Assistant Manager, Digital Transformation and Innovation Delivery - First Assurance Kenya at Absa Bank Limited

Job Summary

The Digital Transformation and Innovation Manager is responsible for leading and driving the organization’s digital transformation initiatives, fostering innovation, and ensuring the integration of cutting-edge technologies to improve business processes, customer experiences, and operational efficiency.

This role requires a strategic mindset, strong leadership skills, and the ability to manage complex projects across multiple departments. Overall, New Technologies and Innovations will also encompass systems administration, engineering and provisioning, digital transformation and Innovation, operational support, Project management and maintenance

Job Description

Strategy Development

• Develop and implement a comprehensive digital transformation strategy aligned with the organization’s goals.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and digital improvement across all business functions.

System administrator Engineering and provisioning:

• Engineering of systems administration-related solutions for various projects and operational needs.
• Install and configure systems IAS infrastructure applications or any other management applications.
• Install new/rebuild existing servers and configure hardware, peripherals, services, settings, directories, storage e.t.c in accordance with standards and project operational requirements.
• Contribute and maintain system standards.
• Research and recommend innovative and where possible automated approaches for system administration tasks.
• Develop and maintain systems standards.

Digital Transformation and Innovation Culture

• Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools, and platforms to enhance business operations.
• Oversee the integration of digital solutions into existing systems and processes.
• Foster a culture of innovation by encouraging creative thinking and experimentation.
• Organize workshops, hackathons, and brainstorming sessions to generate new ideas.
• Identify and integrate emerging technologies (e.g., AI, RPA, blockchain) to improve business efficiency.
• Lead or contribute to digitalization projects that enhance policy issuance, claims processing, or fraud detection.
• Research and propose innovative IT solutions that align with business needs.
• Identify inefficiencies in IT and business processes and recommend technology-driven solutions.
• Implement cost-saving IT initiatives that reduce operational expenses while improving service delivery.

Operational support and Change Management

• Collaborate with senior leadership, department heads, and external partners to ensure alignment on digital transformation goals.
• Communicate the benefits and progress of digital initiatives to stakeholders.
• Leverage data analytics and insights to drive decision-making and measure the impact of digital initiatives.
• Ensure data security and compliance with relevant regulations.
• Perform daily system monitoring, verifying the integrity and availability of all hardware, server resources, systems and key processes, reviewing system and application logs and verifying completion of schedule jobs and backups.
• Perform regular security monitoring to identify any possible intrusions. Perform daily backup operations, regular file archival and purge as necessary and create, change delete user accounts as per request and authorized.
• Repair and recover from hardware and software failures.
• Provide tier III and other support per request from various constituencies. Investigate and troubleshooting issues.

Project management

• Lead cross-functional teams to execute digital transformation projects on time and within budget.
• Manage the entire project lifecycle, from ideation to implementation and evaluation.
• Coordinate internal resources and third parties/vendors for the flawless execution of multiple projects
• Ensure that all projects are delivered on time, within scope and within budget
• Assist in the definition of project scope and objectives, involving all relevant internal stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility
• Ensure resource availability and allocation
• Develop a detailed project plan to monitor and track progress
• Manage changes to the project scope, project schedule, and project costs using appropriate verification techniques
• Measure performance using appropriate project management tools and techniques
• Report and escalate to management as needed
• Manage the relationship with the client and relevant stakeholders
• Perform risk management to minimize potential risks
• Establish and maintain relationships with third parties/vendors
• Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation
• Meet with clients to take detailed ordering briefs and clarify specific requirements of each project
• Delegate project tasks based on junior staff members' individual strengths, skill sets, and experience levels
• Track project performance, specifically to analyze the successful completion of short and long-term goals
• Develop comprehensive project plans to be shared with clients as well as other staff members
• Develop spreadsheets, diagrams and process maps to document needs
• Manage organizational change by addressing resistance and ensuring smooth adoption of new technologies and processes.
• Provide training and support to employees to enhance digital literacy.

Maintenance:

• Apply OS patches and upgrades regularly and upgrade administrative tools and utility.
• Upgrade and configure systems software that supports IAS infrastructure or any other application for project or operational needs.
• Perform periodic performance reporting to support capacity planning.
• Maintain data center environmental and monitoring equipment.
• Perform ongoing performance tuning, hardware upgrades and resource optimization as required.
• Configure CPU memory and disk partitions as required.

Education and Experience Required

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Master’s degree (e.g., MBA, MSc in Digital Transformation, or Innovation Management) is preferred.

Certifications:

• Certifications in project management (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2).
• Certifications in digital transformation, innovation, or emerging technologies (e.g., Agile, Scrum, Six Sigma).

Sector Knowledge:

• 5-10 years of experience in digital transformation, innovation management, or a related field.
• Proven track record of leading successful digital transformation projects.
• Experience in managing large-scale technology implementations.
• Familiarity with industry trends and best practices in digital innovation.
• Experience in change management and organizational development.

Education

• Higher Diplomas: Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences (Required)