National Manager: Trust Admin at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• To provide strategic, operational, and people leadership in the management and administration of trusts across all national branches, ensuring compliance with fiduciary obligations, delivering superior client service, ensuring sound financial and risk oversight, and driving operational efficiency and service innovation.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Strategic and Operational Leadership

• Develop and execute the national Trust Administration strategy.
• Ensure alignment with the overall Trust Services and Beneficiary Fund business strategy. Keep abreast of knowledge and skills relevant to the fiduciary industry and support all branches with adoption and alignment.
• Ensure a streamlined and standardized approach to the way of working or processes across all Trust Services branches.
• Be the key point of contact for all support functions and coordinate all related activities or projects in liaison with 1LoD and 2LoD on behalf of Trust Services.
• Plan, execute and monitor progress on each support team’s annual strategies working closely with Trust Services MANCO.
• To be responsible for the Reputation Forum Meetings on behalf of Absa Trust (Wills, Estates, Trust and Beneficiary Fund), which includes planning, reporting and setting up of meetings. Furthermore, managing all risk issues and managing PI claims.
• Play an active and leading role in all trust systems development or enhancements projects in liaison with IT and other related clusters such as Change Management team and Value Optimization Forums or Committees.
• Manage all Associated Parties and Introducers contracts and performance evaluations in Trust Services.
• Manage and exercise oversight into outsourced services in line with the Trust Services strategy and report to MANCO monthly.

Trust Administration Management 

• Oversee the end-to-end administration of trusts in accordance with legal, regulatory, and fiduciary requirements.
• Ensure consistent application of best practices and procedures across all branches.
• Evaluate New To Bank (NTB) and Stock trusts for correctness, feasibility and potential risks (compliance, legal, reputational etc.).
• Ensure that all files have been correctly captured on the trust system by the trust officers and that all assets have been accounted for by doing frequent reviews and testing.
• Review each product frequently and identify nonviable trusts and exit relationships in collaboration with Regional Managers.
• Ensure that Annual Reviews are implemented across branches by performing monthly reviews or tests per trust officers, working closely with the trust administration management team.
• Actively participate in the annual reviews of trust fixed properties to ensure that transfer costs provisions are made, renovations, maintenance and general construction to mitigate the financial risk due to operational losses.
• Support the business in driving yearend financial statements finalization and distribution annually.
• Support the branch management teams by assessing trust officer performance using the monthly Measures of Success.
• Assess and evaluate timely the adherence to processes and policies by branches in their execution of duties.
• Assess and evaluate randomly that month end reports are done by all branches (Trust Officers).

Client Service and Relationship Management 

• Lead a client-focused service culture across the business (inter-branch).
• Support the team in ensuring that all complaints and queries are answered within stipulated timelines.  
• Support the business in liaison with the Dispute and Resolution team to manage and reduce complaints.
• Support the business with a streamlined process to record all compliments and complaints and ensure that compliments are also reported monthly.
• Spot check of daily incoming and outgoing emails and telephone communications with the clients to assess the level and standard of service delivery.
• Drive initiatives to assess and evaluate each trust officer’s level of client service monthly by implementing surveys or related interventions to improve customer satisfaction levels.  

Compliance, Risk, and Regulatory Oversight 

• Ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory frameworks governing trust administration.
• Identify and mitigate operational, compliance and legal risks.
• Evaluate and assess the submission of the IT12TR annual returns and other submissions such as Provisional tax, IT3(b), IT3(t), etc. in liaison with Associated Parties and Group Tax to ensure compliance with the tax regulator (SARS).
• Track and evaluate the finalization of financial statements (system generated with IT and outsourced statements with Associated Parties).
• Track all tax related projects. Manage and evaluate the performance of Associated Parties who are handling outsourced services such as tax submissions and financial statements.
• Keep abreast with the regulatory changes in the industry and ensure compliance (Master of the High Court, South African Revenue Authority, Prudential Authority, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa, Financial Intelligence Centre etc.).
• Ensure that Trust Services comply with the Trust Property Control Act as amended from time to time.
• Work closely with 1LoD and 2LoD of all support functions to ensure that business is strategically positioned to proactively meet all the regulatory requirements and Group Standards.
• Implement initiatives to mitigate all risks and related operational losses.
• Drive and coordinate all reviews, audits, regulatory site visits and other related projects such as annual audits, FAIS Section 19(3) annual review, Pension Fund Section 13(b) etc.
• Ensure adherence to business processes and control practices for the team members
• Ensure that the processes that impact business are mapped and understood by all team members.
• Own and agree corrective action items with the Internal Audit and Management Assurance for items related to Trust Services. Ensure that a zero-tolerance approach to audit findings is understood by the team and arrange issue assurance for closed audit findings.
• Complete required compliance attestation and ensure that the team also completes the required attestations.
• Ensure that the team members understand all compliance requirements and escalate to the General Manager to request the area Compliance Officer to conduct briefing sessions if gaps are identified.
• Evaluate and assess compliance with mandatory training for employees.

Financial Management and Reconciliations

• Oversee trust account reconciliations, financial reporting, and trust distributions.
• Develop a streamlined or automated process for daily bank reconciliations.
• Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant financial reporting.
• Perform random deep dives to reconcile fees per product between the trust system and SAP.
• Design and develop streamlined investment and payment processes and manage all stakeholders’ relationships.

Reporting and Management Information

• Compile and present operational, financial, and risk reports to the General Manager or Trust Services MANCO.
• Provide insights and recommendations on operational performance and compliance status of the business.

Project Management and Operational Improvement

• Lead-trust related projects, including system and process enhancements.
• Drive continuous operational efficiency and service delivery improvements. Work with trust managers and

People Leadership and Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing trust administration team.
• Manage performance, career development, and succession planning.
• Create a suitable and a conducive atmosphere in terms of leadership skills by coaching and mentoring the Trust Officers thus ensuring that they meet the required organizational expectations.
• Approve leave requests for direct subordinates and ensure that leave planning is effective.
• Ensure that all poor performance is addressed through the ABSA Back on Track programme and that continued poor performance is adequately dealt with.
• Motivate employees in the department and ensure that their efforts are recognized.
• Participate in the overall Trust Services recognition program.
• Identify training needs within the department and ensure that all the staff are trained on the training needs identified.

Stakeholder Management 

• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, clients, trustees, and service providers.

Qualifications and Experience

Minimum Qualifications

• National Certificate or Diploma in Risk Management, Commerce, Law, or relevant financial discipline.
• Bachelor's Degree in Law, Commerce, Risk Management, or a relevant financial discipline.

Experience 

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in the fiduciary services, with at least two years' experience in oversight of multiple teams.
• Strong experience in managing multi-branch or business units’ fiduciary operations.
• Extensive knowledge of fiduciary legislation, financial management, and regulatory frameworks.
• Strategic and operational leadership

Key Competencies

• Client service orientation
• Risk and compliance management
• People leadership and team development
• Decision making and problem solving
• Project management
• Communication and stakeholder management

Education

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