Manager Analytics: Financial Control at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• The role is a senior, full scope financial management role for the Enterprise Functions and Head Office (EF&HO), Relationship Banking (RB) and Everyday Banking (EB) clusters. Stakeholder engagement and commercial understanding are key success factors and the successful applicant will support financial decision making and execute on internal and external reporting. Insurance and wealth management business knowledge is not a specific requirement for the role. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to upskill and learn about these more specialized businesses.
• The successful applicant will also be expected to understand and contribute to the wider Financial Control strategy threads of process improvement and credible reporting. Credible, quality reporting will be a minimum business as usual expectation in the role. Alignment and participation in Financial Control’s continuing functionalization and process improvement imperatives will also be critical deliverables in the role.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities

Accountability: Analytics 

• Analytics accountabilities for the role span both internal and external reporting. The role will support senior internal stakeholders in the EF&HO, RB and EB business and the successful applicant will be expected to provide analytic insight based on commercial business understanding to senior stakeholders. Stakeholders include senior management of the EF&HO, RB and EB business and the Financial Controller for the EF&HO, RB and EB Cluster.

Specific accountabilities include :

• Designing, developing and implementing analytical tools which will provide comfort that internal and external reporting is accurate (including scenario analyses to anticipate and challenge reporting results)
• Ensuring that team members have a detailed understanding of products and businesses to enable relevant design and interpretation of analytics to enable accurate timeous commentary on reporting
• Provide input into external reporting deliverables using business knowledge obtained through analytical processes
• Provide commentary on external or internal reporting
• To assist the Financial Controllers to continuously evaluating the control framework in Financial Control and to enhance it as appropriate;

Accountability: Reporting

The reporting function for the role is supported by various teams. However, the successful applicant will have certain business as usual reporting responsibilities.

• Designing, developing and implementing processes and systems which will provide comfort that external reporting is accurate
• Responsible for ensuring that all external reporting is delivered on time and is accurate
• Reviewing internal and external reporting and commentary to ensure that reporting is accurate
• Assisting with the implementation of best practice financial disclosures and presentation

Accountability: Product and process management

• Successfully manage and deliver major projects from commencement to completion within the scope, budget and time agreed to;
• Manage project resources internally or externally to ensure that time lines are being met;
• Ensure quality of project implementation;
• Ensure that adequate documentation is delivered as part of the implementation to sustain the process;
• Responsibilities would include the co-ordination of different groups of people, from varying disciplines associated with the project. 

Accountability: Project & Staff Management:

• Providing leadership to junior team members in the area of strategically improving reporting processes;
• Ensure that assigned projects are planned, staffed accordingly and successfully implemented within agreed timelines. Communicate if risks arise to successful implementation of assigned projects, and finalise and propose alternatives
• Help execute the people management strategy for Financial Control;
• Assist in embedding formal Performance Development and informal coaching in the team;
• Review training needs of team members and ensuring that team members receive the relevant training;
• Assist in the interviewing of junior team members

Role/Person Specification

Education and Experience:

• Chartered Accountant (Financial Services/Insurance experience preferred),
• Given the technical nature of insurance accounting/valuations, additional postgraduate qualifications focused on insurance and/or additional quantitative qualificatons are preferred
• 4 - 6 Years of relevant reporting, analytics and or project management experience (insurance/banking preferred);
• Very strong academic track record.

Knowledge & Skills: 

• Strong problem solving skills
• Strong data analytical skills
• Banking Product Knowledge.
• Strong technical accounting skills;
• Experience designing and implementing calculation tools
• Exceptional interpersonal and team-working skills and the ability to communicate at all levels;
• The ability to work in a pressured and unstructured environment and to cope with the demands of working to tight deadlines;

Competencies: 

The position requires a technically minded accountant with a passion for investment banking.

• Analysis skills & technical ability;
• Judgment / decision making – demonstrates logic, rationality and objectivity in decision making whilst balancing speed vs. thorough approach;
• Integrity – consistent, earns trust, fights fair, uses the facts;
• Team player – approachable, establishes collaborative relationships;
• Oral and Written Communications - fluency, clarity, precise, well organised communications;
• Resourcefulness – action oriented, goes “beyond the call of duty” to solve problems;
• Adaptability – adapts quickly to change and copes well with complexity;
• Experience – Designing and implementing project or system solutions

Education

• Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: Financial Sciences (Required)