Head of Application Support at Wema Bank Plc

The Head of Application Support will lead and manage the Application Support team, ensuring seamless support, performance, and availability of all banking applications. This includes core banking systems, digital platforms, payment systems, regulatory/reporting applications, and other internal or third-party systems critical to the bank's operations. The ideal candidate will be a strategic and hands-on leader, with a strong understanding of banking operations, IT service management, and vendor relationship management.

Job Details

• Lead the end-to-end support and administration of all bank applications, ensuring high availability, optimal performance, and adherence to SLAs.
• Manage a team of application support analysts and engineers, providing mentorship, performance reviews, and skills development.
• Coordinate incident, problem, and change management activities related to application support using ITIL best practices.
• Collaborate with business units to understand requirements, prioritize enhancements, and ensure applications meet operational needs.
• Work closely with development, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and other IT teams to support system integrations, patches, and upgrades.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs) for application support.
• Oversee documentation of system configurations, support procedures, and troubleshooting guides.
• Lead root cause analysis of critical incidents and implement preventive measures.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors for support, upgrades, licensing, and escalation.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and security requirements (e.g., CBN, NDPR, ISO 27001, PCI DSS).
• Drive continuous improvement and automation opportunities within application support processes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field (Master’s degree is an advantage).
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant IT experience, with at least 3 years in a leadership role within application support or IT operations, preferably in the financial sector.
• Strong understanding of banking applications (e.g., Core Banking Systems, Mobile/Internet Banking, Payment Switches, Treasury Systems, CRM, Loan Management, etc.).
• Proven experience with IT service management frameworks (e.g., ITIL, COBIT).
• Experience managing third-party vendors and SLAs.
• Familiarity with regulatory compliance in Nigerian banking (e.g., CBN guidelines, NDPR).
• Solid technical understanding of databases (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server), application servers, APIs, and scripting.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and decision-making
• Leadership and team management
• Problem-solving and incident resolution
• Communication and stakeholder management
• Risk awareness and controls orientation

Preferred Certifications

• ITIL Foundation or higher
• Project Management Certification (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2)
• Relevant vendor certifications (e.g., Oracle, Microsoft, Temenos, Finacle