Alain Williams

Key Responsibilities

Governance & Strategic

• Enabling secure coding practices through establishing and curating AppSec training and awareness programs.
• Developing, maintaining and documenting security policies and procedures for application development, deployment, and maintenance. This includes defining security standards, guidelines, and best practices.
• Evaluating, administering and configuring security tooling to enable an increased security posture within the pre-release phases of the software development lifecycle.
• Evaluating and analysing AppSec status quo (people, processes and technology) and building roadmaps based on the required next steps to ensure a sound and mature application security strategy.

Technical

• Building bespoke solutions which improve systems and processes utilised to ensure secure coding practices are communicated, met and adhered to.
• Monitoring applications and systems for security incidents, and respond to them in a timely and effective manner. This includes investigating security incidents, containing and mitigating their impact, and the implementation of mitigation measure to prevent future incidents.
• Performing code and technical design reviews to ensure secure-by-design principles are embedded into the application lifecycle.
• Facilitation and implementation of early detection mechanisms for vulnerabilities in source code and third-party libraries.

Key Responsibilities

Governance & Strategic

• Engage key stakeholders at all levels to enable DevSecOps-as-a-Services within the business.
• Sit in on DevSecOps Committee/Forum (which assists in driving key strategic initiatives by establishing DevSecOps standards, guidelines and principles for group companies).
• Engage with Information Security resources and assist in establishing SecOps standards within pipelines.
• Forecast technological requirements based on changes in user-base, technologies, economical climate, etc.
• Establish best-practice standards and procedures for teams who provide operational support.

Technical

• Investigate and document possible value-adding services (as it pertains to DevSecOps) and demo to key stakeholders.
  Undertake POV and POC initiatives to ascertain best-fit tooling.
• Implement key foundational instrumentation and first iterations of pipeline products (for DevSecOps-as-a-Service/DaaS).
• Technical design and articulation of specifications for foundational projects.
• Write and maintain software solutions to enable automation of operational tasks.
• Write and maintain software solutions to assist in integrating CI/CD toolstack.

Key Responsibilities

Governance & Strategic

• Assist in enabling Sanlam Group Technology clients on their DevSecOps journeys.
• Manage human resources (who manage) and administer software tooling which facilitates the continuous development and continuous integration within client ALMs.
• Ensure that organisation growth targets are met with regards to client take-ons.
• Engage clients regarding DevSecOps requirements and providing them with delivery roadmaps while managing deliverables.
• Report on key deliverable progress on a quarterly basis.
• Manage vendor engagement (which includes the management of training, resourcing and licensing costs).
• Sit in on DevSecOps Committee/Forum (which assists in driving key strategic initiatives by establishing DevSecOps standards, guidelines and principles for group companies).
  

Technical

• Assist team with technical strategy and planning.
• Write and maintain software solutions to enable automation of operational tasks.
• Write and maintain software solutions to assist in integrating CI/CD toolstack.
• Investigate and document possible value-adding services (as it pertains to DevSecOps) and demo to key stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Administrative

• Managing resources to maximise output on delivery.
• Managing client engagement (planning, reviewing and workshopping) to enrich client experience.
• Compile and publish reports on deliverables on annual and quarterly basis.
• Plan and manage annual roadmaps and ensure that link to team members' KPIs are established.
• Coach, mentor and train team members to ensure that resources are aptly skilled and equipped to carry out their day-to-day tasks.
• Communicating (formal and informal) within incident management process from a technical perspective whether it be to line managers, team leaders or other stakeholders.
• Represent team's interests in CAB meetings and all other forms of planning initiatives (DR planning sessions, etc).

Technical

• Executing, preparing for and managing technical aspects of deployments to pre-Production (excl. Development) and Production environments.
• Stabilising and maintaining application server performance for all environments. This includes “firefighting” and fault finding for ongoing incidents and problems which stunt overall performance. This also encompasses the investigation of new solutions, processes and procedures to improve performance, efficiency and forecasting.
• Implementing and maintain monitoring solutions in all environments. Ongoing fulfillment of new monitoring requirements which have been discovered through the troubleshooting, incident and problem management processes.
• Developing and implementing scripts to increase operational efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Technical

• Executing, preparing for and managing technical aspects of deployments to pre-Production (excl. Development) and Production environments.
• Stabilising and maintaining application server performance for all environments. This includes “firefighting” and fault finding for ongoing incidents and problems which stunt overall performance. This also encompasses the investigation of new solutions, processes and procedures to improve performance, efficiency and forecasting.
• Implementing and maintain monitoring solutions in all environments. Ongoing fulfillment of new monitoring requirements which have been discovered through the troubleshooting, incident and problem management processes.
• Developing and implementing scripts to increase operational efficiency.

• Managing service support calls for all South African sales representatives.
• Offering remote support, guidance and assistance to in-field sales representatives and thus ensuring business continuity.
• Resolving hardware and software issues.
• Managing own and team's work via ticketing system (assigning, tracking and updating tickets).
• Ensuring inbound call response time, call quality and call capacity levels are maintained at all times.
• Engaging with Asset Management team to ensure that all asset states are correctly managed.
• Providing Service Desk Manager with up-to-date and accurate data on service levels.