Identify losses due to processing errors or internal fraud in the department. Escalate to the manager and provide all the required information to allow logging of the Risk and Loss events. Participate in the investigations
• Make team members aware of all changes to policies, processes and procedures that are being planned for the area and ensure that they are able to incorporate the changes on the effective date. Ensure that team members read circulars that are relevant to the area and answer questions they may have.
• Contribute and deliver to the improvement of the risk profile by delivering improved governance, risk management, controls and compliance requirements.
• Devise and implement an effective plan to deliver a satisfactory risk and audit profile for Operations & IT and achieve audit and assurance targets.

Controls 15%

• Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Absa Policies and Policy Standards. Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the role.

People Management – 10%

• Responsible for driving own Performance Development, collating relevant documentation, preparing for and arranging reviews.
• By utilizing skills matrix, identify training and development requirements, formulating own plan to be agreed with team leader.
• Responsible for ensuring own plan is completed within agreed timescales.
• Undertake all necessary training in order to perform the role to the required standards, including gaining accreditation where appropriate

Education and experience required

• Undergraduate or higher in Computer Science, information Technology  or any other Technology related field.
• IT network planning and operations experience.
• 8 years minimum IT experience
• Experience in digital financial services from either Telco or Financial Institution companies.
• Experience in solutions development lifecycle management using waterfall, agile & hybrid methodologies.

Subject Matter Expert Qualifications

• ITIL Certification.
• Any cloud certification (AWS/Azure/Google).
• Network certification – CCNP or equivalent.
• Firewalls, switching and routing certifications.
• Excellent understanding of Infrastructure.
• Minimum of 4 years’ service management experience

Knowledge and skills: (Maximum of 6)

• Professional networking skills (Solid)
• Cloud expertise (Solid)
• ITIL - Governance Framework (Solid)
• Software Defined WAN SDWAN skills (Solid)
• Understand the IT service delivery within a corporate environment (Advanced)
• Negotiation Skills (Solid)
• Communication Skills (Written and Verbal) (Solid)
• Conceptual thinking, ability to analyse, make decision and initiate action (Solid)

Competencies: (Maximum of 6 competencies)

• Agile ways of working (Meets all the requirements)
• Business Analysis (Meets all the requirements)
• Creative and innovative thinking (Meets all the requirements)
• Openness to change (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development).