Risk Strategy Head

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

The Risk Strategy Head supports the Chief Risk Officer in developing and delivering the risk strategy for OM Bank. This role plays a critical part in ensuring the bank’s risk function is aligned with its growth objectives, strategic partnerships and evolving business model. The Risk Strategy Head engages with senior leadership and stakeholders to integrate risk management into strategic decision-making, gaining valuable exposure to commercial considerations and strategic growth initiatives.
This role is strategic, highly analytical, and commercially oriented, designed to provide deep thinking, structured analysis, and decision support on matters such as: Market entry and growth opportunities, Mergers and Acquisition and partnership due diligence, new product or channel risk evaluations and alignment of risk appetite with strategy. The role will also involve contributing to the risk assessment of new commercial strategies and collaborating with commercial teams, providing a foundation for understanding the drivers of revenue and customer growth within a competitive banking environment.

KEY RESULT AREAS

• Lead the risk assessment and due diligence for all strategic initiatives including market expansion, capital deployment, business model innovation and the consolidation of banking and lending activities from the broader OML Group to OM Bank.
• Develop and implement a robust strategic risk integration framework specifically for corporate transactions, ensuring seamless alignment of risk management practices.
• Collaborate, together with the Head of ERM, effectively with OML Group's Strategy, Finance and Capital Management, Balance Sheet Management, and other relevant teams throughout the lifecycle of strategic initiatives; ensuring a holistic and integrated view of strategic risk.
• Contribute to the risk assessment and due diligence of new products, services, and customer acquisition strategies, with a focus on the strategic risks and opportunities presented by these initiatives.
• Conduct market and competitor analysis through a risk lens, identifying potential threats and opportunities related to the bank's commercial strategy.
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams and working closely with other teams, such as compliance, audit, finance, product and engineering, to develop cohesive risk management strategies and embed risk management principles into daily operations and strategic planning; ensuring a holistic and integrated view of strategic risk
• Develop and present risk assessments, recommendations and insights on strategic initiatives to the OM Bank CRO and EXCO
• Partner with the Head of Enterprise Risk Management to evaluate the capital, liquidity and financial stability implications of strategic transactions and initiatives
• Play a key role in the ongoing development, refinement, and implementation of OM Bank's overarching strategic risk framework. Ensure alignment with business strategy and the integration of financial and non-financial strategic risks.
• Participate in strategic planning sessions with the Customer Experience, Strategy, and Marketing teams to understand their objectives and challenges, providing a strategic risk perspective to inform commercial decisions.
• Establish and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with key stakeholders within both OM Bank and the broader OML Group. Act as a central point for strategic risk discussions and alignment
• Proactively identify and assess emerging risk trends in the banking and fintech sectors (locally and globally) and evaluate their potential impact on OM Bank's operating model and strategic direction.
• Develop an annual risk SWOT analysis for OM Bank.
• Participate in committees such as the Investment Risk Committee, as well as any other committees or working groups as needed on behalf of the Risk Team. 
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams and working closely with other teams, such as compliance, audit, finance, product and engineering, to develop cohesive risk management strategies and embed risk management principles into daily operations and strategic planning.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience working in risk management or a related role in an investment/financial institution is required.
• Experience in risk analytics, risk management, risk reporting, and risk advisory or a related function is required.
• Experience in managing risk frameworks and systems is required.
• Experience using various management and data processing tools is desirable.
• Experience in working with and responding to audits is desirable.

Qualifications

•  Master's or equivalent in Business Administration (MBA), Actuarial Science, Finance, Economics, Law or related field is required.
• A first level university degree in combination with academic qualifications and experience in investment compliance may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
• A professional certification such as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or Financial Risk Manager (FRM) is desirable.

Skills

Adaptive Thinking, Business Requirements Analysis, Change Management, Change Readiness Assessment, Current State Analysis, Data Compilation, Oral Communications, Planning and organisational skills, Policy Development, Policy Procedures, Presenting Solutions, Professional Presentation, Relationship Management, Risk Management, Strategic Analysis, Strategic Planning, Stress Resistance

Competencies

Education

Closing Date

29 May 2025 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

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