Assistant Director: Persal & Vulindlela Ops (EPP)

Purpose of 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.

Qualification/s Requirements

• 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.

Key Performance Areas

Financial Management Systems Development, Configuration, Maintenance and Enhancement:

• 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.

System Operations, Processing, Availability and Control Management

• 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.

Change, Release, Testing and Modernisation Support

• 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.

Stakeholder Engagement, Client Support and Problem Resolution

• 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.

Governance, Compliance, Contractor Support and Knowledge Transfer

• 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.