Application Portfolio Manager at Datacentrix (Pty) Ltd in South Africa
At a Glance
Our Business:
Datacentrix is a leading, empowered ICT integrator that provides high performing and secure ICT solutions to corporate South Africa and the country’s public services sector.
Our Footprint:
Datacentrix operates from regional branch offices in Pretoria, Samrand, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban, with a network of small medium enterprises (SMEs) and service personnel around South Africa that are responsible for servicing remote areas.
Our Partners: Datacentrix’ global partnerships with its technology partners remain critical to the company’s success. The company is accredited by its vendors at the highest possible level both in the technical and sales arenas, which enhances the company’s strategic value as a single source service provider.
To achieve this, Datacentrix invests in its people through training and education, embracing broad based black economic empowerment (BBBEE), while actively partnering and representing leading technology partners with distinction.
Vision:
Datacentrix intends to become the preferred ICT partner to the majority of South Africa’s top commercial and public sector organisations over the next five years.
As an Application Portfolio Manager at Datacentrix (Pty) Ltd in South Africa, your responsibilities include evaluating, rationalizing, and managing applications to ensure their maximum contribution to business objectives. You will liaise with stakeholders to identify application needs, streamline processes, and eliminate redundancies, thereby enhancing operational efficiency. The role also involves budgeting, resource allocation, and ensuring compliance with IT governance frameworks. This is a challenging yet rewarding position that empowers you to directly influence the organization’s technological advancement.
Vacancy Details
Employer: Datacentrix (Pty) Ltd
TEAM LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION
- Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team responsible for application configuration, dependency management, and operational oversight.
- Foster collaboration among cross-functional teams, including IT, business stakeholders, and vendors.
- Define and implement team goals, performance metrics, and workflows to ensure operational excellence.
CONFIGURATION AND DEPENDENCY MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT
- Oversee the standardization and execution of application configuration processes.
- Ensure accurate documentation and proactive management of dependencies and relationships between applications, integrations, and infrastructure.
- Provide guidance on using tools like Configuration Management Databases (CMDB) to track and manage dependencies effectively.
APPLICATION LANDSCAPE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
- Ensure the organization maintains an accurate and up-to-date inventory of all applications, including configurations, hosting environments, and vendor details.
- Oversee audits and validation of inventory data to maintain accuracy and completeness.
- Establish processes for integrating inventory data with operational tools and reporting systems.
APPLICATION LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT (ALM)
- Lead teams in planning and managing the full lifecycle of applications, from onboarding to decommissioning.
- Oversee the identification and retirement of redundant or outdated applications to optimize the portfolio.
- Ensure lifecycle strategies align with business goals and minimize operational risks.
APPLICATION ROADMAP DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTION
- Collaborate with business stakeholders to develop and maintain application roadmaps that align with strategic goals.
- Monitor industry trends, vendor roadmaps, and emerging technologies to inform roadmap priorities.
- Oversee the implementation of roadmap initiatives, including upgrades, replacements, and modernizations.
VENDOR AND SLA MANAGEMENT
- Develop, implement and manage solution Demand Forecast processes to plan and manage resource requirements for technology deployment and management.
- Manage relationships with third-party vendors to ensure compliance with contracts and SLAs.
- Oversee issue resolution, performance measurement and reviews.
- Collaborate with vendors on effectively deploying upgrades, effective release management and updates, support, issue resolution and product roadmaps.
HOSTING ENVIRONMENT AND INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT
- Ensure hosting environments (cloud, on-premise, or hybrid) are secure, cost-efficient, and meet performance requirements.
- Develop, deploy and maintain solution performance measurements, metrics and tools.
- Oversee and manage application integration platform and related efforts to maintain seamless data flow and functionality between various business solutions.
- Collaborate with infrastructure teams to align application hosting with organizational Group Technology Strategy.
GOVERNANCE, RISK, AND COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT
- Establish governance frameworks for managing the application landscape and operational processes.
- Ensure compliance with organizational policies and regulatory standards across all third-party applications.
- Conduct regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate operational vulnerabilities.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND REPORTING
- Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for application performance, operational efficiency, and team productivity.
- Oversee the creation of dashboards and reports to track the health and value of the application portfolio.
- Lead root-cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives for operational issues.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:
- Strong leadership abilities to inspire and guide diverse teams.
- Expertise in managing cross-functional collaboration and team dynamics.
- Proven experience in conflict resolution, performance management, and team building.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
- Deep understanding of Application Portfolio Management (APM) principles and tools.
- Experience with Configuration Management Databases (CMDB) and dependency mapping tools.
- Knowledge of ITSM and ITIL processes (incident, problem, change, and asset management).
- Familiarity with cloud computing, integrations, and hosting environments.
STRATEGIC AND ANALYTICAL SKILLS
- Strategic thinking to align operational management with organizational objectives.
- Ability to analyze complex application dependencies and infrastructure relationships.
- Proficiency in planning and executing multi-year roadmaps and initiatives.
COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
- Exceptional communication skills to engage with technical teams, business stakeholders, and
- Strong ability to present operational insights and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Skilled in vendor relationship management and negotiation.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
- 7+ years of experience in IT operations, application management, or a similar role.
- 3+ years of experience in a leadership or management position.
- Certifications in ITIL, COBIT, PMP, or equivalent frameworks are a plus.
- Experience with third-party applications, SaaS, PaaS, and related technologies.
