Assistant Director: Persal & Vulindlela Ops (EPP)

About the Role

To maintain, support and enable the modernisation of transversal financial management systems and related enabling technologies, including current and future platforms, in compliance with applicable legislation, policies, standards and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Financial Management Systems Development, Configuration, Maintenance and Enhancement:
• System Operations, Processing, Availability and Control Management:
• Change, Release, Testing and Modernisation Support:
• Stakeholder Engagement, Client Support and Problem Resolution:
• Governance, Compliance, Contractor Support and Knowledge Transfer:
• A Grade 12 is required coupled with a minimum National Diploma (NQF Level 6) in Information Technology or Information Systems or Business Analysis;
• A Bachelor’s Degree (NQF Level 7) in any of the above disciplines is added advantage;
• A Qualification in Project Management is added advantage;
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience obtained in an application or system support or operations environment.
• Experience in transversal financial management systems operations and support processes (incident, problem, change and release management);
• Experience in Project Management (IT Systems Implementation);
• Knowledge and experience of the public-sector financial framework and end-user support in a multi-stakeholder environment; and
• Knowledge and experience of Persal and its operations.
• Maintain, configure and enhance PERSAL, Vulindlela and related transversal financial management systems in line with approved policies, procedures, standards and controls;
• Analyse policy, business and user requirements and translate approved changes into system specifications, functional requirements and technical implementation actions;
• Coordinate system design, development, configuration, testing, quality assurance, implementation and post-implementation support for new or enhanced system functionality;
• Support modernisation, patching, upgrades and integration activities by providing functional clarification, operational input and implementation support; and
• Maintain technical documentation, system rules, control records, standard operating procedures, user guides and knowledge articles to support consistent service delivery.
• Provide operational and technical support for payroll, EFT, EDT, SCOA, reporting, leave, salary package structuring and related financial management system processes;
• Monitor system availability, peak-period readiness, processing schedules, pay dates, closing dates, disk-space requirements and recovery measures to support business continuity;
• Apply approved system controls to prevent irregular, duplicate, unauthorised or non-compliant payments and transactions, including deceased-employee salary controls and exception management;
• Support user access management, role and profile maintenance, access reviews and segregation-of-duties controls in line with security requirements; and
• Monitor and report on service performance, incident trends, request volumes, turnaround times and operational risks to support continuous improvement.
• Coordinate change and release activities for enhancements, upgrades, patches, initiatives and new implementations in line with approved governance processes;
• Conduct and coordinate technical, functional, user-acceptance and post-implementation testing to confirm that implemented functionality meets approved requirements;
• Support feasibility assessments, planning, implementation readiness, defect resolution and stakeholder communication for approved system changes; and
• Ensure requests are recorded, assessed, approved, prioritised and implemented in a controlled manner to protect system integrity and avoid duplication.
• Liaise with departments, internal teams, external institutions, service providers and forums to identify, analyse, prioritise and resolve system incidents, queries and service requests;
• Provide third-level support, technical guidance and expert input for escalated PERSAL and financial management system matters;
• Prepare and issue system notices, circulars, user messages, implementation communications, audit inputs and stakeholder updates relating to system changes and operations; and
• Coordinate user forums, stakeholder engagements, intervention strategies and knowledge-sharing activities to strengthen user readiness and service continuity.
• Support compliance with approved policies, regulations, delegations, standards, audit requirements, service levels and operational controls across system maintenance and support activities;
• Assist with policy research, analysis and alignment of system competencies with requirements from DPSA, Office of the Accountant-General, CPO and other relevant stakeholders;
• Support contractor deliverables by coordinating work allocation, SCC activities, timesheet and overtime recommendations, SLA monitoring and remedial actions where required; and
• Facilitate documentation, knowledge transfer and collaboration between officials, consultants and service providers to strengthen internal capability and reduce dependency on external support.