Head Liabilities

Role/person specification

Education

• First business degree in commerce or banking
  
• MBA is an added advantage.
  
• Project Management qualification
  

Preferred Experience.

• At least 10 years’ experience in sales or product development in a Retail Banking environment.
  
• 5 years’ people management experience
  
• P & L Management
  

Knowledge and Skills

• A comprehensive knowledge of Absa RBB products and systems that support them.
  
• A detailed understanding of product offerings in the wider financial services industry.
  
• Demonstrate an understanding of global trends in banking and financial services including emerging developments in fintech and digital transformation of financial services
  
• Detailed knowledge of Absa RBB strategy and policies.
  
• Detailed knowledge of consumer behaviour, marketing techniques and evolving trends.
  
• An understanding of customer segmentation theory and practice.
  
• A detailed understanding of local industry advisory, regulatory, and professional bodies.
  
• A good understanding of legislation related to financial services and channel delivery.
  

Team Leadership 30%

• Create and foster a positive, empowering team and work environment with open communication, individual ownership, personal initiative, timely resolution of conflicts and compliance of company standards
  
• Provide thought leadership to the team and drive a culture of transformation and innovation by encouraging knowledge sharing, best practices in product development and new ways of doing things.
  
• Embed a high-performance culture with direct reports and their teams by providing regular feedback, coaching to ensure their maximum potential is achieved
  
• Act as an escalation point for all issues emanating from the team
  
• Provide management support to colleagues within the team across the entire employee life cycle including on-boarding, performance management, discipline, talent management, career development, reward, recognition etc
  
• Drive proactive application of Absa values both personally and throughout the team.
  

Product Oversight 30%

• Ensure Liability and lending Revenue income targets are met for RBB products through leading and evolving the liability and lending product pricing strategy.
  
• Stay abreast of industry trends, role players and opportunities and challenges to ensure that the RBB liability and lending business is well positioned to provide competitive and industry leading products and services
  
• Build and maintain effective relationships and networks within the industry forums and use the opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership and share best practices
  
• Identifying opportunities for new product development and enhancements
  
• Contribute ideas for alternative RBB product strategies to manage the Liability and lending Book.
  
• Continuously review the local basis for customer segmentation and recommend suitable product activity to target and sustain viable and profitable segments in line with the stated RBB strategy in country.
  
• Monitor and provide feedback to RBB Management on local competitor product activity and pricing.
  
• Interact with the Head of Direct Sales, Proposition Heads and Regional Managers in the Branch network to provide input into sales strategies.
  
• Provide direction and input to the Marketing & Corporate Relations (MCR) team during the development of product-specific campaigns.
  
• Build relationships with internal service providers and stakeholders, including Marketing & Corporate Relations (MCR) and Operations & Technology etc and ensure that service level agreements are implemented and maintained where appropriate.
  
• Proactively contribute to the digitization agenda and relevant transformation initiatives
  

Drive Business Performance 30%

• Provide clear direction to the liabilities and lending team on the RBB objectives, translating and prioritizing into business performance measures at team and individual level.
  
• Agree targets and take accountability for the overall achievement of performance objectives for the team in terms of:
  • Brand, product and business proposition
    
  • Customer experience
    
  • Cost performance
    
  • Product risk and rigour management
    
  • Budget accountability
    
• For areas managed by this role, implement performance controls to proactively measure achievement against strategic targets and address changes or non-performance.
  

Governance Control 10%

• Review monthly tariff reports prepared by the Product Managers with particular focus on errors and deviations. Ensure action plans are implemented to address such issues.
  
• Review notices for submission to local government, regulators and customers prior to their distribution.
  
• Liaise with the COO areas on any major processing issues directly linked to the product design or the channels through which the products are distributed.
  
• Ensure that the team complies with all Absa policies and procedures.
  
• Ensure that team members abide by required project governance standards for implementation of new products or launch of new distribution channels