Job Title: Senior IT Applications Manager

Reports to: Head of IT

Unit: IT

Department: Information Technology

Grade: Band 6

Job Purpose Statement

The senior IT Applications manager role is to plan, organize, and manage statt and overall operations that facilitate the stable operation of the bank's systems Core Banking, Channels systems and all other systems used in the bank.

This includes developing, maintaining, supporting, and optimizing systems Operations. In collaboration with external vendors, system experts and information security experts.

The Senior IT Applications Manager will schedule and direct activities to resolve banking software and service problems in a timely and accurate fashion as per set out SLA and oversees the full Life Cycle of all the applications that fall within this area.

Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities)

Application Management

• Manage and set priorities for design, maintenance, development and evaluation of Core Banking and other Banking Application related systems
• Manage core banking Service Agreements with vendors, Budgets and Supplier Contracts

Service Management

Provide leadership and management oversight for the core banking systems application to ensure projects, problems, service requests and escalations are dealt with according to defined set of policies, processes, procedures and SLA's.

Customer satisfaction:

• Net Promoter Score
• CSI/RSI
• Ensuring proper and prompt service delivery
• Maintaining effective communication with customers

Demonstrating appropriate attitudes towards consumers

IT Application security and Governance

• Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Bank systems Applications (systems, people, policy, controls and procedures) with regard to protection against exposure to and impact of risks associated with data loss, corruption and/or unauthorized access.
• Ensure system changes, upgrades adhere to the requirements of the change management process

Business continuity management

• Provide and execute detailed Disaster recovery plans and procedures for Core Banking and other critical business applications

People leadership

• Provides effective leadership to the core banking systems unit, ensuring competency development, succession planning and conducting performance appraisal

Reporting Relationships: jobs that report to this position directly and indirectly

Direct Reports

• Digital Channels Support Analyst
• IT Applications Analyst
• T24 Developer

Indirect Reports

• IT Support Officer

Job Dimensions

Stakeholder Management: key stakeholders that the position holder will need to liaise/work with to be successful in this role.

Internal

• Business Units, Credit and OPS Heads, i.e.
• Clearing, Credit, Treasury, Corporate etc

External

• Regulators -BNR, RURA
• Customers.
• System Vendors

Decision Making Authority /Mandates/Constraints: the decisions the position holder is empowered to make (Indicate if it is Operational, Managerial or Strategic). Please also highlight any budgetary control responsibility if applicable for the role.

• ??Freedom to make decisions to resolve problems without consulting Head IT, but advice later thus ensuring business operations continuity.
• ??Task prioritization and resource planning within the projects and tasks for team and self.

Ideal Job Specifications

• University degree in computer science. Master's degree would be an added advantage.
• ITIL Intermediate and other relevant professional qualifications in ICT field.
• Six years' experience in Application support in medium-to-large organizations.
• Four years' experience in Database Administration - Oracle, MySQL and Microsoft SQL
• Three years' experience in supporting Core Banking system T24
• Two years in a supervisory role.
• Working experience in a bank or other financial services organization.
• Experience in Change and Incident Management processes
• Experience in Management of Support Contracts, RFP's and Third-party support providers.

Technical Competencies

• Knowledge and experience in modern practices for IT Applications architecture and operations in medium to large banks to provide guidance on quality improvements and problem management
• Technical skills to effectively perform or guide performance of Application architectural design ensuring that all solutions developed and deployed are in line with the Enterprise Architecture standards
• Knowledge and effective application of all relevant banking policies, processes, procedures and guidelines to consistently achieve required compliance standards or benchmarks.
• Ensure that all the managed application platforms in use by the Bank keep pace with technological innovations and developments as a way of protecting investment in technology.
• Define, analyse, plan, measure and improve all aspects of the availability of Application services; ensuring that all Applications systems, processes, tools and roles are meeting the agreed availability targets.

Behavioural Competencies

• ??Interpersonal skills to effectively communicate with and manage customer expectations (internal and external), and other stakeholders who impact performance.
• ??Manage relationships with all technology-based service providers as a way of ensuring that uptimes are optimized.
• ??Self-empowerment to enable development of open communication, teamwork and trust that are needed to support performance and customer-service oriented culture.
• ??Analysis of plans and designs of Application projects in accordance with Bank's requirements thus Providing necessary inputs to the Change Approval Board to aide in decision making on change approvals and deployments
• Monitor and manage service user complaints to ensure maintenance of the highest standards of service.