IT Operations & Service Delivery Manager - BLUM SOUTH AFRICA
(2021-08)
Service Operation & SLA Management, Client & Stakeholder Management, Team Leadership & Resource Planning, Financial & Contract Management, Continuous Improvement & Governance
- Monitor, measure, and report on operational performance against Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs).
- Act as the main escalation point for high-priority operational issues, major incidents, and client disputes.
- Facilitate root-cause analysis (RCA) and post-incident reviews.
- Lead regular client status meetings (weekly operational reviews, monthly performance reviews, quarterly business reviews/QBRs).
- Build and maintain strong relationships with senior client executives and key internal business partners.
- Gather client feedback (CSAT/NPS) and transform actionable insights into operational enhancements.
- Lead, mentor, and direct multi-disciplinary service delivery and support teams.
- Coordinate cross-functional teams (engineering, technical support, project management, vendor management) to fulfil contract scope.
- Manage workload distribution, resource allocation, and team capacity planning.
- Oversee service delivery, tracking operating expenditures, resource utilization, and operational costs.
- Ensure compliance with contract terms, scopes of work (SOWs), and change management procedures.
- Identify scope expansion opportunities.
- Implement and align processes with standard frameworks such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) or COBIT.
- Champion continuous service improvement (CSI) plans to streamline workflows, reduce delivery costs, and automate manual tasks.
- Maintain comprehensive documentation of standard operating procedures (SOPs), knowledge bases, and service catalogues.
IT & Operations Manager - White & Case LLP
(2017-12 - 2021-03)
IT Infrastructure & Systems Management, Operations & Process Optimization, Team Leadership & Project Management, Strategy, Budgeting & Governance
- Oversee the planning, deployment, maintenance, and security of corporate IT systems, cloud environments, networks, hardware, and software applications.
- Manage vendor relationships, software licensing, service contracts, and hardware procurement.
- Establish and maintain IT security protocols, compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR), data privacy policies, and identity access management.
- Plan and test Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity Plans (BCP) to minimize downtime in emergencies.
- Design, evaluate, and optimize cross-departmental workflows to increase operational efficiency and eliminate bottlenecks.
- Automate routine business processes through modern software integration and workflow platforms (e.g., ERP, CRM, iPaaS tools).
- Oversee physical or remote office operations, facility IT setups, workplace software stacks, and inventory management.
- Direct and mentor an internal team of IT specialists, system administrators, and operations coordinators.
- Manage cross-functional projects from inception to implementation, using methodologies like Agile or Waterfall.
- Conduct regular performance evaluations, skills development, and resource planning.
- Develop and execute the annual IT and operational budget, tracking expenses and optimizing tech stack ROI.
- Formulate technology roadmaps that support company growth, scalable infrastructure, and remote/hybrid work policies.
- Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for IT system uptime, operational throughput, and incident resolution times.
Technical Support Lead - SAGE
(2016-07 - 2017-12)
Team Leadership & Operations, Process & Knowledge Base Development
- Guide, mentor, and coach day-to-day operations of the product support team.
- Manage support queues, coverage schedules, ticket allocation, and escalation paths.
- Set team benchmarks and track support performance against key metrics (e.g., CSAT, SLA compliance, First Contact Resolution, First Response Time).
- Onboard new support team members and design training materials on product features, tools, and troubleshooting workflows.
- Communicate directly with enterprise clients during high-impact product incidents or bug outages.
- Create, update, and maintain internal troubleshooting guides, runbooks, and SOPs for the support team.
- Oversee the public-facing Knowledge Base / Help Center documentation to promote user self-service and reduce incoming ticket volume.
Technical Support Lead - Afrihost
(2016-02 - 2016-07)
Technical Troubleshooting & Incident Resolution, Escalation & Field Operations Dispatch, Customer Communication & Documentation
- Triage incoming customer inquiries via phone, chat, email, or ticketing system.
- Diagnose connectivity issues, low throughput, high latency, line dropouts, and packet loss.
- Assist customers with setting up and configuring modems, optical network terminals (ONTs), routers, access points, and VoIP devices.
- Run remote line tests, signal level diagnostics, and loopback tests to identify physical or logical faults.
- Escalate complex network outages, routing failures, or infrastructure issues to Tier 2/3 Network Engineers or Network Operations Center (NOC) teams.
- Schedule and dispatch field service technicians when physical equipment replacement or cable repairs are needed.
- Track escalated tickets from initiation to resolution, keeping the customer informed of progress.
- Translate technical terms into clear, easy-to-understand guidance for non-technical users.
- Document customer interactions, troubleshooting steps taken, and diagnostic results in the CRM / Ticketing system.
- Maintain internal knowledge base articles, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and user troubleshooting guides.
IT Intern > IT Technician - SAPPI Tugela Kraft
(2009-01 - 2015-10)
Hardware & Software Support, User Support & Helpdesk Operations, Network & Infrastructure Maintenance, Asset Management & Documentation
- Install, configure, and maintain computer systems, laptops, monitors, printers, mobile devices, and peripherals.
- Diagnose and resolve operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux) errors, application failures, and hardware malfunctions.
- Deploy software updates, security patches, and application installations using automated deployment tools or direct configuration.
- Triage incoming IT support tickets via email, phone, or ticketing platforms (e.g., Zendesk, ServiceNow, Jira).
- Assist employees with daily technical issues, password resets, access permission requests, and remote access configurations (VPN).
- Conduct onboarding and offboarding procedures, including hardware provisioning, user account creation, and asset reclamation.
- Perform basic network troubleshooting for Local Area Networks (LAN), Wi-Fi connectivity, DNS, and IP configuration.
- Install and terminate network cabling, connect switches, and set up office conference room AV equipment.
- Monitor system back-ups and assist with basic server maintenance and endpoint protection (antivirus/EDR).
- Maintain an updated inventory of IT hardware, software licenses, and peripheral equipment.
- Create step-by-step documentation, user guides, and internal knowledge base articles for standard operating procedures (SOPs).
