Head of Fund Administration at Old Mutual South Africa

Job Description

• We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Head of Fund Administration to oversee the daily and strategic functioning of the end-to-end delivery for all financial aspects of our product and legal entities.
• Financial Oversight: Manage the financial operations of the fund administration and accounting area, ensuring compliance with regulatory and industry standards.
• Daily Investments: Monitor and optimize daily investment activities, ensuring timeous and accurate allocation of funds.
• Pricing and Valuation: Oversee the pricing and valuation of assets, ensuring accuracy and adherence to industry best practices.
• Reconciliations: Lead the reconciliation process to ensure accurate and timely reconciliation of all financial data and transactions.
• Governance: Establish and maintain robust governance processes to mitigate risks and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
• Annual Financial Statements (AFS): Provide critical inputs and data required for the preparation of AFS, collaborating closely with the finance team.
• Distributions: Manage the distribution process, ensuring timely and accurate distribution of funds to investors.
• Data and Fund Maintenance: Maintain accurate and up-to-date data related to fund performance and holdings.
• Unit Injections and Corrections: Manage unit injections into funds and corrections when discrepancies arise, ensuring data integrity.
• Team Leadership: Manage and mentor a team of finance professionals, providing guidance and support to drive performance excellence.
• Strategic Planning: Contribute to the development and execution of strategic initiatives to enhance the financial performance of the fund administration and accounting area.

Accountable for:

• Timely and accurate financial reporting.
• Well-maintained pricing and valuation processes.
• Reconciliation errors minimized, if not eliminated.
• Robust governance framework in place and adhered to.
• High-quality inputs for AFS preparation.
• Timely and accurate distribution of funds.
• Accurate data and fund maintenance.
• Prompt and accurate execution of order instructions.
• Effective management of unit injections and corrections.
• Motivated and high-performing team achieving set targets.
• Effective contribution to the company’s financial strategy.

ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

Overall management of a team of 100, including 9 direct reports. Specific goals include:

• Managing performance and service delivery through direct reports and their teams
• Defining performance parameters and measurable goals for the team
• Driving adoption of Agile principles where applicable
• Encouraging and instituting a culture of continuous learning
• Ensuring readiness for the delivery of the business’s key strategic initiatives without compromising existing deliveries
• Modelling of customer centric behaviour and driving understanding of the end to end value chain and the COE’s role within it
• Identifying and growing talent and succession pipelines
• Leading and supporting culture change initiatives
• Medium to long term resource and structure planning based on business strategy

RISK, COMPLIANCE AND GOVERNANCE

• Ongoing pursuit of process improvements and efficiencies across the COE whilst mitigating key resource dependency risks and adhering to inflexible daily deadlines. Establishing best practice and setting standards of excellence
• Ongoing monitoring of Risk environment, mitigation of identified risks (in conjunction with Group and Segment Risk teams)
• Ongoing management of Compliance to applicable legislation, including the Pension Funds Act, FAIS Act and FICA Act (in conjunction with Group and Segment Compliance)
• Identifying financial risks and providing guidance to the team on how to mitigate financial risks with limited resources

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

• Management of various audits (internal and external)
• Presentations and reporting to various Boards, including Wealth Retirement Fund Trustee meetings, Old Mutual Investment Services (Pty) Ltd, Old Mutual Investment Administration (Pty) Ltd
• Member of the Wealth Agile Release Train Leadership Team
• Representation of the COE in various strategic projects
• Engagement and relationship management with key 3rd party stakeholders, including pricing agents, banks and other asset management companies
• Engagement with various senior internal stakeholders

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED FOR THE JOB)

• Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification (CA(SA)) is mandatory.
• Proven experience in fund administration and accounting within the financial services industry, including the fund administration function of asset management companies
• Strong knowledge of retirement funds, including Regulation 28 requirements, daily investments, pricing, and reconciliations.
• Excellent understanding of regulatory requirements and governance standards (FAIS, Pension Funds Act, Collective Investment Schemes Control Act)
• Exceptional leadership and team management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (PREFERRED, NOT A REQUIREMENT)

• Familiarity with Agile methodology (SAFe)

Skills

• Accounting
• Adaptive Thinking
  Analytical Thinking
• Budget Management
• Collaborating
• Data Compilation
• Data Controls
• Evaluating Information
• Executing Plans
• Financial Accounting
• Financial Acumen
• Financial Auditing
• Financial Modeling
• Financial Operations
• Management Accounting
• Management Reporting
• Numerical Aptitude
• People Management
• Policies & Procedures
• Team Leadership
• Team Management

Competencies

• Balances Stakeholders
• Business Insight
• Decision Quality
• Ensures Accountability
• Financial Acumen
• Instills Trust
• Manages Complexity
• Optimizes Work Processes

Education

• Chartered Accountant: Accounting

Closing Date

• 23 July 2025