Senior Specialist: Financial Risk Strategy and Appetite at Sanlam Group

What will you do?

• Responsible for oversight of Liquidity, Market and Credit risk across the Sanlam Group. The role is responsible for setting policies, risk management strategies and developing risk appetite and metrics to track appetite utilisation. Provides management with accurate risk information for effective decision-making on internal controls. Collect risk information and assist in drafting reports giving insight to senior management and board subcommittees on the Group’s risk profile over time. 
• Provide risk oversight on all balance sheet optimisation, capital allocation, Asset Liability Management (ALM) and treasury activities.
• Responsible assisting the Chief Actuary in understanding and analysing the risks borne by the insurance activities on the balance sheet, and interaction of these with Market, Liquidity and Credit risk exposures, including the impact of hedging strategies on the residual risks on the balance sheet. May also be involved in product development in a risk advisory capacity.
• Responsible for engaging with regulators and other industry bodies to ensure risk management policies, strategies and activities remain in line with latest and upcoming regulations, and best practice across the industry.

What will make you successful in this role?

Risk Governance:

Policies and Framework

• Development and implementation of financial risk management policies, frameworks, and procedures ensuring alignment with local and international regulatory and corporate governance standards.
• Liaise with regulators such as Prudential Authority, SARB and FSCA, and industry bodies such as ASISA and stay up-to-date with evolving regulatory requirements, industry guidance, and assess their impact on organizational risk management processes.

Strategy and Appetite

• Developing and driving the implementation of the risk strategy and risk appetite framework, defining which risks the organisation will retain and seek to monetize, and which risks to minimise, aligned with overall business strategic objectives and capabilities.
• Stay up-to-date with emerging risks, regulatory changes, and market trends, and adjust the risk policies and strategies as necessary.

Cluster Implementation

• Support Clusters and Businesses across the Group to understand and implement the risk management policies and strategies in their respective arears, ensuring consistency across the Group, while relevant to the specific cluster/business.

Risk Appetite Models Design and Development:

• Risk Metrics and Insights
• Developing, implementing, and managing risk appetite models, covering the entire Group’s balance sheets (across IFRS, EV, SAM and Economic basis), including developing risk metrics and setting risk appetite. 
• Drive insight-led analysis to ensure the organization’s risk profile aligns with its strategic objectives. 
• Work cross-functionally with stakeholders in Risk, Finance, and Clusters, providing leadership in translating risk appetite into actionable metrics and insights.
• Develop key risk indicators (KRIs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and report on the organization's risk profile.
• Model risk management
• Build robust models to assess and quantify risk appetite across various risk categories (credit, market, liquidity, operational, etc.).
• Ensure models incorporate both quantitative and qualitative factors, reflecting the organization’s evolving risk environment, and clearly documented.
• Stress Testing and Analytics
• Lead the development of stress testing frameworks to assess risk under different economic and operational scenarios.
• Use predictive analytics to model the potential impact of changes in market conditions or business operations on the organization’s risk appetite.

Qualification and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science, Risk Management, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field. A Master’s degree or professional certification (e.g., FRM, PRM, IRM) is an advantage.
• 5 to 7 years of experience in risk management, governance, compliance, or a related role.
• Strong knowledge of risk management frameworks and governance standards.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements affecting the financial or business industry.
• Proven ability to identify, assess, and mitigate risks across multiple areas of the organization.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to implement risk initiatives across multiple departments.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present complex risk issues clearly to senior management and board members.
• Experience working with risk management tools and software is preferred.