The Role
Support Business Heads by translating strategy into actionable plans, coordinating strategic projects, managing performance and reporting, facilitating stakeholder communication, leading process improvements, overseeing training and crisis coordination, and ensuring governance, risk and compliance across commercial and SME banking units.
Summary Generated by Built In
Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.
With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.
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Job Summary
To support the Business Heads in managing the overall business strategy and executing tasks encompassing strategic development, enablement and implementation, business and colleague performance management, business project implementation, business communication, stakeholder engagement management (finance, human resources, risk, compliance etc.), and other operational and administrative duties delegated by the Business Heads. The incumbent coordinates strategic projects, provides business intelligence and insights, manages strategic communication, and represents the Business Head when required.Job Description
Accountability: Business Operations Management – 55%
- Collaborate with Segment Heads to formulate strategic plans for their respective units. This includes facilitating strategy sessions, preparing presentation materials, translate long-term strategic objectives into strategic action points, and overseeing the implementation of agreed-upon initiatives and actions.
- Cascade strategic decisions throughout the business segments and the broader teams via presentations, internal events, and communiqués.
- Act as a business advisor to unit heads by offering insights derived from market trends, competitor data, and client feedback to inform decision-making.
- Coordinate annual target setting and planning with Finance and relevant business units.
- Business performance management: Monitor and analyse key performance metrics to assess the performance of commercial and SME banking businesses, identify areas for improvement and work with the business heads to develop implementing strategies that optimize business performance and profitability.
- Establishing KPIs and Scorecards: In collaboration with business heads and key stakeholders (Finance), define and develop Segment and RM level KPIs and scorecards in alignment with pan-bank and BB African Region’s KPIs and performance objectives within expected timelines. Prepare performance reports and dashboards highlighting performance trends and insights for weekly and monthly business meetings.
- Proactively identify issues affecting business operational efficiencies, service quality, regulatory concerns and technological challenges and work with key stakeholders to identify root causes and resolutions. Report outcomes to Unit heads while ensuring full closure of these issues.
- Facilitate clear and effective communication within the coverage team, ensuring that information flows smoothly and everyone is well informed of important updates, decisions, changes, or initiatives. Serve as communication liaison between the Unit Heads and other functional departments.
- Working with key stakeholders, ensure all employees have access to the necessary tools and resources for effective work performance.
- In the event of major business unit crises, take on the role of crisis coordinator and, in consultation with business leaders, assign tasks to designated crisis teams to manage and resolve the issues effectively.
- Coordinate the unit's internal and external training programs ensuring that all colleagues scheduled for these trainings attend.
- Own and champion all mandatory training programs for the business units.
- Take ownership of process improvement initiatives, collaborate with relevant stakeholders to identify key operational processes, and undertake comprehensive reviews and reinventions aimed at enhancing process efficiency within the business units.
Accountability: Reporting – 25%
- Prepare the key reports, presentations, and reviews for the Unit/ Segments heads and assist with detailed content when required.
- Evaluate all material and communication prior to it being reviewed by the Unit/ Segment Heads ensuring that context, analysis and the views of the respective areas are collated, filtered and summarized in a concise manner, working with the Operating Model Leads and finance, ensure reporting requirements to the RBB Management team, ALCO, and ARO leadership are met on time and to the highest quality.
- Engage with data teams to obtain and analyse business intelligence and management information, ensuring timely reporting to decision-makers.
- Provide insights and recommendations to senior management based on portfolio performance and market trends.
Accountability: Team Management – 10%
- Encourage frequent knowledge sharing between team members.
- Establish and maintain a succession plan for the team.
- Ensure colleagues’ leave days are effectively managed.
- Create effective workforce and recruitment demand plans to ensure that current and future business requirements can be met. Plans should be revised at least twice a year.
- Participate in the creation and implementation of Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) actions for the team
Corporate Governance & Risk Management – 10%
- Ensure operational and strategic plans comply with governance requirements.
- Align business practices with corporate policies and regulatory frameworks.
- Identify operational risks in the execution of strategic projects and maintain stakeholder relationships to mitigate business continuity risks.
- Ensure compliance with financial, regulatory, and operational policies.
Education and Experience Required
- Degree in Business Administration, Economics, Commerce or equivalent qualification
- Professional certifications (e.g., ACCA, ICA) or a second degree in a relevant field will be an added advantage
- 5 Years’ experience in Financial Services Industry / Strategy
- Minimum of 5 Years’ experience in Banking with two (2) in a team lead or at management level, including planning, coordination, and strategic delivery
Knowledge & Skills: (Minimum of 6)
- Business Project Implementation
- Problem-solving skills
- Stakeholder management skills
- Strategic Implementation
- Report writing and presentation.
- Strong Financial knowledge, analysis and interpretation
- Excellent Communication skills
- Analytical
- Planning & Co-ordination
- Networking
- Business Development
Competencies: (Maximum of 8 competencies)
- Coping with pressures and setbacks
- Deciding and initiating action
- Delivering results and meeting customer expectations
- Entrepreneurial and commercial thinking
- Formulating strategies and concepts
- Leading and supervising
- Persuasion and influencing
- Relating and networking
- Budgeting processes and regulatory frameworks within financial services
- Maintain discretion and confidentiality in sensitive matters
Education
Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Commerce or equivalent
- Professional certifications (e.g., ACCA, ICA) or a second degree
- Minimum 5 years' experience in Financial Services Industry / Strategy
- Minimum 5 years' experience in Banking, including at least 2 years in a team lead or management role
- Business project implementation experience
- Strong financial knowledge, analysis and interpretation
- Report writing and presentation skills
- Stakeholder management skills
- Strategic implementation and planning experience
- Knowledge of corporate governance, regulatory frameworks and risk management in financial services
Absa Group Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Absa Group and has not been reviewed or approved by Absa Group.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical aid, group life, disability, and funeral cover are described as comprehensive, with features such as terminal‑illness advances and beneficiary grocery benefits. Wellness and assistance offerings support overall financial and personal wellbeing.
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Retirement Support — A pension fund and group retirement arrangements are positioned as core benefits within fixed remuneration. Retirement coverage is embedded alongside other protections as part of standard employment.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Employee share‑ownership (eKhaya) and equity‑linked awards broaden wealth‑sharing, with dividends or cash‑equivalent participation in some markets. This provides longer‑term value beyond base pay.
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The Company
What We Do
Absa Group Limited (Absa) has forged a new way of getting things done, driven by bravery and passion, with the readiness to realise growth on the African continent and beyond. We’re a truly African brand, inspired by the people we serve in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. We also have representative offices in China, Namibia, Nigeria and the United States, as well as securities entities in the United Kingdom and the United States, along with technology support colleagues in the Czech Republic.
