Senior Manager: Savings, Investments & Lending

PRIMARY PURPOSE

To lead the strategy, development, and execution of Savings, Investment, and Lending products for the Personal and Business Banking (PBB) segment. The role involves product-specific accountability with distinct commercial, compliance, innovation, and digital transformation responsibilities under each pillar, while maintaining cohesion across the broader product portfolio. The role is critical in achieving revenue growth, customer experience improvement, and market competitiveness.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT

• Ability to track roadmaps, bugs, and enhancements.
• Understanding of core system processing, API enablement, and integration for account and loan products.
• Exposure to pricing models, elasticity simulations, and credit decision engines.
• Understanding the use of systems for compliance, onboarding (e.g., KYC/AML), and lending rule management
• Stakeholder Management
• Business Acumen
• Excel, SQL, Power BI to forecast balances, returns, and behavior-based segmentation

REQUIRED MINIMUM EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Bachelor's in finance, Business, Economics or equivalent

REQUIRED MINIMUM WORK EXPERIENCE

4–5 years in product management, savings/lending specialization
3 years’ experience in people management

KEY PERFORMANCE AREA (KPA)

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

• Ensure growth in savings deposits (YoY and QoQ).
• Net margin contribution per savings product
• Drive financial literacy initiatives to improve customer understanding of offerings
• Define interest rate policies based on cost of funds and risk-adjusted returns.
• Drive growth in lending book (by product type)
• Collaborate with finance and treasury to assess funding impacts and pricing sensitivity

CUSTOMER CENTRICITY AND STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

• Build a trusted advisor relationship with the Leadership Teams ensuring they are proactively and effectively advised on governance, compliance matters.
• Ensure that all regulatory, legal, compliance and change requirements are planned, communicated, and fully understood by all executives, MANCO and members of staff when implemented, and that where appropriate, effective levels of support are available from internal/external providers.
• Pro-actively develop and maintain a wide range of external contacts to obtain/exchange information, identify environmental change which may impact the Bank, establish best practices subsequently taking appropriate actions to maintain/enhance competitive advantage.
• Collaborate with marketing, channels, customer engagement, Sales Teams, IT, and finance to deliver cohesive and integrated products.
• Define and drive a consolidated 3–5-year roadmap across savings, investments, and lending.
• Ensure alignment with PBB growth and risk appetite.
• Collaborate with finance and treasury to assess funding impacts and pricing sensitivity.
• Collaborate with digital channels to enable seamless onboarding and account servicing.
• Ensure customer and stakeholder queries are resolved within agreed turnaround time

OPERTIONAL EXCELLENCE

• Lead design of term investments, structured deposits, and linked investment options.
• Coordinate with asset managers or 3rd-party investment platforms where applicable.
• Ensure accurate, compliant product disclosures, especially in regulated investment structures.
• Drive financial literacy initiatives to improve customer understanding of offerings.
• Monitor product performance, client adoption trends, and market competitiveness.
• Align investment strategies with customer life-stage and risk profiles.
• Participate in industry panels, fintech engagement forums, and regulatory working groups where relevant to product evolution.
• Build, manage, and mentor a high-performing product team with domain ownership, accountability, and strong performance culture.
• Partner with Compliance, Legal, and Credit Risk to ensure ongoing product compliance with NCA, FAIS, FICA, FSCA, and lending-specific regulations.
• Lead digital product evolution across mobile and internet banking platforms, enabling real-time account actions, goal setting, or loan tracking.
• Develop differentiated lending CVPs for different segments.
• Oversee product-level credit policies in alignment with Risk and Credit teams.
• Lead digital origination and loan management initiatives.
• Define interest rate policies based on cost of funds and risk-adjusted returns.
• Monitor NPLs (non-performing loans), collections effectiveness, and approval turnaround times.
• Develop CVPs tailored to retail and SME segments for savings accounts, fixed deposits, and notice accounts.
• Optimize interest rate strategy based on market trends and internal ALCO guidance.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (e.g., Basel liquidity metrics, FICA).
• Monitor daily balances, inflow/outflow trends, and pricing elasticity.
• Design savings loyalty, tiering, or goal-based features aligned with customer behavior.
• Monitoring and managing the operational deliverables, output and performance of subordinates within the team.
• Develops talent by facilitating cross training, developing, coaching, mentoring & growing individuals & teams in the Business Units. Encourages career advancement endeavours.
• Following up on disciplinary procedures and any other matters relating to subordinates' behaviour and activities, staff issues and personal matters.
• Demonstrate support of learning by ensuring that effective training & development practices exist in the BU & that continuous learning is fostered.
• Accountable for providing an environment in which employees can apply what they have learned.
• Support & reinforce the application of newly acquired skills. Rewards the application of newly acquired skills & knowledge. Fosters a climate of continuous learning.
• Encourage employees to take personal ownership of their professional development.

REPORTING

• Work closely with Product Managers and Data team to ensure their data and reporting requirements are met to achieve objective of:
o Providing Customer Insights,
o Product Insights and
o Optimise product and identify opportunities through data led findings.
• Oversee the Reporting function within predetermined deadlines and Regulations.
• Reporting monthly turnover, MANCO, EXCO Transaction reporting and trend analysis.

LEARNING AND GROWTH

• Work with Learning & Development and Internal Communications teams to design and implement appropriate financial crime education, learning and communication for employees.
• Take ownership for driving own career development.
• Achievement of objectives/milestones set out in the development plan.
• Preparation and signing off of the development plan
• Development of knowledge base and intellectually property

This position is advertised in line with our commitment to Employment Equity.