Senior COBOL Developer

About the Opportunity

Our client, a leading South African bank, is looking for a seasoned COBOL Developer for a critical role within their core banking technology division. The bank is undergoing a significant programme of mainframe modernisation and maintenance, and this individual will play a key role in ensuring the stability, performance, and evolution of mission-critical back-end systems.

This is a hybrid position based in South Africa, offering a blend of remote flexibility and on-site collaboration within a well-established, high-performing engineering team.

The Role

As a Senior COBOL Developer, you will be responsible for the design, development, maintenance, and optimisation of COBOL-based applications that underpin the bank's core banking operations. You will work closely with business analysts, architects, and testing teams to deliver robust solutions across batch and online processing environments.

Day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Developing, maintaining, and enhancing COBOL programs running on IBM z/OS mainframe environments

• Analysing and resolving production incidents and defects affecting core banking batch and online systems

• Participating in design reviews, code reviews, and sprint planning as part of an Agile delivery model

• Writing and optimising JCL scripts for batch job scheduling and execution

• Interfacing with DB2, IMS, or VSAM data stores for data retrieval and processing

• Collaborating with integration teams on CICS transaction processing and web services exposure

• Documenting technical specifications, change records, and operational runbooks

• Mentoring junior developers and contributing to knowledge-sharing within the team

• Ensuring all code changes comply with the bank's change management and quality assurance processes

• Supporting system migration and modernisation initiatives as required

Minimum Requirements

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of hands-on COBOL development experience gained within a banking or broader financial services environment — this is non-negotiable

• Proven track record of working on production mainframe systems in a live banking context

• Experience with IBM z/OS or equivalent enterprise mainframe platforms

• Solid understanding of core banking processes such as payments, lending, deposits, or reconciliations

• Experience developing and maintaining batch processing systems and online transactional applications

Technical Skills

• Enterprise COBOL (IBM COBOL or equivalent) — advanced proficiency require

• JCL (Job Control Language) — writing, debugging, and maintaining complex job streams

• CICS (Customer Information Control System) — online transaction development and support

• DB2 and/or IMS database interaction via embedded SQL or call-level interfaces

• VSAM file handling — KSDS, ESDS, RRDS structures

• Familiarity with Endevor, ChangeMan, or similar mainframe source code management tools

• Debugging tools such as Xpediter, File-AID, or SDSF

• Knowledge of ISPF/SDSF for job monitoring and system interaction

Qualifications

• A tertiary qualification in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline is preferred

• Equivalent professional experience will be considered in lieu of a formal degree

• IBM mainframe certifications are advantageous but not mandatory

Work Authorisation

• Candidates must be legally authorised to work in South Africa — either citizens, permanent residents, or holders of a valid work permit

• No relocation assistance is offered for this role

Advantageous Skills

Candidates who can demonstrate any of the following will be at a strong advantage:

• Experience with mainframe-to-cloud integration or hybrid architecture programmes

• Exposure to modern COBOL techniques including object-oriented COBOL or XML/JSON processing

• Familiarity with DevOps tooling adapted for mainframe (e.g., DBB, Zowe, GitLab with z/OS pipelines)

• Experience working in an Agile/SAFe delivery environment within a large financial institution

• Knowledge of SWIFT messaging standards, PASA payment rails, or NPS (National Payment System) processes relevant to the South African market

• Exposure to rehosting or legacy modernisation projects (e.g., Micro Focus, Broadcom, or AWS Mainframe Modernization)

• Understanding of banking regulatory frameworks relevant to South Africa (SARB, FICA, POPIA compliance)

Personal Attributes

Beyond technical capability, the ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, particularly in diagnosing complex production issues under pressure

• Excellent attention to detail with a disciplined approach to code quality and documentation

• The ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• A collaborative team ethic with a willingness to share knowledge and support colleagues

• Self-motivation and the ability to manage workload independently in a hybrid working environment

• A commitment to continuous learning and keeping pace with mainframe and banking technology developments

Working Arrangements

Work Model

Hybrid — combination of remote and on-site work at the bank's South African office(s). On-site frequency will be agreed with the line manager.

Location Requirement

Candidates must be based in South Africa and available to attend on-site as required. Remote-only applications from outside South Africa will not be considered.

Hours

Standard business hours, Monday to Friday. Occasional out-of-hours support may be required during critical releases or incident response.

Contract Type

Fixed-Term 12 month contract.