Job Vacancy @ Life By Design (LBD) Group – Chief Technology Officer

Job Description

Chief Technology Officer

Location:                    20B Old Railway Line, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Equipment:                 Laptop and office equipment provided

Reports to:                 Chief Executive Officer

Package:                    Competitive with options for equity

Company Overview

The Life By Design, “LBD”, Group is a consolidation of four intentional companies who are committed to transforming the business landscape in Sierra Leone by providing world class business support services.  Life By Design and Grow Salone teams are focused on talent development for professional or entrepreneurial careers, Inkee Media are our media and brand management team; while iDT Labs envision, design and deliver technology solutions for development. As The LBD Group, we pride ourselves as the “One Stop Shop” for business solutions.

The Chief Technology Officer, CTO will be leading the development team at iDT Labs.  iDT Labs, is an ICT company headquartered in Sierra Leone and with a focus on envisioning, designing and implementing technology solutions for development in West Africa. Since 2013, we have been delivering high quality and customized ICT solutions for governments, organizations and businesses wanting to tackle social, developmental, and economic challenges.  We are the strategic knowledge and technology partners to commercial banks, community banks, and micro-finance institutions, providing core banking systems, mobile financial services, digital payments facilitation, payroll management and other value-added services to these institutions. We find ourselves at the fore-front of helping West African governments realize the economies of scale, vendor independence, future proofing and tremendous cost savings that adopting cloud computing and open source technology results in. Our work has been recognized through multiple awards including the Business in the Community Award.

Purpose of the Role:

The CTO will be in charge of outlining the company’s technological vision, implementing technology strategies, and ensuring that the technological resources are aligned with the company’s business needs.  This will involve setting the technical direction for product development; creating and executing a strategic plan; identifying the exact resources necessary to put the plan into action; and overseeing the entire process from start to finish.  They will also oversee the company’s information technology and computer systems with duties including assessing current processes, recommending software upgrades, cyber security and directing the executive team on the best processes. The goal of a CTO is to help establish iDT Labs as the premier IT consulting and Software Product Development firm in Sierra Leone and West Africa.

Areas of Responsibility

1. Research and development of products and services

This is going to be the main role of the CTO at iDT Labs. The CTO will have the responsibility to lead in research and development of new & existing products and services. The CTO will be expected to use creative abilities and research methods to improve existing products & services based on user feedback and also develop new products and services to meet the demands of our target markets.

2. Project Management

Due to the nature of the work that we do, the CTO will be the overall project owner of the different ICT projects that we will be working on. This requires that they have strong project management skills from planning projects and budgeting to project execution and time management. Projects may include internal software development and external development assignments from our client. For external assignment, the CTO will be responsible to lead in the research, planning, and implementing of ICT projects won by the company. Tasks may include proposal development, research & discovery, software design & development, product testing and trials, integration of user feedback, and managing support & maintenance after deployment.

3. Manage Operations

The CTO will be responsible for managing operations which will consist of mainly two areas – managing the team and managing the clients. We are looking for an inspirational leader who has a fairly good business sense and is able to recruit, mentor and guide a team of tech development enthusiasts. We also know that our clients may need some hand holding or otherwise guidance and we expect the CTO to come up with solutions that address their needs proactively.

4. Have a Technical Vision

Though the product’s overarching vision is a culmination of the company’s leadership team, the CTO needs to develop a technical strategy for iDT Labs that will make that vision a reality. The strategy should include clear goals, obstacles, as well as risk analysis. This technical strategy needs to align with the startup’s overall business objectives. In order to craft a strong vision, a CTO needs to have profound technical skills and a thorough understanding of business. CTOs need to have the proper tools to create and channel this vision into something real.

Key Specific Tasks

• Establish department goals and priorities in collaboration with Operations.
• Lead the research & development of new products to support the company business goals.
• Analyze and review existing products/services, gather and integrate end user feedback to improve existing products/services.
• Support the process of launching and taking developed products to market.
• Provide leadership & mentorship to team members, and develop plans to improve their skills & capacity.
• Lead in the development of technical proposals and support the Sales Team respond to EOIs, RFQ and other such public tenders related to your department.
• Ensure that all project, internal & external, is managed to budget, time and quality
• Ensure proper project & software documentations including source codes for all software developed.
• Managing the life cycle of all software development projects, including research and information gathering, defining project scope, developing budgets and drafting work plans, stakeholders communication strategies, product testing, deployment, end-user training, and user support and system maintenance.

Competencies:

We are seeking motivated and dynamic individuals who enjoy solving challenging problems independently. This role is suitable for only those who are keen to learn and can demonstrate a high level of work ethic and a desire to adapt to the changing demands of the business. Some of the key competences include:

• Business sense: a sound understanding of how business functions, the challenges it faces, and the solutions needed to overcome them.
• Leadership skills: able to motivate and inspire employees but also manage their team work by delegating tasks, while offering guidance and mentoring when needed.
• Effective communication: able to communicate with all stakeholders effectively. This includes communicating ideas, technical information and solutions to problems.
• Decision-making skills: to make important decisions regarding teams, resources, tasks and deadlines. The CTO can work on a strategy that includes all these points or work alongside the technical co-founder and other stakeholders to assist with advice when decisions need to be made.
• Ability to conduct research: able to do thorough research around the businesses’ needs and which solutions are best suited. The CTO should also be able to identify any possible challenges and find resolutions for them.
• Strategic thinking skills: to think strategically to focus on the bigger picture of a business or project’s goals
• Time management skills: to have excellent time management skills. This includes being able to set up tasks, follow timelines and meet deadlines.
• Ability to employ tech talent: the skills to source and employ, or at least, assess, new candidates. The CTO has the experience and knowledge to understand which candidates are right for certain positions and what type of skills they should have.

Professional competencies:

• 5+ years in software engineering and demonstrated experience developing and delivery large-scale software systems
• Project Management Experience
• 5+ years in management positions
• 5+ years in managing client relationships
• Experience using a Customer Relationship Management System
• Fluent in written and spoken English

To submit your application, please send your CV and a cover letter to [email protected] before 1st October 2022.