Senior Specialist: Regulatory Affairs and Compliance - Johannesburg at Hollard Insurance

This involves:

• Providing a central point of contact with the financial services sector regulators (such as the Prudential Authority, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, National Credit Regulator, and Financial Intelligence Centre) to ensure timeous collation and submission of information with such regulators (e.g. maintaining regulatory returns and coordinating engagements with the regulators).
• Supporting the Senior Manager with identifying, escalating, and managing regulatory risk.
• Maintaining an understanding legislation affecting the Group in order to provide support and solutions.

Required Knowledge and Experience    
Experience: 

• 7 years’ relevant experience
• Financial services industry experience required, with previous experience in an insurance company highly advantageous
• Understanding of Twin Peaks model of financial sector regulation
• Previous FAIS licence and legal entity reporting desirable

Knowledge & Skills:

• Excellent verbal and writing skills to prepare regulatory documentation and communication with internal stakeholders and regulators.
• Detailed understanding of the regulators’ approach to conduct risk management, product governance, corporate governance, assurance frameworks, organisational systems / controls and key customer interfaces and related issues across the industry
• Thorough understanding of Insurance and Financial services with the keen ability to have ‘bigger picture’ thinking
• Analytical Ability
• Attention to detail Business Acumen
• Proficient in power point and presentations
• Proficient in excel
• Stakeholder Engagement and management
• Project Management
• Risk Management
• Proven track record of similar role in previous capacities

Key Responsibilities: 

• Support a working relationship with key internal stakeholders from the different Business units, Head of Control Functions and all central function to ensure you are able to identify who is required as part of the commenting process.
• Support the Senior Manager with engagements with the financial services sector regulators, namely, Information Regulator, BBBEE Commissioner, Competition Law Commissioner.
• In collaboration with the Senior Manager, prepare and maintain a formal communications plan to facilitate the scheduling of essential meetings and encouraging information sharing to maintain effective relationships with the authorities.
• Give input into established Hollard forums to communicate, share information, participate in engagements and provide commentary on regulations impacting the broader group as well as conduct and training as and when required.
• Collate data and provide trends, analysis and recommendations to mitigate market conduct risks to assist with driving a mature conduct discipline.

Coordinate statutory engagements with the regulators inter alia:

• Ensure that requests and queries received from regulators are appropriately routed within Hollard and responded to consistently (considering previous submissions) and timeously;
• Collate, consider with the Senior Manager and then submit applications and reports to applicable regulators within the timelines;
• Co-ordinate onsite visits, thematic investigations and ad-hoc engagements between the regulators and Hollard;
• Assist the Senior Manager with ensuring business is prepared for the regulatory engagements and provide guidance, support, and management of any resulting mitigating actions.
• Monitor and analyse regulatory developments and advise on how the proposed changes will affect current and proposed business activities. In addition, advise on the impact of the company's strategy on the organisation's inherent regulatory risk;
• Coordinate Hollard’s review, input to and potential lobbying activity related to new or revised relevant legislation and regulation.
• Assist with drafting and presenting overviews for information sessions/ interventions.
• Maintain industry networks and occasionally represent the group in industrywide affiliations/ memberships in order to increase industry expertise and acquire insight into international regulatory agendas in order to benchmark Group actions and experiences.
• Assist with the annual review process, collation and sign off, of the Hollard Regulatory Universe across the different BUs.
• Managing and retaining records of changes and current state is paramount.
• Assist with adhoc overall Group Compliance responsibilities as and when required.

Educational Requirements    

• Admitted attorney with the required qualifications
• Post Graduate Diploma in Compliance (preferred)