Director, Digital and Change Enablement

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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.

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Job Summary

Job Description

The Director, Digital and Change Enablement will shape and execute the Bank’s future-state business and operating model, ensuring that digital, automation, technology and change investments translate into measurable client, commercial and operational outcomes.

The role will particularly be accountable for:

• accelerating cash automation and digitization across the cash value chain;
• developing and embedding a fit-for-purpose shared operating model that improves scale, efficiency, standardization and service quality;
• accelerating digital adoption across all Bank business segments, ensuring that digital capabilities are embedded into products, propositions, processes and client journeys;
• translating digital adoption into measurable improvements in client experience, engagement, service quality and commercial performance;
• simplifying and redesigning processes, operating structures and customer journeys through automation and technology; and
• ensuring that the Bank derives maximum strategic and commercial value from Absa Group capabilities, platforms, partnerships and investments.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Transformation & Future-State Operating Model

• Shape and execute the Bank’s enterprise transformation agenda in direct alignment with the business strategy and strategic priorities of the Managing Director and Country Management Committee.
• Design and embed a future-state operating model that increases standardization, automation, scalability and accountability while reducing fragmentation, duplication and legacy complexity.
• Lead the development of shared capabilities and shared services operating models across appropriate functions and business segments to unlock economies of scale, improve service consistency and optimize the cost-to-serve.
• Identify opportunities to redesign end-to-end processes rather than simply digitizing existing ways of working.
• Establish clear transformation outcomes, investment priorities, benefits realization measures and executive-level governance.

Cash Automation & Transaction Transformation

• Provide strategic leadership for the Bank’s cash automation agenda, identifying opportunities to digitize, automate and optimize cash-management processes and related client journeys.
• Drive the migration from manual and fragmented cash processes towards automated, scalable and digitally enabled solutions.
• Partner with Corporate, Business Banking, Personal and Private Banking as well as other relevant business segments to improve cash-management propositions, transaction flows and client servicing through automation.
• Establish measurable outcomes for cash automation, including efficiency, transaction migration, client adoption, cost-to-serve, control effectiveness and client experience.
• Leverage data, technology, APIs, intelligent automation and emerging capabilities to create a more efficient and digitally enabled cash ecosystem.

Digital Adoption & Client Experience

• Own the enterprise agenda for digital adoption, working across business segments to ensure that digital capabilities translate into sustained client behavior change.
• Partner with business and product leaders to define adoption strategies for priority digital propositions, channels and journeys.
• Establish a clear linkage between digital adoption and client experience, using data and client insights to understand where digital journeys create value, where friction exists and where intervention is required.
• Develop adoption strategies that move beyond technology deployment to focus on active usage, client migration, engagement, retention and experience.
• Ensure digital adoption is embedded within business performance objectives and is measured through clear commercial, operational and client-experience outcomes.
• Drive consistent and integrated experiences across physical, digital, assisted and self-service channels.

Digital Business Model & Channel Transformation

• Shape the Bank’s digital and alternate-channel strategy to support growth, client acquisition, engagement and transaction migration.
• Accelerate adoption of mobile, online, self-service, API-enabled, ecosystem and embedded-finance capabilities where these create strategic advantage.
• Ensure digital propositions are designed around end-to-end client journeys and needs, rather than individual products or channels.
• Identify opportunities to simplify client journeys and remove points of friction through digitisation, automation and data-driven engagement.
• Translate emerging technology and market trends into commercially viable opportunities for the Bank.

Enterprise Process Digitization & Automation

• Lead the strategic agenda for process simplification, digitization and intelligent automation across the Bank.
• Prioritise high-value processes based on client impact, strategic importance, cost-to-serve, risk, scalability and value creation.
• Champion the use of automation, artificial intelligence, data and technology to materially improve productivity and service delivery.
• Ensure automation initiatives deliver sustainable benefits and do not simply replicate inefficient legacy processes in digital form.

Strategic Technology & Group Enablement

• Provide strategic direction on the technology capabilities required to enable the Bank’s future business and operating model.
• Optimise the use of Absa Group platforms, capabilities, architecture and investments, while ensuring appropriate flexibility to respond to Botswana-specific market and client requirements.
• Work with Group and country stakeholders to resolve architectural interdependencies and maximise the value of shared technology and digital investments.
• Ensure technology investment decisions are driven by strategic business outcomes, client value and measurable return on investment.

Transformation Governance, Investment & Benefits Realization

• Establish disciplined governance across the enterprise transformation portfolio, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and effective execution.
• Set and monitor executive-level measures for digital adoption, client migration, client experience, automation, productivity, cost-to-serve, revenue opportunity and benefits realisation.
• Ensure major transformation investments have clear business cases, accountable sponsors, measurable outcomes and robust benefits tracking.
• Provide transparent reporting to the Managing Director and Country Management Committee on progress, risks, value delivery and strategic dependencies.

Leadership, Culture & Change

• Build an enterprise-wide culture that embraces digital adoption, innovation, simplification and continuous improvement.
• Lead organisational change by ensuring that people, processes, technology and leadership behaviours are aligned to the future-state operating model.
• Develop high-performing digital, transformation and change capabilities and build strong partnerships with business, operations, technology, product and client-facing teams.
• Influence senior stakeholders and create alignment across business segments around enterprise transformation priorities.

Risk, Resilience & Governance

• Ensure digital, automation and transformation initiatives operate within the Bank’s risk appetite and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain strong oversight of operational resilience, cybersecurity, data, technology risk, compliance and control effectiveness within the transformation agenda.
• Ensure transformation delivers simplification and efficiency without compromising control, resilience or client trust.

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Economics, Risk Management, Accounting, Mathematics or related discipline from a recognized university.
• MBA or postgraduate qualification will be an added advantage.
• Senior executive experience leading enterprise transformation, digital adoption, operating model redesign or business transformation within a complex financial-services environment.
• Demonstrable track record of cash automation and transaction/process digitisation, preferably within banking.
• Proven experience designing and implementing shared-services or shared operating models that deliver measurable efficiency and service improvements.
• Demonstrated success in driving digital adoption across multiple business segments, with evidence of sustained client migration and usage.
• Strong track record of linking digital and operational transformation to client experience, commercial performance, productivity and cost-to-serve.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in banking or financial services with emphasis on enterprise strategy and transformation leadership.
• At least 5 years in a senior executive or leadership role within a regulated financial institution.
• Demonstrable understanding of operating model and shared-services design.
• Proven experience engaging Boards, regulators and executive leadership teams.
• Experience in digital adoption and client experience transformation.
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Executive stakeholder influence and change leadership

Key Competencies

• Strategic and commercial acumen
• Strong governance and regulatory understanding
• Executive leadership and influencing capability
• Excellent analytical and decision-making skills
• Strong stakeholder management capability
• High ethical standards and integrity
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic and evolving environment.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to shape the strategic risk agenda of a leading financial institution.
• Executive leadership role with significant organisational impact.
• Competitive executive remuneration and benefits package.
• Dynamic and collaborative working environment.
• Opportunity to contribute to Botswana’s financial sector resilience and sustainable growth.

Please note that we do not accept hard copies of applications and only short-listed candidates will be responded to. 

 Closing Date: 9th October 2026

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