About the position
Introduction
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Education division is a strategic executive responsible for shaping and executing the technology vision to enable the company’s strategy, growth, and operational excellence. The role spans technology strategy, digital platforms, engineering execution, cybersecurity posture, data and AI enablement, vendor governance, and talent leadership—ensuring technology investments deliver measurable business outcomes and superior customer and employee experiences.
Description
Technology Strategy , Architecture & Innovation
- Develop a long-term technology and AI-driven innovation strategy aligned to business goals.
- Establish enterprise architecture principles supporting scalability, resilience, and responsible AI usage.
- Lead cloud modernisation, platform engineering, and emerging technology adoption (AI, ML, automation, IoT, edge, blockchain, etc.).
- Build an innovation pipeline including pilots, POCs, hackathons, and partnerships with universities, startups, and vendors.
- Define a 3–5 year technology roadmap aligned to business strategy, with clear investment priorities, risk posture, and ROI outcomes.
- Establish and govern enterprise architecture standards (applications, data, integrations, infrastructure, cloud).
- Drive modernization (e.g., cloud migration, microservices, API-first, DevOps/DevSecOps) and rationalize the tech stack to reduce complexity and cost.
Product & Engineering Delivery
- Lead the design, build, and operation of customer-facing platforms, internal systems, and data platforms.
- Implement scalable delivery practices (Agile-at-scale, product operating model) and drive engineering excellence (quality, reliability, observability, automation).
- Partner with business/product leaders to prioritize backlogs and deliver value-based outcomes on time and within budget.
Cybersecurity, AI, Risk & Compliance
- Own the enterprise technology risk register, security-by-design, and resilience (BCP/DR).
- Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards (e.g., POPIA, GDPR, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, SOC 2
- Oversee vulnerability management, identity & access, data protection, incident response, and security awareness.
- Establish data governance and a modern data stack for reliable, timely insights.
- Drive AI/ML adoption for efficiency, customer experience, risk management, and growth—ensuring responsible AI practices and guardrails.
- Enable self-service analytics and evangelize data-driven decision-making.
· Oversee performance, monitoring, and lifecycle management of deployed AI models.
IT Operations & Service Excellence
- Ensure platform reliability (SLA/SLOs), capacity planning, and robust monitoring/alerting.
- Oversee network, workplace, and enterprise application services (e.g., ERP, CRM, HRIS).
- Implement ITSM/ITIL best practices and continuous improvement.
- Own the technology budget, investment cases, cost optimization, and total cost of ownership (TCO).
- Negotiate and manage strategic vendor/partner relationships and contracts (including SLAs and commercial risk).
- Evaluate build vs. buy decisions and manage licensing, renewals, and cloud spend (FinOps).
Leadership & Talent
- Build and lead a high-performing, inclusive technology organization; attract, develop, and retain top engineering and digital talent.
- Establish clear role accountabilities, succession, and a culture of learning, innovation, and psychological safety.
- Champion diversity, equity & inclusion and ethical technology practices.
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the Executive team and Board on technology, risk, and innovation.
- Translate complex technology topics into business impact; influence cross-functional decisions.
- Lead change management for technology-enabled transformation.
Minimum Requirements
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.
- Master’s degree (MBA or Technology Management) is advantageous.
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
- 10 years in software development or engineering roles.
- Minimum 5 years in a senior technology leadership position (CTO, VP Engineering, Head of Technology).
- Proven track record of scaling software products and leading multi-disciplinary tech teams.
- Experience with modern cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP).
- Strong background in software architecture, API-driven development, and DevOps.
- Expertise in at least one modern programming language or framework.
- Strong understanding of microservices, cloud-native architectures, and CI/CD pipelines.
- Knowledge of cybersecurity, data privacy, and system resilience.
- Experience with Agile/Scrum product development methodologies.
PERSONAL QUALITIES:- Strategic thinker and visionary.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to recognise, attract, motivate, and retain top talent.
- Excellent problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
- High emotional intelligence and collaboration skills.
Desired Skills:
- engineering
- leadership
- cloud platforms
- security
