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.
Job Summary
The Senior Manager: Governance, Risk and Control (GRC) is responsible for designing, maintaining, and assuring the pan-african compliance function’s operating architecture (Compliance Management System – CMS). The role ensures that governance structures, risk frameworks, control standards, and reporting mechanisms are clearly defined, consistently applied, and measurable across the Group. Acting as part of the GRC centre of excellence, the role establishes standards, methodologies, and performance measures for compliance risk management, and provides independent assurance over the quality and effectiveness of compliance execution. The role does not execute compliance activities — it facilitates, sets standards, measures performance, and escalates risk to ensure the function meets its regulatory obligations consistently across entities and markets.Job Description
Governance & Compliance
Support the maintenance and execution of Group Compliance’s governance framework.
Assist in implementing procedures that promote sound governance and oversight of risk and controls.
Ensure adherence to legal, regulatory, and internal policy requirements.
Contribute to governance reporting and support the delivery of the combined assurance plan.
Maintain documentation of mandates, authorities, and governance structures.
Risk Management
Assist in embedding the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework within Group Compliance.
Monitor and report on emerging risks and regulatory developments.
Conduct compliance risk assessments and contribute to stress testing exercises.
Support the implementation of risk mitigation strategies, including business continuity planning.
Maintain and apply compliance methodologies and frameworks such as the Compliance Charter and Regulatory Posture Framework.
Internal Control & Assurance
Support the design and maintenance of internal control systems.
Monitor the Compliance Regulatory and Policy universes.
Provide quality assurance on compliance risk and control activities.
Coordinate control-related forums, training, and governance submissions.
Risk Reporting, Insights and Data Analytics
Aggregate and analyse risk data to support monitoring and dashboard creation.
Assist in preparing regulatory and executive risk reports.
Track incidents, loss events, and risk appetite metrics.
Contribute to benchmarking and audit reporting.
Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement
Lead a team of GRC professionals, providing guidance, mentorship, and performance management.
Act as a key support to the Head of GRC and Compliance Executive leadership.
Engage with internal stakeholders and support external engagements with regulators and auditors.
Policy and Framework Development
Support the development and review of compliance policies, standards, and procedures.
Ensure documentation aligns with regulatory expectations and internal governance standards.
Monitoring and Control Oversight
Monitor control testing and track remediation efforts.
Report on control effectiveness and compliance performance metrics.
Governance and Reporting
Prepare and present compliance reports to governance committees and senior stakeholders.
Escalate significant compliance risks and breaches as per protocol.
Ensure transparency and accountability in compliance-related decisions.
Capability Building
Contribute to team development.
Lead or support compliance-related projects and initiatives.
Drive awareness and training on governance, risk and control topics.
Deep understanding of CMS. Strong grounding in risk and control disciplines. Ability to design frameworks. Evidence-based analytical thinking. Ability to identify systemic issues. Experience in assurance or QA frameworks. Independence and strong escalation discipline.
Requirements:
Expert-level analytical and legal interpretation skills to manage regulatory risks.
Strong leadership and team management skills
Strong risk management skills
Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Effective communication and stakeholder engagement
Ability to influence and drive cultural change in governance, risk and compliance.
Strategic thinking with hands-on approach to execution
Familiarity with compliance tools, regulatory databases, and risk systems.
Ability to work independently and influence without direct authority.
High attention to detail and regulatory precision.
Strong technical writing and documentation abilities.
Qualification and Experience:
Relevant qualifications in Risk Management, Governance, Control, Internal Audit or Regulatory Compliance.
Demonstrated experience in frameworks, assurance, and regulatory interpretation.
Minimum 7 years’ experience in banking compliance, risk or governance, with at least 3 years in a leadership or specialist role.
Strong understanding of South African financial legislation and global GRC standards.
Experience in regulatory interpretation, risk analytics, and compliance frameworks
Education
Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.
Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised
Skills Required
- Minimum 7 years' experience in banking compliance, risk or governance with at least 3 years in a leadership or specialist role
- Relevant qualifications in Risk Management, Governance, Control, Internal Audit or Regulatory Compliance
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce or Management Studies
- Strong understanding of South African financial legislation and global GRC standards
- Expert-level analytical and legal interpretation skills to manage regulatory risks
- Strong leadership, team management and mentorship capabilities
- Proven risk management skills, including compliance risk assessment and mitigation
- Experience in assurance or QA frameworks and control testing oversight
- Familiarity with compliance tools, regulatory databases and risk systems
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, technical writing and documentation abilities
- Effective communication, stakeholder engagement and ability to influence without direct authority
- High attention to detail, regulatory precision and independence in escalation discipline
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Absa Group Insights
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.
