Risk Manager - (VP) at Absa Bank Limited

Job Summary

To engage with the business(First Assurance Company Ltd), to provide risk expertise in guiding and enabling them to execute their risk management processes in a manner consistent with the Absa Group Enterprise Risk Management Framework and related policies and standards

Job Description

Accountability: Risk Management Activities

• Assist in determining and reporting the BU risk profile.
• Assist business to understand the requirements of the ERMF (policies and standards). Aid business to identify the gaps between requirements and current status. Guide business to identify appropriate actions and activities to ensure compliance to requirements. Assist business to identify non-applicable requirements and provide guidance on the Dispensation and Waiver process.
• Assist the BU business in establishing and maintaining formal governance processes regarding the execution of the Enterprise Risk Management Framework and Key Risk processes
• Ensure business is trained on the usage of the applicable Risk management system to enable the recording of Risk Events, actions, RCSAs and Lessons Learnt.
• Continuously challenge the Risk and Control Assessment(RCA) process
• Prepare and speak to the BU risk profile at the BU Executive Risk Committee and Audit and Risk Committee.
• Ensure all aspects required by the Group Operational Risk team are attended to, at an appropriate quality and timelines.
• Engage with Internal and External Audit in the various audits within scope of responsibility.
• Be involved in the oversight of the implementation of new regulatory requirements as well as updated internal policies.
• Implement the risk management methodologies and practices to ensure compliance with current and international best practice principles.
• Implement robust risk analysis to ensure consistent risk measurement.
• Continually assess risks and assist to design control activities to respond to risks throughout the BU.
• Support the articulation of the Risk Appetite for all the relevant Principal Risks.
• Provide day to day technical risk advice to enable the business to better understand their risk profile.
• Review external risk events and assess, together with the business, whether we have appropriate internal mitigation in place.
• Scrutinize internal risk events and ensure that we meet the requirements of the risk events management standard (data elements align, lessons learnt completed – including root cause analysis and assessment of systemic impact
• Review and challenge the risk and control self-assessments and the associated structure and processes.
• Provide independent oversight and challenge on the governance and progress of major change programmes impacting or initiated/managed by the business.
• Support and challenge the BU Key Risk Owners on overall assessments and ratings.
• Agree tactical and strategic remediation plans and oversee and challenge implementation thereof against pre-determined and signed off outcomes.
• Engage BU to better understand emerging risks, and formulate the BU Risk response.
• Ensure that all risk reports are compiled and are of good quality and submitted timely as required.
• Establish clear and regular communication with business in creating awareness and understanding of risk management requirements including appropriate training.
• Ensure the BU has appropriate units of measure in place to monitor and manage their risk profile. Ensure that the indicators are monitored as appropriate.

Accountability: Outputs and deliverables

• Contribute to the development of the Risk Management strategy and be accountable for the implementation thereof to support the BU in the management of the Risk Profile.
• Be an active and accountable member of the Insurance Group Risk Management team to ensure alignment between Insurance Group Risk and to support the overall Risk Management strategy.
• Risk reporting as required.
• Pro – actively build and maintain relationships with business and maintain a contact point for any risk related matter.
• Make recommendations to business in relation to processes, procedures, policies and how to improve the risk environment.
• Facilitate regular workshops with business stakeholders to identify key risk associated with various elements of the business.
• Develop and maintain risk management practise with regards to the business and operational risk framework, establishing full alignment in risk and control identification and assessment. Ensure alignment with Absa Group as required.
• Assist business in the development of Key Risk indicators for measuring the utilization of risk against appetite.
• Be abreast of new risk (all principal risks), compliance or regulatory requirements.

Accountability: Risk Management

• Build and maintain relationships with the Business Units teams to ensure that risks are managed in accordance with the Risk framework.
• Maintain and develop awareness of risk management issues and changes across relevant Business Units & sub-units.
• Create a continuous relationship between risk and business in order to be aware of any new strategies or business changes that could potentially affect the risk profile of the business, and to understand and guide on any risk concerns identified.
• Understand the business concerns in order to be able to give sound advice on risk matters by working closely with the relevant Business, Risk, Governance & Control and Management Assurance teams.
• Build a strong relationship with assurance providers through driving and considering combined assurance activities.
• Provide adequate hand over in the event of passing over responsibility when on leave or leaving the department.
• Ensure a close working relationship with the Head of Risk of the Business Unit, which may not be the same person as line manager