LINDWE BLESSED NHLAPHO

Results-driven information technology leader with proven track record of transforming IT strategy and operations. Skilled in developing innovative solutions, optimizing processes, and enhancing cybersecurity. Strong focus on fostering team collaboration, driving performance, and adapting to changing needs. Recognized for effective communication, strategic vision, and robust project management skills.

• Member for the Protea Toastmasters club.
• Member of Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) member number 5559.

• National Department of Health, Led implementation of a R90 million IT infrastructure project across clinics and hospitals in 8 provinces, covering network upgrades, Wi-Fi deployment, servers, UPSs, and end-user hardware to support the District Health Information System (DHIS) in preparation for NHI rollout.
• Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Served as Product Owner for key justice applications developed by SITA under a R2.5 million SLA.
• Transnet National Ports Authority – East London, Led the port’s digital infrastructure modernization.
• Office of the Premier (Centre for e-Innovation), Delivered in-house web applications to support government departments.

• 06/2024, MAGALIES WATER, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, Directed the Information Management (IM) Project Portfolio, ensuring all digital and IM initiatives were strategically aligned with corporate objectives and delivered measurable business value., Spearheaded the development and implementation of a comprehensive IM governance framework, establishing standards, policies, and decision-making structures across data, systems, and technology portfolios., Oversaw multi-million-rand ICT investments, ensuring portfolio optimization, risk mitigation, and value realization across infrastructure, application, and business intelligence projects., Established a robust portfolio management office (PMO) function, introducing standardized project methodologies, stage-gate reviews, and KPI-based tracking for enterprise-wide IM initiatives., Championed enterprise architecture alignment by integrating IM projects with long-term technology roadmaps, ensuring scalability, interoperability, and compliance with regulatory standards., Managed the adoption and deployment of new systems and ensure ongoing operation., Monitoring and reporting on the health of applicable products and clusters across the value chain integrity and sustainability of digital solutions., Drove digital transformation strategies, including smart metering, cloud migration, data analytics, and mobile workforce enablement, enhancing service delivery and operational efficiency., Ensure digitalization efforts enables value delivery., Led cross-functional collaboration between IT, business units, and enterprise architecture teams, fostering innovation, transparency, and shared accountability in project execution., Implemented executive dashboards and strategic reporting tools to provide real-time visibility into portfolio health, project performance, and strategic alignment., Managed high-level stakeholder engagement, including Board and EXCO reporting, ensuring informed decision-making on ICT investments and enterprise digital maturity., Strengthened IM risk, compliance, and cybersecurity governance, aligning practices with frameworks such as King IV, COBIT, POPIA, and ISO 27001., Ensured consistent application of Health & Safety principles across all disciplines, promoting a zero-harm culture and personal accountability to eliminate incidents and fatalities., Fostered a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing, embedding lessons learned and agile thinking across the IM project lifecycle., Led vendor and technology partner management, ensuring optimal delivery, SLA performance, and the strategic sourcing of ICT capabilities.
• 07/2023 to 06/2024, SIYANDA RESOURCES (JHB), GROUP INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, Manage the enterprise information technology (IT) roadmap, strategy and enterprise wide architecture., Develop and implementation of SIYANDA RESOURCES (SR) IT Governance policy., Develop and implementation of SIYANDA RESOURCES (SR) IT Data management policy., Develop and implementation of SIYANDA RESOURCES (SR) IT Cybersecurity policy., Contributed to the development of the digitalization strategy and road map, critical tasks and performance targets for Supply Chain and the broader for SIYANDA RESOURCES (SR)., Develop and implementation of SIYANDA RESOURCES (SR) IT technical user query management policy., Implemented and continuously reviewed the ICT Strategy at SR, achieving a strategic alignment score of 75% as measured by periodic assessments., Lead identification and analysis of SIYANDA RESOURCES (SR) enterprise business, information, technical to plan and implement the solution.
• 03/2023 to 07/2023, EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL TREASURY (BHISHO), DIRECTOR: IT EXPERT (MEDICO LEGAL PROJECT), Led the design and implementation of multi-functional ICT solutions to support interdepartmental interventions in managing medico-legal cases, ensuring streamlined workflows, secure information sharing, and case tracking., Spearheaded the development of a centralized medico-legal case management system, integrating clinical, legal, and administrative data to improve case resolution times and reduce litigation risks., Partnered with Health, Legal, Finance, and HR departments to drive a collaborative digital transformation strategy, enhancing accountability and transparency in medico-legal processes., Ensured consistent application of Health & Safety principles across all disciplines, promoting a zero-harm culture and personal accountability to eliminate incidents and fatalities., Implemented data governance and audit trails for medico-legal records, ensuring compliance with privacy laws, ethical standards, and medico-legal documentation protocols., Provided strategic ICT leadership on cross-sector task teams, contributing technical expertise to national and provincial strategies for medico-legal case reduction and prevention., Oversaw the ICT budget allocation for medico-legal interventions, aligning technology investments with strategic goals, and ensuring cost-effectiveness and value for money., Introduced advanced analytics and reporting tools to monitor medico-legal trends, track expenditure, and forecast potential liabilities for better financial planning., Directed the development of early warning systems and dashboards, enabling decision-makers to proactively address high-risk medico-legal areas across departments., Played a pivotal role in the digitization of records and process automation, reducing administrative burden, improving accuracy, and accelerating turnaround times in claims processing., Provided high-level reporting and strategic input to EXCO and Ministerial Task Teams on the role of ICT in reducing medico-legal case backlogs and improving service delivery.
• 08/2020 to 02/2023, GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL ADVISORY CENTRE (GTAC), ICT AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ADVISOR, Manage the enterprise information technology (IT) roadmap and enterprise wide architecture., Develop and implementation of MFIP IT Governance policy., Develop and implementation of MFIP IT Data management policy., Drafting and implementation of MFIP IT Security policy., Develop and implementation of MFIP’s IT technical user query management policy., Identifying enterprise system architecture risks and opportunities., Lead identification and analysis of GTAC enterprise business, information, technical to plan and implement the solution.
• 07/2016 to 07/2017, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS APPLICATION SYSTEMS MANAGER, Manage the development and deployment of new application, systems software and/or enhancements to existing applications throughout the organisation., Ensure that development projects meet business requirements., Collaborate with Business Analyst, Developers and System owners in the testing of new software programs and applications., Manage and provide direction for the Application and Development team in support of business applications., Review and analyse existing applications’ effectiveness and efficiency and develop strategies for improving or leveraging these systems., Research and make recommendations on software products and services in support of procurement and development efforts., Co-ordinate feasible studies for software and system products under consideration for purchase, and give advice based on findings., Prioritise projects assigned to the Application and Development team., Responsible for the Development lifecycle of the department’s software systems, including gathering requirements, database management, software development, testing, implementation, user follow up, support and project management., Develop and implement change control processes for the development team to follow., Provides ad-hoc reporting and decision support required for management decision processes., Making technology decisions that affect Software Development.
• 08/2014 to 05/2016, TRANSNET NATIONAL PORTS AUTHORITY, ICT & SERVICE DELIVERY MANAGER, Develop and define ICT Departmental plan for the Port., Define policies, procedures and standards & annual policy renewal., Require business solutions deployment to Port of East London Business Units., Manage the Installation infrastructure of computer and networking platform., Manage ICT budget and Capital Expenditure., Proactively provide and collaborate with the Business Architecture division and Origination Team on information concerning specific business opportunities for organisational Process management, Business Intelligence and Organisational., Ensure consistent application of Health & Safety principles across all disciplines, promoting a zero-harm culture and personal accountability to eliminate incidents and fatalities., Implement, test and maintain Business continuity planning / Disaster Recovery Plans., Manage a Service Stream: Network, Call Centre, End user computing & Service Delivery., Manage and maintain SLA’s and Contracts., Manage Client Services and Relationships, improve service delivery to internal customers as stated in SLA by reducing lead times., Manage change Management process as part of the SLA in place with service provider., Manage and maintain ICT service performance., Risk assessment for the business unit, to mitigate any ICT related risks in the port., Compiling a business continuity plan and audit program for the local ICT., Ensure security within ICT environment., Ensure that legislation practices are adhered to., Manage Internal Audits and attend to External Audits., Ensure that Corporate Governance is adhered to., Co-ordinate management of business applications in conjunction with SAP support management.
• 12/2008 to 07/2014, DEPARTMENT OF PREMIER, ANALYST DEVELOPER (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR), Developing functional and technical specifications to meet the business needs of clients., Systems analysis for new and existing systems., Construct programs including coding, testing and debugging., Researching new ICT technologies, plans and solutions resulting in evaluation reports and proposals., Elicit requirements using interviews, document analysis, requirements workshops, surveys, site visits, business process descriptions, use cases, scenarios, business analysis, tasks, information and workflow analysis and any other techniques required to document the business, process and information requirements., Critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile conflicts, decompose high-level information into details, abstract up from low-level information to a general understanding, and distinguish user requests from underlying needs., Utilize experience in using enterprise-wide requirements definition and management systems and methodologies required.
• 10/2006 to 11/2008, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, ROADS AND TRANSPORT, NETWORK CONTROLLER, System Maintenance Including Network, Hardware and software., Develop future strategies for system / technology replacement., Backup and recovery of all data on site., Manage and maintain SLA’s and Contracts., Equipment specifications and standards are adhered to implement and manage and maintain the computer hardware infrastructure and operating systems., Network security and virus prevention., Manage a Service Stream: Network, Call Centre, End user computing, Service Delivery.
• 05/2006 to 09/2006, FREE STATE PROVINCIAL TREASURY, WEB DEVELOPER / DESIGNER (INTERNSHIP), Design new systems or enhancements to existing systems., Determine source data (input), processing requirements (output), output formats, timing and cost estimates., Designing, implement and document criteria., Design/modify, code, debug, test and document moderately complex application systems., Install and test moderately complex software packages., Develop and/or teach seminars, workshops, and classes to users or other Programmers/Analysts on the technical aspects or use of computer hardware, software packages or application systems., Consult on the use of moderately complex software packages., Advise users regarding program techniques and design., Maintain program libraries, user’s manuals, and technical documentation.