The Head of Software Engineering is a senior leadership role responsible for translating the Technology and Ogilvy One strategy into a clear engineering roadmap, owning the technical architecture for key platforms and applications, and overseeing the full software development lifecycle for both internal products and client-facing solutions. This role requires strong leadership to mentor and develop a high-performing engineering team and drive predictable, high-quality software delivery and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
Leadership & Team Management
- Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing team of software engineers and engineering managers, creating clear goals, career paths and growth opportunities.
- Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, psychological safety and continuous learning in line with Ogilvy’s beliefs.
- Ensure effective staffing, capacity planning and succession planning across projects and products.
- Promote a practitioner culture – leading by example with hands-on technical engagement where needed.
Engineering Strategy & Architecture
- Translate the Technology and Ogilvy One strategy into a clear engineering roadmap (platforms, products, tools, architecture).
- Own the technical architecture for key platforms and applications (mobile, web, APIs, integrations), ensuring scalability, reliability, security and cost efficiency.
- Evaluate and select appropriate technologies, frameworks, and third-party services (including cloud, data, martech and AI/ML) aligned to business and client needs.
- Define and maintain reference architectures, coding standards, and best practices across teams.
Software Delivery & Project Governance
- Oversee the full software development lifecycle (discovery, design, development, testing, deployment, operations) for both internal products and client-facing solutions.
- Ensure robust project governance: estimation, planning, resourcing, risk management, change control and progress tracking.
- Drive predictable, high-quality delivery using Agile/Iterative methods (Scrum, Kanban, etc.) and modern DevOps practices (CI/CD, automated testing, observability).
- Collaborate with Project Management, Client Services and Product teams to keep delivery on schedule, within scope and to budget, while managing trade-offs transparently.
Cross-Functional & Client Collaboration
- Act as a key technical counterpart to business, product, data, creative, and account leadership.
- Translate non-technical requirements into clear technical specifications and architectures (including UX/UI, data models, integrations and security).
- Support pre-sales and solutioning for key client opportunities: participate in discovery, propose architectures, scope work, and present solutions to senior client stakeholders.
- Build and manage relationships with external technology partners, vendors and delivery partners across the region.
Innovation, Data & Emerging Technologies
- Lead innovation initiatives in software, data and AI/ML aligned to Ogilvy Africa’s ambitions (e.g., personalization, real-time marketing, analytics, content automation, e-commerce).
- Encourage and oversee proofs-of-concept (PoCs), pilots and experiments; facilitate “fail-fast, learn-fast” cycles and scale successful initiatives.
- Work with Data and Strategy teams to ensure data-driven design, analytics and measurement are embedded into solutions.
Process, Quality & Operational Excellence
- Design, implement and continuously refine engineering processes that improve speed, quality and reliability (SDLC, code review, branch strategy, release management).
- Define and track key engineering KPIs (velocity, lead time, defects, reliability, uptime, incident MTTR, cost efficiency) and drive continuous improvement.
- Ensure robust quality assurance processes including automated/unit testing, integration testing, security and performance testing.
- Establish and enforce security-by-design and privacy-by-design practices, in line with client and regulatory requirements.
Financial & Resource Management
- Participate in budgeting and resource planning for the engineering function (headcount, tools, cloud, licences, third-party services).
- Optimize cost of delivery through effective use of cloud, automation, open-source, and vendor negotiations.
- Contribute to pricing, effort estimation and cost models for software projects and managed services to ensure profitability and sustainable operations.
Reporting & Stakeholder Communication
- Provide regular reporting to the CTO and senior leadership on engineering performance, project status, risks and mitigation plans.
- Communicate complex technical issues and trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
- Represent the engineering function in internal forums and, where appropriate, in client and industry forums.
Professional, Technical Skills and Experience Required
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems or a related field.
- Master’s degree and/or relevant professional certifications (e.g., cloud, agile, architecture) are an advantage.
Experience
- 10–15+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, including significant hands-on development experience.
- At least 4–6 years in engineering leadership roles (e.g., Head of Engineering, Engineering Manager, Technical Director) managing multi-disciplinary teams.
- Proven track record of successfully delivering multiple complex software projects (web and mobile) across varied domains; agency, consulting or multi-client environments are an advantage.
- Experience running enterprise-scale projects and platforms, including vendor evaluation, contracting/SLAs, and coordinating with distributed teams.
- Demonstrated experience aligning technology initiatives with business goals and delivering measurable improvements in service delivery, customer experience and operational efficiency.
