Background

Absa Bank Limited (Absa) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Africa Group Limited. Absa offers personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management as well as bancassurance.

Key accountabilities/Deliverables/Outcomes

Accountability: Credit Risk Management - 40%

• In collaboration with the business counterparts, develop, implement and maintain credit risk strategies
• Ensure the highest standards of credit quality through the sanctioning, sampling and application of best practice to credit proposals, and maintenance of these standards throughout the Credit Teams.
• Review and Implementation of credit policy and processes. Feed into business and credit policy development.
• Ensure adherence to Lending discretions with appropriate delegation to the Retail Credit and Credit Operations Team.
• Exercise personal judgment and discretion in the evaluation and approval/decline of credit proposals.
• Responsibility for personal & team adherence to governance, compliance and lending portfolio controls. Ensuring audit outcomes are satisfactory backed by conformance to policy and procedures including proactive management of agreed responsibilities for Data Integrity.
• Maintain interactive relationship with relevant ARO/Group Risk/Business/Operations/Conformance Teams.
• Challenge pricing and profitability models in order to maximize value. Ultimate sign off at customer level remains with Business.
• Design, implement and maintain generic strategies for appropriate remedial action on poorly performing accounts in the portfolio

Accountability: Business Risk Partnership & Stakeholder Management – 40%

• Work in partnership with the Head of Retail and Business Banking Credit to ensure that the credit team proactively anticipates & responds to (and seek to exceed) the expectations of customers. Always looking to add value.
• Develop a strong Risk/CODO/Retail Business partnerships
• Represent Retail Credit Risk in forums where Credit Risk is directly or indirectly impacted.

Accountability: Leadership - 20%

• Be part of a highly motivated team maintaining excellent relationships within own team and wider business to ensure achievement of business goals.
• Consider the training and development needs of the team and support the development and implementation of solutions.
• Act as a role model and drive proactive application of Absa behaviours throughout the team including establishment of common goals and objectives.
• Ensure effective performance development and succession planning for the team.

Role/person specification

Qualification

• Business Degree in mathematical finance, actuarial science, economics, statistics
• Comprehensive technical credit skills
• General commercial/industry awareness
• Working knowledge of risk management policies, procedures & pricing

Experience

• Working knowledge of Group policies and strategies relative to the credit function
• Product knowledge
• Detailed understanding / fit of the vision for Risk
• Working knowledge of local country structure and strategy
• Leadership and performance development of a team
• Managing risk and reward

Knowledge and Skills

• Leadership
• People management and coaching
• Communications (written and oral) and presentations
• Effective negotiation and influencing
• Delegation
• Influencing

• In collaboration with the business counterparts, develop, implement and maintain credit risk strategies
• Ensure the highest standards of credit quality through the sanctioning, sampling and application of best practice to credit proposals, and maintenance of these standards throughout the Credit Teams.
• Review and Implementation of credit policy and processes. Feed into business and credit policy development.
• Ensure adherence to Lending discretions with appropriate delegation to the Retail Credit and Credit Operations Team.
• Exercise personal judgment and discretion in the evaluation and approval/decline of credit proposals.
• Responsibility for personal & team adherence to governance, compliance and lending portfolio controls. Ensuring audit outcomes are satisfactory backed by conformance to policy and procedures including proactive management of agreed responsibilities for Data Integrity.
• Maintain interactive relationship with relevant ARO/Group Risk/Business/Operations/Conformance Teams.
• Challenge pricing and profitability models in order to maximize value. Ultimate sign off at customer level remains with Business.
• Design, implement and maintain generic strategies for appropriate remedial action on poorly performing accounts in the portfolio
• Work in partnership with the Head of Retail and Business Banking Credit to ensure that the credit team proactively anticipates & responds to (and seek to exceed) the expectations of customers. Always looking to add value.
• Develop a strong Risk/CODO/Retail Business partnerships
• Represent Retail Credit Risk in forums where Credit Risk is directly or indirectly impacted.
• Be part of a highly motivated team maintaining excellent relationships within own team and wider business to ensure achievement of business goals.
• Consider the training and development needs of the team and support the development and implementation of solutions.
• Act as a role model and drive proactive application of Absa behaviours throughout the team including establishment of common goals and objectives.
• Ensure effective performance development and succession planning for the team.

• Leadership
• People management and coaching
• Communications (written and oral) and presentations
• Effective negotiation and influencing
• Delegation
• Influencing

• Business Degree in mathematical finance, actuarial science, economics, statistics
• Comprehensive technical credit skills
• General commercial/industry awareness
• Working knowledge of risk management policies, procedures & pricing