Senior 1st Line Risk Officer at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• To develop tactical strategy and delivery plans, formulate associated practice and to ensure operational implementation and adoption across a single practice i.t.o. risk methodology, governance and delivery objectives

Job Description

Job Description Summary 

• The Risk Officer for Technology Infrastructure, is responsible for identifying, assessing, mitigating, and monitoring risks associated with technology infrastructure systems, services and products. This role is pivotal in ensuring the resilience, security, and compliance of the organization's technology platforms, aligning risk management practices with organizational and regulatory standards while enabling innovative and scalable operations.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and Governance

• Define and implement a comprehensive risk management framework tailored to infrastructure and cloud environments.
• Align risk strategies with organizational goals, regulatory requirements, and technological advancements.
• Review and evaluate compliance, technology  policies and procedures, technology and tools to provide insight on how to reduce technology risk.
• Collaborate with infrastructure and architecture teams (Networks, Compute, Cloud, DBaaS, Mainframe and End User) to manage the specific infrastructure risk posture.
• Ensure governance processes adhere to the required standards (for example:  ISO 27001 and GDPR), enhancing compliance and quality assurance.

Risk Management and Mitigation

• Ensure that risk is effectively managed and monitored.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks across technology platforms, including operational, cybersecurity, and compliance risks.
• Oversee incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity efforts, ensuring resilience and rapid resolution.
• Monitor vulnerabilities such as system downtime, data breaches, and third-party dependencies, implementing controls to minimize impact.
• Coaching users in risk identification and assessment.
• Provide appropriate and accurate risk reporting to the required stakeholders.
• Review technology and security risks, internal and external, in order to help inform the 2nd line of defense.

Change and Execution Leadership

• Lead multidisciplinary teams to execute strategic Risk and Audit initiatives effectively.
• Manage change processes across infrastructure services to ensure seamless implementation.
• Drive continuous improvement using iterative approaches to deliver measurable value and minimize execution risk.

Collaboration and Communication

• Partner with IT, cybersecurity, and architecture teams to integrate risk management into planning and execution.
• Provide clear and appropriate communication to the relevant stakeholders within the Absa business.
• Structure communication to accommodate for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Serve as the primary liaison for risk discussions with vendors and external partners.
• Creation and maintenance of datasets via strategic platforms while adhering to data governance policies and procedures, and providing guidance to broader business intelligence teams to ensure uniformity and trust in golden sources of information.

Qualifications and Experience Required

• Minimum 7 years experience in risk management/risk consulting and leadership preferably within a technology environment.
• Knowledge of Technology Infrastructure preferred
• Proven expertise in managing  and mitigating risks in large-scale IT environments, including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Risk Management, or a related field.
•  A Master’s degree or certifications such as CISSP, CRISC, CISM, or ITIL is highly preferred.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and visionary leadership
• Technical and risk acumen in IT Infrastructure
• Stakeholder management and collaboration
• Crisis and incident management expertise
• Regulatory and compliance knowledge
• Innovative problem-solving
• Planning and organising – Be able to develop clear, efficient and logical approaches to address issues and risks.

Education

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