Head: CRES Data and Technology Services

South Africa·Johannesburgmid

OtherTechnology

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Overview

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time. With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise,

Technical Tools

OtherTechnology

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

The Head of CRES Digital & Data is responsible for driving business-led digital transformation across the Corporate Real Estate Services (CRES) function. This role ensures that digital capabilities, data assets, and technology-enabled processes translate into measurable business value, improved decision making, and enhanced colleague experiences across the real estate lifecycle.
The role will provide strategic oversight of technologies supporting facilities management, engineering, capital projects, workplace experience, physical security, portfolio management, sustainability, parking and mobility, smart buildings, access control, CCTV, BMS, IoT, ESG reporting and related real estate systems.
The role provides business ownership of digital outcomes - focusing on adoption, user experience, process modernisation, and data driven insights while partnering closely with the Head of Technology (CRES), who retains accountability for technology strategy, platforms, architecture, integrations, delivery, and risk control alignment
The Head: CRES Data and Technology Services acts as the key driver of digital product vision, data-as-a-product maturity, and operational change enablement, ensuring that CRES extracts maximum value from our real estate technology ecosystem.

Develop and maintain the CRES Digital & Data Business Strategy, architecture and roadmap for the Corporate Real Estate Services portfolio across Africa, ensuring alignment with business strategy, operational requirements and enterprise technology standards
Define digital capability needs across the CRES value chain (portfolio, workplace, operations, engineering, ESG).
Translate process pain points and business objectives into digital product requirements and outcome‑based roadmaps.
Drive benefits realisation or commercialisation, ensuring that digital investments deliver improvements in cost-to-serve, asset lifecycle, utilisation, sustainability, and vendor performance.

Act as the business owner for digital products used across CRES (workplace tools, space analytics, asset insights, ESG reporting dashboards, portfolio visualisation).
Shape the desired user experience, ensuring systems are intuitive and optimise colleague productivity and service quality.
Prioritise features based on business value and partner with the Head of Technology for delivery sequencing and roadmap alignment.

Own the business definition of data products for Portfolio, Asset, Space, Vendor, and ESG domains.
Define business semantics, KPIs, success measures, and data quality expectations.
Drive data governance across CRES, ensuring that vendor-generated data meets quality, completeness, and timeliness thresholds.
Partner with the Technology team, who build and maintain the underlying pipelines, integrations, and data architecture.

Lead the development of executive insights, dashboards, and performance packs that enable strategic decision‑making.
Build scenario models and analytics that support:
- footprint optimisation
- space utilisation intelligence
- cost-to-serve analysis
- asset lifecycle performance
- vendor performance and SLA adherence
- ESG sustainability insights
Serve as the business owner for analytic requirements; Tech manages infrastructure and engineering.

Lead digital adoption and change enablement across CRES, ensuring new tools and processes are embedded effectively.
Re-engineer business processes to maximise the value of technology investments.
Strengthen vendor governance models by establishing clear data expectations, performance insights, and outcome-led reporting.
Ensure that digital ways of working are institutionalised across the CRES value chain.

Work closely with:

Portfolio Strategy: to enable data-driven investment decisions.
Operations & Facilities Management: to improve service transparency, quality, and efficiency.
Engineering & Asset Management: to enhance asset intelligence and lifecycle planning.
Governance & ESG: to improve reporting, accuracy, and sustainability metrics.
Head of Technology (CRES) & Group IT: to align business needs with technology standards and platform strategies.

Provide strategic oversight of smart building, workplace and physical security technologies, including building systems, access control, workplace solutions, occupancy analytics and related digital infrastructure.

Establish technology and data governance standards across outsourced service providers, ensuring data integrity, interoperability, reporting consistency and effective management of technology-related risks.

Identify and drive opportunities to improve operational performance, user experience, sustainability outcomes and decision-making through the adoption of emerging technologies, automation, AI and advanced analytics.

The role ensures business alignment, while the Technology function ensures technical feasibility, compliance, cybersecurity, architecture, and delivery.

Requirements

~1 min read

10 - 20 years’ experience with proven experience in Real Estate Technology or related and a track record of digital transformation
Experience must include developing integrated customer-centric technology workplace product or service solutions while working with and managing stakeholders across business and/or functional areas and budget management.
Exposure to digital transformation and data-driven decision-making

Education in Real Estate, Business, Data & Analytics, Information Systems, or related fields
Experience in digital transformation, business process optimisation, data-driven decision support, or technology-enabled operational improvement
Experience working with outsourced service providers and large operational portfolios
Strong background in business analysis, product ownership, or digital strategy in complex environments

Nice to Have

~1 min read

Real estate portfolio analytics
Workplace or facilities management data and reporting
Data governance or data product management
Exposure to IWMS/CAFM systems and IoT/ESG data environments (business-side experience, not technical design)
Experience leading change and adoption in large organisations

Real Estate Technology
Smart Buildings & IOT
Operational Technology
Physical Security Technology
Data Architecture
Digital Workplace Solutions
Building Systems Integration
User experience awareness

Strategic and Outcome based thinking
Digital Transformation Leadership
Vendor Governance
Stakeholder Management
Innovation and Change Leadership
Executive Communication
User Experience Awareness

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised