Senior Manager Retail Digital Solution Analyst & Innovation Lead

As the Solutions Analyst and Innovation Lead reporting to the Head of Retail Digital Solutions, you will lead product discovery sessions and translate retail customer business requirements into technical solutions. You will define architectures, design artifacts, and implementation approaches using appropriate technologies to achieve business outcomes. This strategic leadership role requires interpreting business strategy, providing expert advice to business leaders and technology teams, and bridging the gap between business needs and technology implementation. You will work with internal teams, fintechs, and external partners to create innovative solutions and navigate digital transformation in a fast-paced environment.\n\n### Key Accountabilities\n\nBusiness Growth (25%)\n* Analyse and recommend best-in-class technology solutions to support balance sheet growth, customer acquisition, product utilisation, and retention.\n* Lead the organisation’s innovation agenda for customer acquisition and balance sheet growth.\n* Craft solutions enabling efficient use of Retail Digital solutions; manage POC, Proof of Value, and benchmarking engagements.\n* Participate in pre-sales by supporting opportunity qualification using customer business and technical requirements.\n* Analyse business processes and translate requirements into functional and non-functional specifications for cross-functional teams.\n* Support development and implementation of business cases.\n\nSolution Architect Development (30%)\n* Translate business requirements into solution architecture; deliver solutions aligned to standards and design specifications.\n* Lead design, specification, and selection of solutions considering functionality, data, security, integration, infrastructure, and performance.\n* Identify, evaluate, validate, and document customer requirements; map to business processes and architectures.\n* Integrate all architectural components and communicate across teams from development tools to high-level system design.\n* Build customer relationships, provide technical guidance, and identify new opportunities.\n* Conduct requirement-gathering through workshops, surveys, site visits, and use cases.\n* Research and develop IT best practices and trends in payments, technology, and business.\n\nProject Management (20%)\n* Manage project budgets and lead preparation of business cases and project charters.\n* Define scope, requirements, and success metrics per project.\n* Support Retail Automation Program and testing via User Requirement Specifications.\n* Lead cross-functional teams to deliver digital channels and enhancements.\n* Provide leadership in testing and testing teams.\n* Lead project meetings including sprint planning and reviews.\n* Support project pipeline, prioritisation, and client engagements.\n* Lead partner engagements with vendors and third parties.\n\nInternal Controls, Processes & Procedures (10%)\n* Ensure compliance with standards and regulations.\n* Establish quality assurance standards and best practices.\n* Track implementation progress and define SLAs and monitoring mechanisms.\n* Act as SME; prepare process and training documentation.\n* Support L&D with training content.\n\nCustomer Experience (15%)\n* Use research and benchmarking to improve CX and loyalty metrics (NPS, product stickiness).\n* Continuously optimise customer journeys and digital solution design.\n\n### Requirements\n* Bachelor’s Degree in either Computer Science, Telecommunication Engineering, or Electrical & Electronics Engineering.\n* At least 6+ years’ work experience in design, implementation, and deployment of business solutions in a Service Provider environment.\n* Experience in IT solution architecture and development of APIs on Enterprise Service Bus (ESB).\n* Experience with Core Banking Systems and integrations to Mobile Money, USSD/SMS, Omni-Channel, Internet Banking, ERP, and CRM systems.\n* Proven track record for delivery of large-scale, complex projects delivering IT/Telco/financial customer solutions.\n* Work experience in start-up/Fintech/telco/tech firm or financial services is desired.\n* Proficiency in software development (Java, Spring, JBoss, WebSphere, C#, Oracle databases).\n* Solid grasp of design patterns (OOD, SOA, MSA, EDA) and cloud-based solutions (AWS, Azure, or Google).\n* Experience with UI tools like Figma and infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform is desired.\n\n### How to Apply\nInterested and qualified candidates should apply online via the NCBA Group career portal by visiting https://www.myjobmag.co.ke/apply-now/1217383. You will be redirected to the SuccessFactors portal to complete your application.