Background

South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU), a public institution committed to academic excellence, research, innovation, and community service, has announced multiple vacancies within its Division of Corporate Services and Division of Academics, Research and Innovation. The University seeks to recruit qualified, experienced, and results-oriented professionals to support its strategic mandate of delivering high-quality education, strengthening institutional systems, and advancing research and innovation.

These vacancies present an opportunity for professionals in ICT leadership and academia to join a dynamic university environment that emphasizes governance, compliance, innovation, and sustainable institutional growth. The positions are based at the University’s main campus in Kitui, Kenya.

Job Purpose

The Director, ICT is responsible for providing strategic leadership, governance, and operational oversight of the University’s information and communication technology function. The role focuses on aligning ICT systems with institutional priorities, enhancing digital transformation, strengthening cybersecurity, and ensuring efficient and secure ICT service delivery across the University.

Responsibilities

The Director, ICT will be responsible for the following functions:

• Spearheading the formulation and implementation of ICT policies, strategies, and systems in alignment with institutional objectives
• Leading ICT risk management initiatives in accordance with the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework
• Directing the safe custody, access, and security of institutional information assets
• Overseeing the development, tracking, and control of ICT annual operating and capital budgets
• Spearheading the development, implementation, and maintenance of software applications across the University
• Overseeing acquisition, installation, and maintenance of ICT hardware, ERP systems, and infrastructure platforms
• Providing leadership in technological innovation, including Big Data analytics and business process re-engineering
• Identifying emerging technologies and developing institutional capability to adopt new tools and systems
• Spearheading the development and implementation of ICT disaster recovery and business continuity frameworks
• Overseeing the development and implementation of ICT governance frameworks and compliance mechanisms
• Ensuring accountability in the provision and maintenance of ICT infrastructure, including servers, LAN, telecommunications, and remote access systems
• Ensuring the existence and continuous improvement of ICT disaster recovery plans
• Leading implementation of Quality Management Systems (ISO) within ICT operations
• Overseeing security of ICT applications and infrastructure systems
• Facilitating technical knowledge transfer and staff capacity development within the ICT directorate
• Ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks including the Data Protection Act (2019) and ICT Authority standards
• Optimizing utilization of existing ICT equipment and enterprise systems
• Overseeing development and execution of ICT directorate work plans
• Designing and maintaining high-availability network infrastructure for both local and wide area connectivity
• Engaging departmental leadership in configuration and change management processes
• Assigning, monitoring, and evaluating staff performance within the directorate
• Driving ICT staff development through structured coaching, mentoring, and career pathing
• Collaborating with business units to anticipate technological trends and align ICT strategy accordingly
• Managing vendor relationships, contracts, and service level agreements
• Identifying and mitigating information security threats within the ICT environment
• Advising senior management on ICT strategy, vision, and development planning
• Continuously reviewing ICT infrastructure capacity and recommending improvements
• Ensuring delivery of ICT projects within approved budgets and timelines
• Maintaining accurate asset registers for ICT infrastructure and digital resources
• Overseeing management of mission-critical enterprise applications
• Leading vendor negotiations for ICT equipment and software procurement
• Ensuring efficient utilization of ICT resources across the University
• Driving execution of ICT work plans and reporting on performance
• Preparing and submitting periodic board and management reports
• Participating in institutional committees to support corporate governance and strategic objectives

Qualifications

Candidates applying for this position must meet the following criteria:

• Master’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, Software Engineering, ICT Project Management, Computer Engineering, or equivalent qualification
• At least fifteen (15) years of relevant work experience, including four (4) years at senior management level
• Leadership training lasting not less than four (4) weeks cumulatively
• IT Management or Information Security qualifications and at least four (4) relevant professional certifications (including but not limited to CISM, CEH, CISSP, CompTIA Security+, CCNA, CCNP, COBIT, MCSE, among others)
• Project Management certification such as PRINCE2, PMP, Sure Step, or equivalent
• Proficiency in programming, database querying, and data analytics
• Compliance with Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya on Leadership and Integrity

• Spearheading the formulation and implementation of ICT policies, strategies, and systems in alignment with institutional objectives
• Leading ICT risk management initiatives in accordance with the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework
• Directing the safe custody, access, and security of institutional information assets
• Overseeing the development, tracking, and control of ICT annual operating and capital budgets
• Spearheading the development, implementation, and maintenance of software applications across the University
• Overseeing acquisition, installation, and maintenance of ICT hardware, ERP systems, and infrastructure platforms
• Providing leadership in technological innovation, including Big Data analytics and business process re-engineering
• Identifying emerging technologies and developing institutional capability to adopt new tools and systems
• Spearheading the development and implementation of ICT disaster recovery and business continuity frameworks
• Overseeing the development and implementation of ICT governance frameworks and compliance mechanisms
• Ensuring accountability in the provision and maintenance of ICT infrastructure, including servers, LAN, telecommunications, and remote access systems
• Ensuring the existence and continuous improvement of ICT disaster recovery plans
• Leading implementation of Quality Management Systems (ISO) within ICT operations
• Overseeing security of ICT applications and infrastructure systems
• Facilitating technical knowledge transfer and staff capacity development within the ICT directorate
• Ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks including the Data Protection Act (2019) and ICT Authority standards
• Optimizing utilization of existing ICT equipment and enterprise systems
• Overseeing development and execution of ICT directorate work plans
• Designing and maintaining high-availability network infrastructure for both local and wide area connectivity
• Engaging departmental leadership in configuration and change management processes
• Assigning, monitoring, and evaluating staff performance within the directorate
• Driving ICT staff development through structured coaching, mentoring, and career pathing
• Collaborating with business units to anticipate technological trends and align ICT strategy accordingly
• Managing vendor relationships, contracts, and service level agreements
• Identifying and mitigating information security threats within the ICT environment
• Advising senior management on ICT strategy, vision, and development planning
• Continuously reviewing ICT infrastructure capacity and recommending improvements
• Ensuring delivery of ICT projects within approved budgets and timelines
• Maintaining accurate asset registers for ICT infrastructure and digital resources
• Overseeing management of mission-critical enterprise applications
• Leading vendor negotiations for ICT equipment and software procurement
• Ensuring efficient utilization of ICT resources across the University
• Driving execution of ICT work plans and reporting on performance
• Preparing and submitting periodic board and management reports
• Participating in institutional committees to support corporate governance and strategic objectives

• Strategic leadership
• ICT governance
• Operational oversight
• Digital transformation
• Cybersecurity
• ICT service delivery
• ICT policy formulation and implementation
• ICT risk management
• Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
• Information asset management
• Budget management (operating and capital)
• Software application development, implementation, and maintenance
• ICT hardware acquisition, installation, and maintenance
• ERP systems management
• Infrastructure platform management
• Technological innovation
• Big Data analytics
• Business process re-engineering
• Emerging technologies identification and adoption
• ICT disaster recovery and business continuity planning
• ICT governance frameworks and compliance mechanisms
• Accountability in ICT infrastructure provision and maintenance
• High-availability network infrastructure design and maintenance
• Configuration and change management
• Staff performance management and evaluation
• Staff development (coaching, mentoring, career pathing)
• Vendor relationship management
• Contract and service level agreement management
• Information security threat mitigation
• ICT strategy advising
• ICT infrastructure capacity review and improvement recommendations
• Project management (budget and timeline adherence)
• Asset register maintenance
• Mission-critical enterprise application management
• Vendor negotiation
• ICT resource optimization
• Work plan execution and performance reporting
• Board and management reporting
• Institutional committee participation
• Proficiency in programming
• Database querying
• Data analytics

• Master’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, Software Engineering, ICT Project Management, Computer Engineering, or equivalent qualification
• At least fifteen (15) years of relevant work experience
• Four (4) years at senior management level
• Leadership training lasting not less than four (4) weeks cumulatively
• IT Management or Information Security qualifications
• At least four (4) relevant professional certifications (including but not limited to CISM, CEH, CISSP, CompTIA Security+, CCNA, CCNP, COBIT, MCSE, among others)
• Project Management certification such as PRINCE2, PMP, Sure Step, or equivalent
• Proficiency in programming, database querying, and data analytics
• Compliance with Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya on Leadership and Integrity