Job Description

Who are we?
Sanlam is dedicated to supporting, growing, and empowering clients with affordable, easy, and suitable solutions, primarily through face-to-face intermediary channels, but also directly. We have approximately 2,000 tied advisers and 2,000 supporting independent brokers, all dedicated to meet the financial needs of our clients. Our vision: We aspire to be the best at building enduring relationships by connecting clients with Sanlam. We create sustainable value by attracting new clients, supporting ongoing client engagement, and providing adaptive solutions designed to answer life's financial questions. ULTIMATELY, WE EMPOWER PEOPLE TO BE FINANCIALLY CONFIDENT, SECURE AND PROSPEROUS.
What will you do?
The Application Manager role is a role within the SAFe structure and is specifically intended to bring technical oversight and governance to the applications being developed and supported in the release train, line management of the technical staff in the self-coordinating squads within the release train and management of the operational processes associated with applications. The Application Manager is a trusted partner to the business Product Manager(s), the Release Train Engineer(s) and the Lean Service Management Lead, listening to the business needs, advising on the technology impacts of business decisions and explaining the business value/risk reduction associated with technical deliverables.
What will make you successful in this role?

• Release Train Responsibilities & Technical Collaboration
• Act as Epic Owner for Key Technical Initiatives & Epics for the applications in their portfolio.
• Negotiate capacity allocation for Local Context technical deliverables with Product Managers and the RTE.
• Define Release Strategy for large technology changes by collaborating with the necessary release train stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the Business Product Managers/Product Owners to clarify the Business Value of technical Epics & Features.
• Collaborate with the Business Product Managers/Product Owners to clarify the Technology Impact of key product and process changes.
• Facilitate Early Prioritization for Technology Portfolio backlog with the inputs from IT leadership, architecture CoE, SME services, WOWSS Lead, RTE's, Infrastructure Product Owners and Audit & Compliance.
• Identify enabler epics to Automate & Shift-left Compliance & Non-functional Requirements.
• Facilitate Discovery and Elaboration for key technology epics and features and ensure that application Impact, high level sizing, business benefits, time criticality and cost of delay parameters are identified
• Identify the required enabler epics, enabler features and spikes to complete impact assessment and product and technology choices for defining predictable roadmaps for Large Technology Epics
• Participate in Joint Business Prioritization process, agree on capacity allocation and ensure that Technical Epics and Features are ranked correctly in the backlog.
• Support RTE and squads in PI Planning, Pre-PI Planning and Post-PI Planning activities focusing on Technology Epics
• Establish Ownership for newly identified components and applications by Collaborating
• Technical Strategy Coordination
• IT General Controls Coordination for Applications under management
• Technical Budget Control
• IT Technical Reporting

Qualification and Experience

• Appropriate Technical Post Matric 3-year qualification in Information Systems or Engineering.
• Management training would be beneficial.
• 5+ Years of experience in managing software development & Support teams.
• 10+ Years of IT experience in general.
• 5+ Years of demonstratable experience regarding enterprise application ownership.
• Experience on Sanlam systems, including legacy systems will be beneficial.

Knowledge and Skills

• Extensive knowledge of the Sanlam business.
• Clear understanding of Scaled Agile for Enterprise & the philosophies that guide it.
• Clear understanding of Lean Service Management practices.
• Significant understanding of DevSecOps and modern engineering practices.
• Working knowledge of translating architecture solutions into workable with Technology Leadership, Product Owners/Product Managers and RTE's.

Core Competencies

• Extensive Knowledge of Application Architecture.
• Significant knowledge of Microsoft and Open Systems technology.
• Strong collaborator who can achieve objectives through facilitation & influence.
• Communicates Effectively (Oral & in writing)
• Able to bridge the divide between technical and business stakeholders.

Personal Attributes

• Effective at building partnerships
• Analytical with an eye to enhance systems and processes
• Willing to influence the thinking of stakeholders
• Comfortable having to collaborate with various role-players
• Able to maintain performance under pressure
• Effective leadership skills

Turnaround time
The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers.
The closing date for applications is : 8 August 2025
Build a successful career with us
We're all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future - your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters - Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office - the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.
Our commitment to transformation
The Sanlam Group is committed to transformation and embracing diversity and our employment equity plan and targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse workplace with employment equity as a key goal to create an inclusive workforce, representative of the demographics of our society as well as people with disabilities.

Skills Required