Company Overview: VKB Agriculture (Pty) Ltd is a dynamic agricultural company with its Head Office in Reitz, Free State, and a presence in all provinces of South Africa. We are dedicated to modern, healthy business practices and offer our employees the chance to develop their skills and knowledge in a competitive and professional environment. At VKB, we encourage growth and innovation, providing the perfect setting for you to establish your career within a corporate environment.
Why VKB Agriculture? This is a unique opportunity to lead a transformative I&T team within a leading agricultural company. At VKB, you will have the chance to make a significant impact, driving innovation and operational excellence in a supportive, growth-oriented environment.

About You

• Eager to join a dynamic Information & Technology (I&T) team in a rural setting, away from the city metropole areas.
• Passionate about I&T, surrounded by colleagues who share your enthusiasm.
• A team player with a proven track record in managing operational teams, including infrastructure, network, service desk, and cybersecurity.
• Proactive in ensuring a well-maintained, performance-driven solutions environment.
• Committed to executing business processes and I&T standards that streamline and support overall governance.
• As an I&T Leader, you thrive in an environment where you can take initiative, direct both your work and your team's, and support colleagues.
• Flexible and capable of switching between projects and processes while maintaining focus.
• Able to make sound judgments on interconnected operational areas and their impact on the organization.

About the Position

• The Head I&T: Technology & Operations is a leadership role responsible for delivering I&T Operational services to the business.
• VKB is transforming its I&T Operations & Technology department, and we seek a leader to rethink and transform how we provide operational support.
• The focus will be on Dev Ops Infrastructure, role-based configuration management, and full I&T automation to minimize customer downtime.
• This position reports directly to the Executive Head Information & Technology - VKB Group and involves working across the organization to ensure service delivery meets or exceeds expectations.
• The successful candidate will have a demonstrated track record of building high-performance teams supporting large I&T ecosystems, system administration, and monitoring.
• Responsibilities include managing Tier 1 Service Desk, Tier II Support, Desktop Engineering, Server estate (physical and virtual), IT Asset Management (ITAM), Physical and logical network, I&T asset procurement, asset management, and a Cyber Security portfolio.
• The role requires interfacing with company leadership, directors, vendors, and staff to define operational requirements, develop related strategies, policies, and procedures, and provide advisory consulting for the protection of information system assets.
• The scope of responsibilities includes all technology resources authorized by the company in the transmission, processing, and storage of information assets.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Applicable Bachelor’s degree in Information & Technology or related field preferred.
• Leadership development, Project Management Professional (PMP), ITIL, Cobit and TOGAF would be an advantage.
• 10+ years of experience in an I&T leadership position leading complex technical projects in an enterprise environment.
• An emphasis and motivation for assisting in the development and success of others.
• Exceptional communication skills both verbal and written. (The ability to understand and communicate Afrikaans would be an advantage.)
• Excellent technical skills on the latest technology platforms.
• Strong work ethic with a fierce dedication to exceeding expectations.
• Impeccable organizational skills with the ability to multitask and deliver results under pressure.
• Ability to address tactical issues in the short-term while maintaining strategic vision for the long-term.
• Effective manager who has achieved success working with diverse teams in different environments leveraging strengths of individuals to deliver superior results.
• Strong appreciation for business value and understanding of the trade-offs in varying levels of customer service.
• Ability to engage in detailed technical discussions with strong analytic reasoning and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with ITSM ITIL & Cobit principles and how to apply them in real world environments.
• Strong time management and troubleshooting skills.
• Able to work outside of standard hours including weekends.
• Ability to think quickly and clearly during critical incidents where minutes of downtime equate to significant revenue loss.
• Confident speaking in front of an audience with the interact and connect with Executives, Senior Business Management, Board members, engineers, and technical contacts.
• Ability to understand and articulate complex concepts in a clear and concise manner.
• Strong personal desire to improve and expand industry-related knowledge.
• Ability to develop effective relationships.
• Proven expertise in designing and implementing a successful customer service strategy in a dynamic environment; strong knowledge of modern best practice customer service models and approaches to supporting growing businesses.
• Ability to identify, analyze and solve varied unrelated problems.
• Ability to modify standard operating procedures when necessary to develop alternative courses of action when problem solving.
• Ability to document policies and chair management level boards.
• Metrics driven management style. Ability to keep management apprised of I&T Operations status through metrics reporting (SLA’s ticket volume issues and overall performance of the Service Desk function).
• In-depth knowledge of Cyber Risks and managing a Cyber Security function

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Supervise a team of I&T infrastructure professionals.
• Develop and coach team members in the areas of technical aptitude, customer service and communication to enhance the quality of support delivered.
• Design and facilitate a performance measurement framework.
• Continuous evaluation and enhancement of the Incident Management process in line with ITIL best practice.
• Assist with monitoring, mentoring, coaching and assisting team members to deliver quality support.
• Plan, coordinate and set priorities for technical support and system administration. These duties include but are not limited to work schedules, standard operating procedures, projects, and maintenance in accordance with the company’s and I&T priorities and requirements.
• Manage incident classification, prioritization & escalation processes. Communicate updates to customers and I&T colleagues on issue identification, status updates and resolution progress.
• Plan and recommend departmental workflow or system modifications to increase efficiency capacity and utilization.
• Prepare operational cost estimates for current and proposed projects.
• Manage strategic vendors, contractors, and consultant relationships.
• Responsible for adhering to all company data archiving policies, procedures as well as monitoring and status reporting.
• Maintain knowledge of state-of-the-art technologies by attending training product demonstrations seminars and user groups.
• Resolve existing problems and develop solutions to recurring problems.
• Provide input and manage short and long-term Technology budgets.
• Maintain knowledge of information security best practices, applications and industry security trends.
• Documentation and maintenance of Technology Architecture artefacts
• Establish & manage Cyber Security function.

Other Information

• The company can expire jobs at any time at their own discretion.
• VKB Group and/or its subsidiary companies will use any personal data collected through the job opportunities section of this website for recruitment purposes only and, should your application be successful, for purposes connected with your employment.
• VKB Group is an equal opportunity employer. VKB Group’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process aligned to VKB Group’s Employment Equity & Transformation Strategy. VKB Group actively supports the recruitment of People with Disabilities
• Things to take note of when applying through our Career Portal.
• Use Google Chrome when accessing the portal
• Clear copy of your CV in either PDF or Word
• The CV should not have handwriting on the document
• NB! Only Submit your CV on the Upload CV section of the application form and not a PDF that includes other documents such as ID, Driver’s License and other documents. The application form will make provision for the candidate to upload supporting documents.
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