Managing Executive: Unsecured Lending (Retail SA) at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• Define and drive the Unsecured Lending strategy and business model to deliver market-leading value propositions for products and services for the Retail Bank’s customers.
• Lead Collections capability by solving for risk at a customer level, leveraging full suite of unsecured product portfolio.
• Transition into Next generation customer propositions by focusing on purpose led solutions that win customers in the market, agnostic of the product.

KEY FOCUS AREAS

• Lead the end-to-end performance and transformation of the Unsecured Lending portfolio, including Personal Loans and Card.
• Deliver differentiated, purpose-led solutions that are product-agnostic and aligned to customer needs and evolving financial behaviours.
• Own the full Collections value chain, including risk management, supplier relationships, processing, interest calculations, and customer management.
• Embed capabilities for sales commercialisation, customer needs interlocks, and innovative future propositions aligned to Next Gen strategy.
• Optimise product performance through integrated planning, KVD tracking, reporting, and book of work coordination.
• Strengthen the governance, controls, and assurance model across all unsecured lending domains including pre-legal and off-balance sheet debt.
• Expand revenue through bancassurance integration and new income streams such as BNPL, device finance, and acquiring solutions.
• Champion a high-performance, risk-aware culture through strategic leadership of people, performance, and product development.

Job Description

ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Strategy Formulation and Execution
• Define and deliver the integrated Unsecured Lending strategy across Card, Personal Loans, Sales Commercialisation, and Collections, with direct oversight of performance tracking, KVDs, and multi-year planning.
• Set and articulate a long-term strategy with defined objectives, success metrics, and alignment to Group direction and shareholder value creation.
• Develop and communicate a clear strategic vision for the business unit, ensuring alignment with organisational goals, fostering a culture of innovation, and shaping industry discourse.
• Strengthen the bank’s competitiveness through strategic partnerships and industry influence.
• Engage proactively with strategic stakeholders, industry bodies, and regulators to shape and evolve strategy in response to market dynamics and policy developments.
• Oversee the disciplined execution of strategic priorities, ensuring business enablement and operational readiness across the business unit.
• Drive and monitor business unit performance, ensuring timely delivery against strategic goals, and provide transparent reporting on progress, risks, and outcomes.
• Lead transformation as a deeply committed journey, positioning the bank as a customer-centric organisation underpinned by robust journey management and market-leading products.

Customer Primacy

• Lead the design of future-fit customer value propositions across Card, PL, and Sales Commercialisation, aligned to needs-based segments, customer insights, and seamless fulfilment experiences.
• Leverage market trends, competitor intelligence, and global best practices to generate strategic insights that shape business direction.
• Apply deep customer understanding to guide capability development, prioritisation, and value creation across the business.
• Champion a culture of customer-centricity that balances exceptional experience with sustainable financial performance.
• Prioritise customer-centric initiatives that use data and insights to elevate customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty—driving both growth and profitability.
• Promote collaboration across business units and product areas to harmonise capabilities, ensuring seamless and differentiated customer journeys.
• Advocate for the segment agenda at executive level, ensuring alignment and integration with Group priorities and cross-functional stakeholders.

Sustainable Growth

• Maximise growth through commercialisation of Card and PL, expanded Bancassurance penetration, and development of new revenue pools including Side Hustle, BNPL, and Acquiring.
• Lead the delivery of the segment growth agenda in alignment with Group strategic priorities and shareholder expectations.
• Collaborate across the Executive team and with key stakeholders to translate strategic intent into executable growth plans.
• Mobilise the business unit to deliver on strategic objectives, securing ownership, accountability, and cross-functional commitment.
• Accelerate the segment and the business unit’s contribution to sustainable, enterprise-wide performance and long-term value creation.
• Ensure investment decisions reflect both customer and product P&L considerations, and that they align to strategic imperatives and financial sustainability.
• Client-Driven Innovation and Change
• Drive an innovation agenda for the Unsecured Lending portfolio through future-oriented propositions, payment innovation, and design-led experimentation.
• Stay informed of industry and competitor trends to ensure business decisions support market relevance and client value.
• Influence business decisions and capability development to support innovative, client-centric solutions across the value chain.
• Actively shape the client experience agenda through strategic input, cross-functional collaboration, and delivery accountability.
• Lead and manage change initiatives with discipline and empathy, driving transformation practices with clearly articulated outcomes, while ensuring business continuity.

Leading Talent

• Build deep capability across Cards, PL, Sales Transformation, and Collections through strategic workforce planning, upskilling, and an innovation-driven culture.
• Adopt and apply enterprise-wide human capital processes in ways that reinforce the organisation’s brand, values, and strategic priorities.
• Ensure leadership and workforce capabilities are developed to meet current and future business needs.
• Foster a high-performance, inclusive culture that supports employee engagement and delivers on the employee value proposition.
• Provide executive oversight on people matters, including performance management, talent recognition, and resolution of escalated issues.
• Attract, develop, and retain top talent, creating pathways for diversified experiences and future-ready skills development.
• Empower leaders to act as culture shapers and catalysts for transformation.

Operational Effectiveness

• Oversee end-to-end execution across product operations (PL), card optimisation, collections processing, and RCCS, ensuring precision, speed, and customer care.
• Translate strategic priorities into clear operational plans and performance measures, ensuring disciplined execution and timely course correction where required.
• Ensure alignment with other business units to ensure coherent delivery, operational integration, and resource optimisation.
• Represent the business with regulators and in key industry forums, reinforcing strategic positioning and operational credibility.
• Leverage business intelligence, performance insights, and external trends to inform decision-making and shape operational direction.
• Drive operational excellence through comprehensive process reviews aimed at harmonising with customer journeys and enabling faster execution through digital adoption and modernised technologies.

Digital Adoption

• Accelerate digitisation of lending journeys, card servicing, onboarding, and customer collections touchpoints to improve adoption and reduce friction.
• Identify and champion opportunities to digitise, automate, and innovate in ways that enhance customer experience, operational efficiency, and strategic agility.
• Drive the adoption and optimisation of digital platforms and technologies to unlock business value, scalability, and performance excellence.

Good Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Govern risk across Card, PL, and Collections (including Off-Balance Sheet), and lead NAPA, assurance, and supplier management for internal and external partners.
• Lead the implementation of integrated governance, compliance, and internal control frameworks that uphold the organisation’s integrity and licence to operate.
• Embed a culture of risk-aware decision-making and proactively address complex regulatory and business risks to safeguard long-term sustainability.
• Ensure a robust risk management framework is operational at all levels, integrated into day-to-day decision-making and strategic planning.

Data Monetisation

Enable capital allocation decisions and collection strategies using profitability tools, interest calculations, and customer-level risk-return analytics.

Harness data as a strategic asset to inform decision-making, optimise performance, and unlock new sources of economic value.

Leverage internal and external data ecosystems to drive actionable insights and deliver measurable business outcomes at scale.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strategic partnerships across Credit, Finance, Legal, Digital, External Debt Collectors, and Bancassurance to enable integrated product and customer delivery.
• Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with customers, employees, regulators, and strategic partners to enable collaborative execution of the transformation agenda.
• Ensure stakeholder alignment around key priorities, promoting shared ownership of the Bank’s vision and value creation goals.

Education

• Bachelor Honours Degree: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required), Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

End Date: July 2, 2025