Conformance and Assurance Head at Equity Bank Kenya

Role Objective:

This role serves as a first (1st) line defense and collaborates with 2nd line defense teams to embed compliance, quality assurance and risk management in the various transformation programs at initiation stage. 

Key Functions: 

• Oversees and ensures that 1st line compliance, quality assurance, and risk management aspects of transformation initiatives are embedded at conceptualization phase.
• Ensures that all transformation activities are subjected to legal, regulatory, and internal governance conformance checks as required across Equity Group entities.
• Provides independent assurance that transformation projects are delivering value, mitigating risks, and maintaining compliance in alignment with Equity Group AARP. 

Responsibilities: 

Regulatory Compliance 

• Ensure that all transformation projects adhere to applicable regulatory requirements across different jurisdictions (e.g., financial regulations, data privacy laws, cybersecurity regulations).
• Compliance Audits: Conduct regular compliance audits across transformation initiatives to ensure adherence to regulatory frameworks and internal policies.
• Legal and Regulatory Liaison: Act as the point of contact for legal and regulatory bodies, ensuring that transformation projects meet external and internal compliance requirements. 

Risk Management and Mitigation 

• Risk Identification and Assessment: Identify potential risks associated with transformation projects, including operational, financial, reputational, and regulatory risks.
• Risk Mitigation Plans: Develop and implement risk mitigation strategies, ensuring proactive management of risks throughout the transformation lifecycle.
• Issue Escalation: Ensure that high-impact risks or issues are promptly escalated to senior leadership and the transformation steering committee for resolution. 

Quality Assurance (QA) 

• QA Frameworks and Standards: Develop and enforce quality assurance frameworks to ensure that all transformation initiatives are delivered to the highest standard.
• Project Reviews: Conduct regular quality assurance reviews of transformation projects to ensure compliance with agreed-upon quality standards, milestones, and deliverables.
• Test Management: Oversee functional and non-functional testing for new systems and processes to ensure that they meet defined quality benchmarks and performance metrics before going live. 

Governance and Audit 

• Governance Compliance: Ensure that all transformation initiatives follow the governance frameworks established by the transformation office and corporate governance standards.
• Independent Audits: Coordinate and or conduct as required, independent audits of transformation projects to assess conformance with established policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Governance Reporting: Regularly report governance and compliance findings to senior leadership and the transformation steering committee, highlighting any deviations or areas requiring corrective action. 

Assurance of Benefits Realization 

• Independent Benefits Assurance: Provide independent assurance that the benefits projected from transformation initiatives (e.g., cost savings, operational efficiencies, revenue growth) are being realized as planned.
• Post-Implementation Reviews: Coordinate and or conduct, as required, post-implementation reviews to verify that transformation projects deliver the expected outcomes and meet agreed business objectives.
• Corrective Action Plans: Recommend corrective actions in cases where benefits realization is falling short or where transformation projects are not achieving the expected value. 

Documentation and Reporting 

• Compliance Documentation: Maintain accurate documentation of compliance activities, quality assurance processes, risk assessments, and conformance reviews.
• Reporting: Provide detailed reports on conformance, compliance, and quality assurance to the transformation leadership and audit committees, ensuring full transparency of transformation performance. 

Continuous Improvement 

• Feedback Loops: Implement mechanisms for continuous feedback on compliance, risk, and quality assurance to improve future transformation projects.
• Lessons Learned: Document and share lessons learned from audits, risk management activities, and compliance reviews to foster a culture of continuous improvement. 

Qualifications

Requirements 

• Bachelor's degree finance, operations management
• At least 7 years’ experience in compliance, risk management, or audit roles within the financial services industry, well rounded across business functions.
• Professional compliance or audit qualifications preferred.