ABSA Africa
In 2015, ABSA (part-owned by Barclays at the time) was one of South Africa’s top 5 banks.
I worked within ABSA Africa, the division supporting the bank’s digital transformation initiatives across its technical landscape.
Digital Project Manager
I joined in March 2015 as part of ABSA’s programme to rebrand all Barclays Group digital assets.
As the Digital Project Manager, I led the redevelopment of the mobile banking app, coordinating cross-country teams across the UK, US, India and South Africa.
The digital division was transitioning into Agile ways of working, and I helped establish Agile ceremonies across four countries, ensuring daily progress tracking and rapid decision-making. I worked closely with Product Owners, UX teams, and the Master of Scrum to shape the solution, while also managing the project budget, risks and reporting through both Excel and ServiceNow.
This was the largest digital project in the portfolio at the time and required significant coordination between international vendors, business sponsors and technical teams.
Specific Deliverables
Established cross-country Agile delivery capability, enabling daily stand-ups and continuous progress across teams in the UK, US, India and South Africa.
Led delivery of the largest digital project in the department, ensuring alignment across Product Owners, Scrums, UX and international vendors.
Provided weekly senior leadership reporting, ensuring both London and South Africa executives had full visibility of risks, blockers and progress.
Role Stats
Average size of team
4 Scrum Teams
1 Master of Scrums
2 Product Owners
2 Sponsors (UK &SA)
Average Budget
Main Project - £1.5M
Average Number of Projects
1 large project
