Head Regulatory Compliance at Equity Bank Kenya

Description

Equity Bank is one of the region’s leading banks whose purpose is to transform the lives and livelihoods of the people of Africa socially and economically by availing them modern and inclusive financial services that maximize their opportunities. With a strong footprint in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and DRC Congo, Equity Bank is now home to over 12 million customers - the largest customer base in Africa. Currently the Bank is seeking additional talent to serve in the role outlined below.

The Head of Regulatory Compliance shall support the Group Director, CFCC by working with other Risk and the business leaders to manage the strategy and execution of the Group’s Compliance risk framework. The role supports the effective management of Regulatory Compliance related risks in the Group and provides pro-active, accurate and timely advice to enable all subsidiaries operate in accordance with regulatory requirements, global best practice and applicable Group standards. The role requires good knowledge of Compliance risk frameworks, the potential sources of compliance risk and collaboration with other leaders in the first and second lines of defense to identify, assess, monitor and address such activities.  

Primary Responsibilities: –

• Support the Group Director, CFCC to implement and maintain effective Group Compliance risk framework and provide strategic direction in how they are managed.
• Collaborate with the Director of CFCC Risk Assessment, Governance & Testing as well as other relevant Group stakeholders to identify, control and assess compliance risk in the Group.
• Deliver regulatory advice to stakeholders and manage second line processes to ensure privacy & law enforcement, regulatory conduct & reporting, new business & new products, customer complaints, consumer protection, customer conduct, product, product quality, data quality, and data privacy compliance on an ongoing basis in all business activities and in line with Group risk appetite.
• Drive effectiveness of the Group Compliance Risk Framework by incorporating effective and practical advice into sound early-stage second line challenge.
• Support the rollout and implementation of effective Compliance training across the Group.  
• Assist with the Group’s approach, including an effective Group Obligations register, for the timely identification of opportunities to enhance the management and oversight of Compliance risk, and ensure appropriate action is taken by relevant parties to deliver improvements.
• Work with relevant stakeholders in the Group to ensure that the required controls to mitigate compliance risk are embedded into new products and initiatives.
• Support the Group Director, CFCC in the development and implementation of the Group Government & Regulatory Relationship Program.
• Implement a process that identifies and manages potential Compliance risk from regulatory and geo-political changes and provides assurance that changes have been effectively embedded into the relevant Compliance business processes.
• Broaden internal and external networks and keep up to date with regulatory requirements and industry best practice to continuously improve the effectiveness of Group compliance risk management.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Requires 12+ years of professional experience and 5+ years of management experience.

 Critical Skills

• No less than 9 years of compliance management experience, with significant portion in Compliance risk within a large international bank.
• Strong understanding of Regulatory Compliance and requirements within the banking industry.
• Good experience in leveraging analytics and technology solutions to manage Compliance risks.
• Critical thinking skills to understand and analyze complex problems.
• Effective communicator with strong writing and verbal abilities to communicate across all levels of the Group.
• Ability to develop strong relationships and collaborate with senior business and function leaders to influence change
• Proven focus on deliverables, organized, and ability to manage multiple high priority deliverables
• Self-starter, highly organized, and detailed-oriented
• Strategic and critical thinking and the ability to concisely convey complex regulatory concepts and possible solution sets.
• Excellent facilitation and presentation skills
• Exercise high level of discretion and confidentiality due to the sensitive nature of the scope of work
• Extremely detail oriented with ability to elevate details into strategies. 

Education

• Master’s degree plus relevant professional qualifications such as CAMS, ICA.