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
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.
My Career Development Portal: Wherever you are in your career, we are here for you. Design your future. Discover leading-edge guidance, tools and support to unlock your potential. You are Absa. You are possibility.
Job Summary
We are looking for a Data Scientist (AVP) to join the Personal and Private Banking Data Science team at Absa Bank. As a Data Scientist, you will become a collaborator within a team of specialist data scientists aiming to help Absa discover the insights hidden in its vast amounts of data and help enable smarter decisions to deliver better products and services and shape business strategy. You will be expected to take on the most complex artificial intelligence projects, as well as provide technical mentoring and coaching for junior team members.
Job Description
Job Description
- Work with large-scale structured and unstructured datasets using modern data platforms (e.g. Databricks, AWS, other cloud-based environments).
- Design, build, and deploy high-quality machine-learning models and applied AI solutions (including large language models) to drive strategic and competitive advantage, ensuring robustness, governance, and interpretability.
- Partner with stakeholders across business, product, marketing, risk, strategy and technology teams to help translate their challenges into actionable data science models and embed insights into decision-making processes and strategy.
- Partake in data science community of practice in the broader organisation by sharing knowledge and skills
- Mentor junior data scientists and contribute to best practices in analytics, modelling, and storytelling.
Minimum Experience and Skills Requirements
- 5+ years’ experience in data science or advanced analytics
- Deep knowledge of machine learning methods, principles and frameworks
- Strong programming and data querying skills (SQL, PySpark, Python)
- Machine Learning: Scikit-learn, PyTorch, PyCaret, etc.
- Hadoop Big Data Platform: Spark, hdfs, hive, etc
- Python Tools: pytest, conda, poetry etc
- DevOps: Git (GitHub), bash, ssh, CI/CD Pipelines
- Cloud: DataBricks, AWS
- Presentation skills: ability to efficiently present data and ML models insights to a non-technical audience
- Team Skills: guiding junior team members, defining and maintaining team standards
- Experience delivering end-to-end analytical solutions in a complex, data-rich environment (financial services experience is advantageous).
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Physics, or a related quantitative field.
- Postgraduate qualification (Honours / Master’s) in Data Science is advantageous.
- Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology/Mathematics/Statistics
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
- 5+ years experience in data science or advanced analytics
- Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Physics or related quantitative field
- Deep knowledge of machine learning methods, principles and frameworks
- Strong programming and data querying skills: SQL, PySpark, Python
- Experience with machine learning libraries: Scikit-learn, PyTorch, PyCaret
- Experience with Hadoop big data platform components: Spark, HDFS, Hive
- Experience with Python tooling: pytest, conda, poetry
- DevOps skills: Git (GitHub), bash, ssh, CI/CD pipelines
- Cloud and data platform experience: Databricks, AWS
- Ability to present data and ML model insights to non-technical audiences
- Experience mentoring junior data scientists and contributing to team standards
- Experience delivering end-to-end analytical solutions in complex, data-rich environments
- Postgraduate qualification (Honours/Master's) in Data Science (advantageous)
- Financial services experience (advantageous)
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.
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.
