Head of Application Platforms

Dis-Chem Pharmacies has an opportunity available for a Head of Application Platforms is accountable for the end-to-end performance, stability, and delivery of Dis-Chem’s application platforms across Retail, Customer, Core, and Integration domains. The role is accountable for the end-to-end health, evolution, and performance of application platforms that support in-store operations, digital customer engagement, head-office functions, and enterprise integration. The role operates with a platform-as-a-product mindset, ensuring platforms are reliable, scalable, secure, and consumable across business units. The Head of Application Platforms ensures alignment to enterprise architecture, security guardrails, and governance standards while enabling speed-to-market and reuse.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, Computer Science, or related field
• 10+ years’ experience in application or digital technology leadership
• Proven delivery and operation of large-scale enterprise platforms

Responsibilities:

Strategy and value delivery

• Define and maintain platform strategies and roadmaps across Retail, Customer, Core, and Integration platforms
• Ensure platforms deliver reusable capabilities rather than bespoke point solutions
• Decide and govern platform ownership models (single-consumer vs multi-consumer) in line with enterprise design principles
• Drive simplification, standardization, and technical-debt reduction

Delivery and operations

• Accountable for outcomes delivered through platform tribes and squads
• Ensure stable, secure operation of applications, including incident, problem, and lifecycle management
• Partner with Infrastructure and Security to meet availability, performance, and resilience targets
• Coordinate with Integration & Workflow platforms to enable reliable data flow and process automation

Governance and collaboration

• Work with Enterprise Architecture to ensure adherence to technology standards and pattern
• Partner with IT Demand Management and PMO to prioritize work within fixed capacity
• Collaborate with business product owners to define value cases, outcomes, and success metrics
• Govern vendor delivery within platform accountability frameworks

Competencies:

• Strong product and platform leadership mindset
• Experience leading multiple Agile tribes and squads
• Ability to manage complex application landscapes and dependencies
• Strong stakeholder engagement across business and IT
• Lead, coach, and develop Platform Tribe Leads and their teams
• Set performance expectations and conduct performance reviews
• Manage team capacity, workload allocation, and capability development
• Support recruitment, succession planning, and organizational design

Key Performance Indicators

• Availability, performance, and resilience of application platforms
• Delivery of platform roadmaps and major releases vs plan
• Adoption and reuse of common platforms across business units
• Reduction of legacy complexity and decommissioning of duplicate systems
• Business satisfaction with platform capabilities and time-to-market
• Contribution to culture and leadership outcomes, measured through employee engagement, culture index improvements, and adherence to organizational values and leadership behaviors.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• South African citizen
• MIE, clear criminal and credit
• Driver’s license and/or own reliable transport

Remuneration and benefits:

• Market related salary
• Medical aid
• Provident fund
• Staff account

ONLY SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS WILL BE CONTACTED. IF YOU HAVEN`T BEEN CONTACTED WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE CLOSING DATE, CONSIDER YOUR APPLICATION AS UNSUCCESSFUL.

Dis-Chem Pharmacies is an equal opportunity employer. Dis-Chem’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process aligned to Dis-Chem’s Employment Equity & Transformation Strategy. Dis-Chem actively supports the recruitment of People with Disabilities.