IT Manager

IT Manager

Location: Sandton, Johannesburg, SA - Hybrid | Salary: Competitive (Cause youre worth it!)

Own the Engine Room! Performance. Security. Resilience. Governance. Scale.

The Vision: Build what others rely on.

In financial services, technology is not a support function. It is trust infrastructure. Our client is a people-centric, independent consulting firm operating across regulated banking and insurance environments. As they scale internationally, we embark on a search for an IT Manager who understands that resilience, governance, and security are not background tasks — they are strategic imperatives.

This is a leadership role with real ownership. You will be responsible for shaping, securing, and strengthening the entire technology environment across South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, supporting 250 to 500 professionals operating in regulated settings.

You will steady what needs discipline, mature what needs structure, and build what needs to scale. This is both strategic and hands-on. You will think long term — and still know exactly where the firewall logs live.

Your Mission: This is full accountability for the stability, security, and evolution of the IT function.

• Manage and maintain the complete IT infrastructure landscape, including networks, systems, endpoints, and cloud environments — ensuring consistent performance and operational resilience
• Lead cybersecurity strategy, risk management, and incident response readiness — proactively strengthening the organisations security posture
• Ensure rigorous data protection, privacy controls, and regulatory compliance across jurisdictions
• Oversee software governance and licensing management with cost and compliance discipline
• Own user and device lifecycle management from structured onboarding to secure decommissioning
• Lead service desk operations and continuously elevate the end-user experience
• Develop, implement, and refine IT policies, procedures, and governance frameworks aligned to best practice and ISO-oriented maturity
• Manage IT budgets, vendor relationships, and technology procurement with commercial accountability
• Supervise, mentor, and develop IT team members to strengthen capability within the function
• Ensure business continuity and disaster recovery planning is robust, tested, and regulator-ready
• Drive continuous improvement and digital transformation initiatives that improve operational efficiency
• Develop and execute a strategic IT roadmap aligned to business growth, incorporating automation and scalable process design
• Provide structured reporting to leadership on performance, risk posture, compliance readiness, and strategic initiatives
• Implement, maintain, and support compliance with data and information security standards, including recognised cybersecurity frameworks

In short: you will professionalise, protect, and future-proof the environment. You are structured but adaptable. Technical but commercial. Independent but accountable.

Experience Required, What you bring:

This role requires proven depth, operational maturity, and leadership confidence within regulated environments. You have not just supported IT functions — you have owned them.

You bring:

• Seven or more years of progressive IT experience, including direct responsibility for infrastructure, operations, and security leadership in multi-user environments where uptime, governance, and performance genuinely matter.
• Proven experience supporting 250 or more users across distributed or multi-site operations — balancing coordination, consistency, and resilience without operational drift.
• Experience within financial services or similarly regulated sectors, with practical exposure to compliance reviews, formal audits, and client due diligence requirements — environments where scrutiny is standard, not occasional.
• Demonstrated ownership of core IT infrastructure, including networking, endpoint management, backup and recovery, identity management, and access control — with accountability for both stability and security.
• Strong expertise in Microsoft-based environments, including Windows device deployment, system administration, configuration governance, and licensing management — not familiarity, but fluency.
• A solid understanding of networking architecture, including LAN, WAN, wireless configuration, segmentation, and associated security controls — because connectivity underpins everything else.
• Experience implementing and maintaining cybersecurity controls aligned to recognised frameworks — structured, documented, and continuously strengthened rather than reactive.
• Experience preparing or maturing environments toward ISO-aligned information security standards advantageous, with an appreciation for the operational discipline and documentation rigour required.
• A strong working understanding of GDPR, POPIA, and other applicable financial-sector data protection regulations, ensuring compliance travels with the business across jurisdictions.
• Proven ability to implement, maintain, and support compliance with data and information security standards, including cybersecurity controls that stand up to both regulator and client review.
• Experience managing vendors, service providers, and technology contracts, holding partners accountable for performance, delivery standards, and commercial value.
• Experience owning and managing IT budgets, with cost optimisation accountability balanced against long-term resilience and capability building.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and continuously improve service desk operations, supporting both remote and in-person users with measurable service standards and professional responsiveness.
• Strong independent problem-solving capability, with the confidence to make sound technical decisions under pressure and stand behind them when it counts.

Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree, Advanced Diploma or equivalent qualification in IT, Information Systems, or IT Management
• Technical certifications (A+, N+, Microsoft certifications or equivalent technical credentials)
• Relevant certifications preferred, such as CISSP, CISM, ISO 27001
• Security related certifications advantageous

What You Gain

• Exposure to complex, regulated financial services environments
• A leadership mandate with genuine ownership
• Investment in professional development
• Competitive, market-aligned reward

This is not a maintenance role. It is a mandate to build and protect.