Senior Manager: Risk and Governance at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• Responsible for implementing and embedding the Risk, Governance and Control Framework and related policies to ensure the effective management, review and reporting of all risk items across the business unit.
• The key purpose of this role is to provide leadership, improve, implement, develop and monitor robust processes and controls.

Job Description

Education and experience required

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)
• 3-5 years leading a team and risk capability 
• 5 – 10 years (Technical) Risk Management experience
• 1-2 Years Assurance (1LOD, 2LOD or 3LOD) experience
• 2 Years Reporting experience 

Knowledge and Skills

• The position requires strong quantitative skills and the understanding of the Enterprise Risk Management Framework is required
• Written and verbal communication and presentation skills 
• Risk and Fraud Management
• Financial Acumen
• Interpersonal and communicating skills
• Management and Leadership Skills
• Relationship Building and Networking skills

Key responsibilities/performance areas:

• Develop and implement a Governance and Control framework that supports robust processes and control mechanisms across the business unit.
• Provide expert guidance to ensure the operational risk profile is managed effectively, evaluating risks in alignment with the Group Operational Risk Framework.
• Ensure stakeholder engagement strategies align with governance objectives to facilitate the smooth execution of strategic initiatives.
• Lead the Governance & Control team, ensuring they are well-equipped to manage operational risks, engage with regulatory bodies, and implement effective control measures.
• Oversee risk management across the business unit, ensuring that risks are identified, evaluated, and mitigated in line with the Group Operational Risk Framework.
• Manage operations risk and ensure that assurance mechanisms are in place to monitor and address any control gaps or inefficiencies.
• Oversee systems access management, ensuring appropriate controls are in place to protect sensitive data and systems, mitigating risks of unauthorized access.
• Oversee management assurance to ensure that governance processes are regularly reviewed, and necessary adjustments are made to maintain control standards.
• Assist management in identifying key risks inherent in business processes and new business ventures and support the risk team in ensuring potential areas of optimization are identified and solutioned for.
• Promote appropriate risk culture that ensures front-line management including the assurance team and risk owners participate actively in the measurement, control and mitigation of risks.
• Keep abreast of developments in risk and collaborate with risk managers across the business in ensuring that all risk management activities support effective execution and delivery of the business unit’s strategy.
• Influence, inform, holding stakeholders accountable for effective management of risk types.
• Ensure that business unit’s risk profile is aligned and informed by principles of the Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
• Ensure that the business unit has a documented Road to satisfactory plan that is tracked, managed and discussed in all relevant forums.
• Drive delivery against business units road to satisfactory and ensure that action plans are fit for purpose, completion dates are adhered to and aligned to business strategy.

Reporting

• Facilitate effective business reviews, reflection and challenge through quality, timeliness and insight informed reporting.
• Ensure deliverables and reports are accurate, meet quality standards and are completed within the set timelines.
• Ensure accuracy, completeness and validity of all data inputs and reporting.
• Ensure clear articulation of significant issues driving the control environment and execution in line with Business Strategy. 
• Ensure accurate delivery of internal reporting and presentations for key risk committees within the business unit and Division.
• Ensure that the business unit’s risk profile is adequately reported on for the Operational Risk Committees, the business unit’s and Division’s Executive Risk Committees (ERC) and quarterly Conduct and Reputational Risk submissions.
• Facilitate and co-ordinate completion of ERC pack for the business unit and Division and ensure that an ERC Agenda is formulated and distributed timely for the committee.
• Ensure that conduct and reputational risk reporting is adequate and that all remediation activities are tracked and monitored.
• Represent the business unit’s Risk by coordinating standardised submissions between the different stakeholders, verifying the accuracy of data, integrating the information into a presentable report and ensuring escalations were necessary.
• Facilitate and manage monthly reporting of the business unit’s Pan Africa Issues and Risk events inclusive of trends and noted risk patterns.

Governance

• Develop and implement the overall control environment to manage operational and conduct risk events and compliance to regulations ensuring that the team meets its obligations in managing the framework aligned to all 3 lines of defence.
• Ensuring an integrated and effective risk management framework that is implemented and embedded.
• Accountable for implementing efficient and effective governance of significant risks and related opportunities.
• Ensure efficiency of all defined governance forums, through setting and effective communication of Agenda, Minutes, matters arising and timely distribution of documents for discussion.
• Ensure that defined governance forums are operational and efficient.
• Ensure that the control environment is reported, managed within acceptable parameters and that governance processes operate as intended.
• Engage in governance forums to provide a robust review and challenge of the business units control environment inclusive of Enterprise Risks.
• Ensure annual review and update of Terms of References for internal governance forums.
• Drive Strategic messaging that enables strategic conversations around Risk and Control, and contributes to the achievement of the business unit’s road to satisfactory commitments.
• Implement, track, assess and monitor Risk Policy implementation along with defining a Road to Satisfactory where necessary.
• Ensure that logging, management and reporting of Risk events adheres to the Risk Event Standard.

Assurance

• Support First Line of defence (1LOD) testing team in ensuring that the business unit’s assurance activities are documented, reported on and add value to the business.
• Support drivers and initiatives that add to an efficient and effective Combined Assurance Model.
• Review, check and challenge and sign off the Combined Assurance plans and ensure that they are aligned to assurance activities required to validate the Business Risk Profile and contribute to the elevation of effective Risk Management.
• Support and act as advisory to the business unit’s Combined Assurance forum and ensure that there is constituent messaging relating to Assurance.

Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain effective working relationship with key stakeholders across the enterprise.
• Partner with Enterprise Risk Stakeholders through a check and challenge of assessment outcomes, ratings and findings, to facilitate effective risk management.
• Build trusting relationship with internal clients – Business unit Heads; Infrastructure Heads; Division’s Central capability, Compliance and Internal Audit to facilitate pro-active and engaging risk management. 
• Provide strong leadership, direction and display behaviours, inspiring others to work together to achieve defined objectives.
• Be the thought leader and go to person for governance and risk within the business unit.
• Contribute to the Division’s initiatives inclusive of activities that drive and inform a cohesive and collaborative culture.

Competencies

• Deciding and initiating action
• Learning and researching 
• Entrepreneurial and commercial thinking
• Relating and networking 
• Adapting and responding to change
• Persuading and influencing 
• Creating and innovating
• Ability to work independently and manage stakeholders to achieve deliverables is required.

Education

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

End Date: November 12, 2025