Head: CRES Data and Technology Services

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

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.

Job Description

1. Business Digital Strategy & Value Realisation

• 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.

2. Digital Product Ownership (Business)

• 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.

3. Data-as-a-Product Ownership

• 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.

4. Business Insights, Analytics & Decision Support

• 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.

5. Operating Model & Change Enablement

• 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.

6. Stakeholder Collaboration & Alignment

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.

8.          Smart Buildings, Workplace & Security Technology

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

9.          Vendor Technology & Data Governance

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

10.        Digital Transformation & Innovation

• 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.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education/ Qualification:
Degree: Post Graduate Degree in Information Systems, Data Analytics , Real Estate , Property Management

MBA would be advantageous but not essential

Relevant professional certification’s in Technology or Digital Transformation, related Facilities Management

Minimum Requirements

• 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

Preferred Experience

• 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

Competencies Technical

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

Leadership

• 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