Application Developer

Take ownership of IFS’s internal business applications, built on a modern cloud-based rapid development and hosting platform, and turn operational needs into secure, maintainable software. Working with the Head of IT as Product Owner and with business process owners in all departments, the role delivers usable improvements in short agile sprints, supports reliable day-to-day operation, and enables the in-house IT team to be able to maintain and extend the applications. The role is accountable for a portfolio of business-critical, in-house web applications that govern financial approvals, delegation-of-authority controls and core operational processes across the group. These systems are relied upon daily and are integral to the organisation’s internal controls and audit trail.

Key Responsibilities

Application Build

• Take over and extend the existing applications, understand the users, workflow, permissions, data and release process before making changes.
• Build and maintain responsive front ends, REST APIs and relational data models with the validation, access controls, audit trails and tests each feature requires.
• Integrate with Microsoft Graph/Entra ID and other approved services using documented, least-privilege patterns, agree the integration approach with the Product Owner before implementation.

• Run Scrum sprints, weekly backlog refinement, sprint planning, a daily check-in, a sprint review with a working demo to business process owners, and a retrospective.
• Turn feedback into clear acceptance criteria and prioritised backlog items, keep the backlog, sprint board and release notes current so progress is visible without being asked.
• Communicate progress, blockers, dependencies and trade-offs early, hold a realistic sprint goal and demonstrate working software every sprint.

• Write and maintain automated tests for business rules, approval routing, permissions and API behaviour, raise the current testing baseline.
• Apply OWASP-informed secure development and POPIA-aware handling of personal and financial data; keep secrets in the platform’s managed secrets store, never in code.
• Release to production only through a scheduled release with a change notice to the business, in line with the IFS IT change standard, raise and remediate high-risk technical debt with the Product Owner.

• Keep a technical document per application current, architecture, data model, environment variables, deployment and rollback steps, known limitations.
• Produce or update IFS-branded user manuals with the IT team for each release, pair with the IT team and run knowledge-transfer sessions.

Qualification and Experience

• Three to five years of relevant application-development experience, with examples of software delivered into active use and maintained after release.
• Practical React and JavaScript experience, TypeScript preferred. Strong C# or Java developers will be considered based on demonstrated readiness to work hands-on in JavaScript/React from the first sprint.
• Demonstrable experience in Scrum or Kanban delivery, writing user stories, estimating, running demos and retrospectives, and working directly with a Product Owner or business stakeholders.
• Relevant degree or diploma in Computer Science, Information Systems or similar, or equivalent experience. Agile certification (CSM, PSM I) is an advantage.

Preference will be given to appointments that support the achievement of our Employment Equity and Affirmative Action goals