Executive Head: Unsecured Lending

Job Summary

Own the end-to-end performance of the Unsecured Lending portfolio (Credit Cards, Overdrafts and Personal Loans). This scope covers product, risk outcomes, collections, lifecycle, innovation.

The value chain this role owns is origination, product design, pricing, limit management, collections and analytics.

Accountable for:

• Strategy

• P&L and balance sheet performance

• Credit losses and risk outcomes

• Capital efficiency and returns

• People and talent strategies and development

• Technology enablement solutions and innovative, progressive digital enablement

• Managing risk and compliance

• Set and execute a 3-to-5-year unsecured lending strategy aligned to Personal & Private Bank and Group objectives.

• Balance growth, conduct, customer fairness, and risk appetite at portfolio level

• Lead the Unsecured Lending Product House which includes the Card, Overdraft and Personal Loans product houses, ensuring:

• Market leading value propositions

• Competitive pricing and features

• Strong customer acquisition and usage

• Drive synergies across the Unsecured Lending Product Houses to optimize the cost to go-to-market:

• Card propositions (rewards, partnerships, digital wallets, lifestyle ecosystems)

• Personal loan solutions (flexibility, lifecycle lending, refinancing and consolidation)

• Overdraft solutions

• Ensure product propositions remain relevant across customer segments in Personal and Private Banking.

• The role will own operations in terms of processing, servicing and collections execution and partner with channels to optimize these processes keeping the customer at the centre of the solutions.

• Partner with Finance on product profitability, cost allocations and capital modelling.

• Partner with Technology on credit systems changes, card enhancements and digital journeys.

• Shift from product‑centric to customer‑centric unsecured lending models.

• Embed lifecycle thinking across:

• Acquisition

• Limit management

• Pricing

• Usage stimulation

• Early intervention and collections

• Deliver purpose‑led solutions aligned to evolving customer behaviours and financial needs

• Partner with Credit Risk to:

• Embed advanced analytics and decisioning across origination, pricing, limits, and collections.

• Credit policy, decisioning models and approvals.

• Optimise risk‑adjusted returns at customer level.

• Ensure responsible, explainable, and well‑governed use of data and analytics.

• Use insight to improve approval rates, reduce losses, and enhance customer experience

• Own the end-to-end collections and recovery strategy for unsecured lending, including:

• Early-stage delinquency

• Distressed collections

• Pre legal and off-balance sheet recovery

• Balance recovery performance with:

• Customer lifetime value

• Fair treatment and conduct outcomes

• Govern third party collections partners and suppliers.

• Drive the evolution of unsecured lending propositions through:

• Digital channels

• Embedded finance

• Strategic partnerships

• Identify and incubate new unsecured revenue streams

• Ensure rapid experimentation is paired with disciplined scaling and commercial rigor.

• This role will own technology decisions and budgets that impact the product focused on enhancing franchise value and penetrating deeper into the Absa customer base, pricing and servicing operations.

• This role will prioritise change and develop the roadmap and partner with the technology teams to enable the delivery of these ambitions.

• Strengthen governance, control, and assurance frameworks across all unsecured lending activities.

• Ensure compliance with:

• Credit regulation

• Consumer protection standards

• Conduct risk expectations

• Represent the unsecured lending franchise in:

• Internal governance forums

• Regulatory engagements (as required)

• Lead multidisciplinary teams across:

• Products

• Analytics

• Collections

• Operations (in partnership)

• Build a high performance, risk aware culture.

• Develop leadership succession and critical skills within the unsecured lending franchise.

• • Post-graduate degree or Honors degree in Quantitative Analytics, Finance, Economics or related field.

  • An MBA is preferred or a specialist Masters qualification.

12+ years’ experience in banking or financial services, including senior leadership roles in coverage, enablement, sales or strategy. Proven track record of managing complex, high-value client relationships at executive level and with eco-systems partnerships

• Deep understanding of South African Business Banking, credit, risk and regulatory frameworks.

• Extensive experience in Personal or Private Banking products

• Experience operating in high‑risk, high‑impact environments

• Exposure to cross‑functional and enterprise‑wide coordination

• Deep understanding of credit risk and portfolio performance drivers

• Strong commercial acumen (margin, capital, cost of risk)

• Uses data and analytics to guide decisions and detect early risk

• Brings credible sector insight and market understanding

• Translates strategy into practical execution and playbooks

• Strong balance‑sheet, pricing and funding literacy

• Executive‑level communication and governance judgement

• Creating and Conceptualising

• Enterprising and Performing

• Leading and Deciding

• Analysing and Interpreting

• Strategic Visioning

• Business Acumen

• Customer Obsessed

• Inspirational People Leadership

Education

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised