Job Description

Head of Technology

The Rhino Africa story began way back in 2004 and has since grown beyond our wildest dreams. Repeatedly voted Africa's Leading Safari Company, Rhino Africa is a world leader in curating bespoke once-in-a-lifetime luxury African itineraries. We firmly believe in the transformational nature of our tourism industry and the value it has in providing sustainable solutions in both protecting our wild animals and uplifting vulnerable communities in Africa.

Job Purpose

We are seeking a talented individual to join our senior leadership team and lead our Technology department as our new Head of Technology.

As the Head of Technology at Rhino Africa, you will play a crucial role in driving the company's technology strategy forward. Your primary focus will be overseeing the execution of our FY24 technology strategy, while also identifying opportunities and threats in your first 6 months and presenting an FY25 technology strategy for the business. This will involve efficiently utilising our technology assets to drive productivity improvements across the company and aligning new projects with our strategic priorities.

As the leader of Salesforce, Business Intelligence, Data Quality, and Engineering teams, you will be responsible for implementing technology governance processes that manage our technology assets, budgets, and KPIs. You will work closely with other departments such as Sales, Marketing, and Finance to develop and deliver new products and features that improve customer experience and operational efficiency. Overall, you will have a significant impact on Rhino Africa's success by driving our technology strategy forward and delivering innovative solutions that help us achieve our goals.

Reasons for joining Rhino Africa as Head of Technology

• The luxury African travel industry is thriving and presents a unique opportunity to join the recovery of the luxury travel market post-pandemic. Rhino Africa is poised to bring guests to the most exclusive and remote destinations in Africa, making this an exciting period to become part of the company's expansion.
• Working at Rhino Africa offers more than just a job - it offers the opportunity to make a tangible positive impact in Africa. The company is passionate about the continent, its people, wildlife, and landscapes, and is seeking an individual who shares this passion and wants to make a difference.
• Rhino Africa is a pioneer in the luxury African travel industry, leveraging technology to revolutionise the booking process for luxury African holidays. By digitally connecting suppliers across the continent with travel experts, Rhino Africa leverages custom APIs and the Salesforce platform to deliver innovative solutions that enhance the industry as a whole.
• The technology team at Rhino Africa consists of skilled and enthusiastic professionals who are dedicated to developing advanced systems, cutting-edge websites, efficient infrastructure, streamlined processes, and agile roadmaps.

About the team

• The Technology department at Rhino Africa consists of the following teams: Salesforce, Business Intelligence, Engineering and Data Quality. In total there are 20 technology professionals in the department, a mix of Analysts, Developers and Engineers.
• Our stack includes: PHP, Laravel, Pimcore, OctoberCMS, Vue.js, Nuxt.js, Nginx, AWS (EC2, Lambda, Kinesis, S3, VPC, Route 53, SES, CloudFront), Bitbucket, GitHub, Terraform, Sentry, npm, Jenkins, Salesforce, Tableau, MySQL, MariaDB, Talend.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a technology strategy that aligns with the business's strategic priorities and objectives.
• Ensure that the technology stack is utilised efficiently to bring productivity improvements across the different functions of the business.
• Oversee the Salesforce, Business Intelligence, Data Quality, and Engineering teams to ensure they work toward business goals.
• Implement technology governance processes to manage the company's technology assets, including hardware, software, and data.
• Manage technology budgets and monitor KPIs to assess technological performance and make recommendations that align with our business strategic objectives.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, and training of new technology staff.
• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, and Finance to define and deliver new products and enhancements that improve operational efficiency and customer experience.
• Use stakeholders' feedback to inform necessary improvements and adjustments to technology.
• Ensure the technology stack is secure and that data protection and privacy regulations are adhered to.
• Create safeguards to prevent security breaches in in-house systems and protect confidential information.
• Perform overall risk management to minimise damage or remediate problems.
• Facilitate organisational change management and project governance processes to ensure successful implementation of new technology projects.
• In collaboration with the EPMO, facilitate resource allocation across programs and projects across all technology project portfolios to ensure optimal resource utilisation.
• Develop and maintain relationships with vendors and external technology partners.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in technology and recommend new technologies to the business that could provide competitive advantage.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in a technology leadership role, preferably with experience in the travel industry.
• Strong knowledge of software development, project management, business intelligence and technology governance principles.
• Strong knowledge of cloud computing and infrastructure technologies such as AWS or Azure.
• Experience in overseeing Technology teams, diverse teams and managing hybrid teams.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills to identify opportunities and threats, and recommend innovative solutions that help the business achieve its goals.
• Ability to adapt to changes and thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Strong time management skills to manage multiple projects and priorities effectively and deliver high-quality results within deadlines.
• Strong analytical thinking and data-driven decision-making skills to analyse complex data sets, identify trends and patterns, and make data-driven recommendations.
• Knowledge of data protection and privacy regulations, as well as experience in implementing security measures to prevent security breaches and protect confidential information.
• Strong financial acumen and experience in managing technology budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex technology projects, facilitate organisational change management, and allocate resources across different programs and projects.

Not essential but advantageous:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with CRM platforms like Salesforce or HubSpot.
• Familiarity with ITIL or COBIT frameworks for IT governance and service management.
• Knowledge of the luxury travel industry and its trends.
• Familiarity with sustainable tourism practices and initiatives.
• Experience in agile project management methodologies.
• Experience in developing and implementing technology solutions to improve customer experience.
• Experience with data analytics and data visualisation tools.

Benefits

At Rhino Africa, there's a smorgasbord of added delights. With us, you would:

• Join an award-winning team in an industry-leading company in African travel and help us shape the future of our industry;
• Make an impact - for every 7 people we bring to Africa, we create one permanent job in the tourism industry;
• Earn an attractive remuneration package including a competitive base salary, 4% pension fund and 20 days of paid vacation per year;
• When on-site, carry out your craft in gorgeous offices in the heart of Cape Town - the world's most beautiful city;
• Hybrid work model - Our organisation has implemented a hybrid work model, which offers the advantage of a flexible schedule allowing for both on-site and remote work options throughout the week after one year's permanent employment.
• Optional Health Insurance coverage with Essential Med;
• Work under visionary leaders who encourage a family culture, open and direct communication and honest feedback;
• Collaborate with a diverse and talented high-performance team;
• Explore Africa - To share our glorious continent with the crash, we offer each of our Rhinos exclusive access to the Roaming Rhinos online travel portal. With the keys to the kingdom you'll unlock travel deals for yourself, your family and your friends. You'll get to take advantage of rebates on activities, transport and accommodation, including our own Camissa House and Silvan Safari Lodge!

Rhino Africa Safaris is an equal opportunities employer. Applicants from previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities will be given preference. Please note that this position is only available to SA citizens.

Rhino Africa