Head, Application Management at KPMG

Sector: Banking / Mortgage

Overview

• The individual will be responsible for the Core banking and Enterprise Applications; supervise the daily technical, business, and functional support/deliverables to internal and external customers in line with the strategy of the company. Also, to ensure agreed SLA on Services availability of applications are met, and adherence to policies, processes and procedures.
• The job profile implies that the job occupant should be a perfectionist, who is capable of working in a specialist or technical area of expertise.
• The incumbent should be organized, thorough, enjoy challenging situations and have the persistence to see a job through to conclusion. Getting things right, attention to detail, ensuring quality and standards are met and reducing error to a minimum are important factors in this position.
• Researching and gathering facts, working with formulas and to specifications could also be part of the job. 

Job Description

• Provide the best possible solution to problem solving or decision making by conscientiously testing, examining facts, trying different alternatives and careful strategic planning. 
• Consider problems as a challenge, collect information relevant to the problem, be disciplined in ascertaining the root cause, identify and develop a practical solution, communicate findings and implement action to resolve the problem. 
• Be systematic and logical in her approach to decision making, ensuring that all the necessary facts and information are available and accurate, and that any decisions taken and acted upon have been carefully considered. 
• Introduce monitoring systems that identify whether individuals or the organization are achieving their objectives, as well as any variances in terms of goals and timescales. Ensure that corrective action plans are formulated and implemented. 
• Support others and provide practical knowledge, competence and expertise. 
• Work as part of a team and demonstrate tolerance, understanding and consistency when dealing with others. 
• Continually seek out opportunities. Practice and encourage a culture of strategic excellence. 
• Create a culture of continuous improvement. 
• Retain a formal and professional manner, reflect on difficult situations and stand back from people and remain unemotional in order to resolve problems objectively. 

Skills and Capabilities

• Ensure that the company’s IT strategies and policies regarding Core Banking and Enterprise/Corporate Applications are met.
• Ensure continuous availability and effectiveness of business applications for users.
• Liaise with the application vendors to ensure that outsourced functions are carried out according to pre-agreed service level agreements.
• Supervise local enhancement to application i.e. design, development, testing and implementation.
• Supervise enhancement to Corporate/Enterprise applications i.e. design, development, testing and implementation. Identify requirements for software integration change resulting from project activities.
• Prepare reports regarding activities on the platform as required.
• Digitize processes, platforms and products developed within the group.

Key Performance Indicators
Financial:

• Cost saving
• Bank Profitability

Customer:

• Customer service rating

People:

• E-Learning score

Process & Others:

• Number of Unscheduled downtime due to application related problems
• % Service Desk issues resolved within SLA
• Number of enhancements identified and deployed successfully
• Application Monitoring /Downtime
• Application Update /Deployment
• Disaster Recovery and Monthly IT System maintenance
• Zero sanctions from breaches on software licenses
• % implementation of quarterly disaster readiness
• Projects completed with other business units

Risk & Control:

• Audit rating
• Number and value of fraud perpetrated due to application/Support lapses.

Qualifications

• First Degree in any discipline
• Minimum of 6 years post qualification experience of which at least 4 must have been in the Financial Services Sector and 2 years in a supervisory position 
• Knowledge of programming standards, debugging methods and service level management
• Knowledge of banking operations and product knowledge
• Understanding of application life cycle management, application management and monitoring
• Excellent understanding of IT security and Testing Methods
• Strong capabilities in project management, product management, process engineering, scrum, software development & IT operations (DevOps), software requirements analysis, quality assurance, and service delivery
• Strong leadership, supervisory, coaching, mentoring and people management skills
• Strong strategic planning, problem solving and execution skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build rapport across various stakeholders and effectively communicate and interact with top level management.
• Ability to act with integrity, professionalism and confidentiality.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Interpersonal relations
• Initiative
• Decision quality & Problem solving
• Time & Self-Management

Organisational Competencies:

• Attention to Detail (Excellence)
• Continuous Learning
• Drive for Results (Efficiency)
• Customer focus.