Business Development Manager Trust Services at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Description

Job Description
Key Accountabilities 

Accountability: Business Development (65%)

• Establish and maintain existing relationship with Consultants / Broker Portfolio eg. Brokers may have more than one client, our task is to source  as much business  as possible from that specific Broker by regular  personal interaction and build on the existing bases, influence the Broker/Client to utilise the benefit  of Absa Trust Beneficiary Fund or Absa Trust Employee Benefit Trusts.
• Set up meetings with Funds on behalf of Absa Trust / Broker when asked to.
• Use strong negotiation skills to persuade decision makers on why they should agree to place death benefit money in a Beneficiary Fund.
• Build a network in the Pension Fund environment through interaction via meetings, telephone calls, e-mails and leads generated within the Absa Group and externally with the Consultants/Broker who specialise in Employee Benefits and their staff and if at all possible with the Trustees of Funds. This relationship and trust building process will ensure more funds (money) to come into Absa Trust Beneficiary Fund.
• Assist Consultants/Brokers and their administration staff with the training on Beneficiary Fund by means of presentations on the Beneficiary Fund product, the correct way to complete the relevant application forms needed by Absa Trust and what our product offers to their clients in order  for the Client/Broker to understand the product offering and the needs of Absa Trust.
• Attain business  target by the retention of existing funds by reporting back to the client on what has happened in the Market in terms of changes in the legislation, or any other relevant changes.  Regular contact with the existing base of consultants/Brokers/Funds via meetings, telephone calls and e-mails. If the Consultant / Broker / Fund experiences administrative problems, work with the Absa Trust Administration department to solve these problems.
• Build on the existing relationship with the Consultants/Brokers/Fund, through running of workshops and regular personal interaction.
• Maintain and build relationships with the existing external clients from your
• Consultant / Broker Portfolio by taking responsibility for checking  on the quality of the reporting generated by the administration department to the Funds and well-being of the Funds administered by Absa Trust.
• Assist with queries or questions personally instead of having the Beneficiary
• refer the problem to their Consultant/Broker. This could be crucial factor in getting all the business instead of just some.
• Build and increase  a network in the Pension Fund environment through
• interaction with Consultants/Brokers/Funds at conferences and related events by being in regular  contact either  via email and/or personally  with our existing Consultant/Broker. Ask Brokers who are their colleagues and make contact with them after the event to set up a meeting to provide information regarding Absa Trust's products.
• Market new Funds through the existing Consultant/Broker Portfolio as well as
• new Brokers by preparing presentations to the Board of Trustees,  the Sub Committees or even just two of three people  who want to know about Absa Trusts product offering to enable these people  to talk to their Board of Trustees about Absa Trust. Prepare folders with the correct hand-outs, brochures and any other marketing material for the individual to take home and study.
• Maintain and build relationships with existing external Funds, (a fund may move
• their business  to another Consulting company) to ensure  that the relationship with the said external Fund can stay with Absa Trust by having contact telephonically and via e-mail with the relevant contact person  at the Fund. Keep abreast of moves and resignations in your contact people.
• Market Absa Trust products at every possible opportunity at the various conferences and other related industry  events, tell people  of Absa Trust and services and products on offer by explaining why we are better than our competition. This is a way many networking opportunities occur.
• Accountability:  Relationship Management (20%)
• Sustain and uphold relations with various clients by submission of reports to specified Funds as per their Service Level Agreements by preparing the report for a client and anticipating questions they may ask and have the answers beforehand. When preparing the report check if the right fees are charged for the different option, check that regular maintenace is paid and if not find out why.
• Do regular checks to ensure that the terms and conditions of the Service Level Agreement are adhered to by both the administrator and the Funds by the monitoring of new business inflows.
• Provide training on legislative changes to clients as and when required by the
• Funds. Be prepared to do presentations to the boards of Trustees on the Beneficiary Fund under administration at Absa Trust as well as on the changes in legislation.  Give feedback on the content needed for the presentation and where necessary, develop the content for the presentation. Liaise between the Beneficiary Fund administration department and the clients to ensure client satisfaction.
• Attend monthly meeting with the administration department to highlight any
• areas where the service to the clients has caused  complaints from existing sources  of business. Ensure that these problems are sorted out for the clients.
• On a two weekly to monthly basis, call on the existing client base and at these
• meetings, enquire  about the level of service that they are experiencing for the administration department and also ensure  that the relationship between the existing client base is kept strong.
• Accountability:  Market Intelligence (5%)
• Collect market intelligence through research by reading articles, publications, internet, word of mouth and networking on a daily basis to keep abreast of market developments
• Assess market opportunities with respect to competitor sales sources by remaining in touch with market forces and influences
• Keep abreast of changes in the Pension Funds environment in terms of Companies  and Funds merging and changing. A lot of funds are opting for the Umbrella Funds, try to meet with and influence the right people  managing these Umbrella Funds at conferences and other industry  related events, in order  to win the business over.
• Accountability: Compliance (10%)
• Adhere to ABSA Group compliance requirements and industry related legislations.
• This is in terms of the condition of employment with Absa and the requirements of the specific job description.
• Ensure Compliance with the legislation regulating the Beneficiary Fund
• environment. This is done via the Absa Trust Legal department’s inputs on the various changes to legislation that needs to be complied with in the Beneficiary Fund environment.

Role / Person Specification

Education and Experience Required

• NQF level 6: relevant B Degree, or
• Diploma in finance related field NQF Level 5 (Essential)
• Must have passed  RE1 or in process  of completing
• Four (4)  years  relevant  experience within  the Employee  Benefit  or  Beneficiary
• Fund environment
• A well-established  employee benefit   / broker  client  base  within  the relevant geographical area,

Education

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)