This position is based in Cape Town.
We’re accepting applications for the position of Principal Technology Governance Specialist. The Principal Specialist will play a crucial role in ensuring that technology operations, processes, and controls are reliable, compliant, and aligned with the organisation’s strategic objectives. This role acts as a bridge between technology, audit, risk, and compliance teams – driving framework adoption, providing independent assurance that technology services are well-governed, risks are managed proactively, and value is delivered consistently to the business. In addition, the Principal Specialist will play a pivotal role in aligning technology investments, vendor relationships, and portfolio performance with strategic objectives.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Leading reviews of critical technology services, programmes and vendors
- Tracking technology-related performance and implementing measures to address problem areas
- Evaluating adherence to Information Technology (IT) governance frameworks, including COBIT, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 and ITIL
- Identifying key technology risks, control gaps and operational vulnerabilities
- Partnering with the Risk and Compliance Teams to define mitigation and remediation plans
- Working closely with Technology Leaders, Risk Owners and External Auditors to align on control effectiveness and audit readiness
- Promoting awareness of governance, risk and compliance principles across the organisation
- Continuously reviewing governance frameworks and proposing improvements to enhance efficiency and transparency
- Working closely with the Cyber Security and Legal Teams to ensure data protection, contract security and policy compliance
- Leading technology resilience programmes
- Ensuring the establishment and maintenance of an effective Technology Controls environment
- Supporting the implementation and continuous improvement of Information Technology (IT) policies and control frameworks
- Ensuring all technology domains, including infrastructure, applications, data, cyber security and vendor management, have effective control coverage
- Tracking and reporting control performance metrics and compliance scores
- Preparing governance dashboards for Executive and Board-level review
- Translating complex assurance findings into clear, actionable insights for Leadership Teams
- Maintaining a transparent pipeline of open audit, risk and assurance items
- Leading and tracking the delivery of key governance programmes and initiatives
- Partnering with Finance to maintain a transparent view of operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) utilisation, ensuring spending aligns with business value and technology strategy
- Implementing portfolio dashboards to provide visibility across demand, spend, risk and performance metrics
- Maintaining technology vendor dashboards and ensuring service reviews, key performance indicator (KPI) tracking and performance monitoring are in place for key technology vendors
- Identifying and mitigating financial and operational risks arising from vendor dependencies or governance gaps
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems or related field
- 9+ years’ experience in technology governance, assurance, delivery, vendor management, or portfolio management, preferably in financial services or telecoms
- Proven experience managing large multi-vendor ecosystems and technology transformation portfolios
- Deep experience in Technology Governance, either from an assurance perspective or from a delivery perspective
- Experience in setting up and maintaining an effective Technology Control Environment
- Deep understanding of OPEX/CAPEX management, contract governance, and vendor performance frameworks
- Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills
- Familiarity with ITIL, COBIT, ISO 27001, and financial governance standards