Head Customer Risk Management

Job Summary

As the threats and risks of Financial Crime increase in scale and complexity, Absa Group Financial Crime is responsible for ensuring that the Bank manages the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions and bribery and corruption and, in so doing, protects the Bank, its customers and its employees, as well as society at large, from the negative effects of financial crime. The Financial Crime function implements a Financial Crime Risk framework to meet the requirements of anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, anti-bribery & corruption and economic sanctions laws and regulations.

Located within the Customer Risk Intelligence and Surveillance, a sub-division of the FinCrime Compliance team, the Head Customer Risk Management will establish and lead a newly created capability within Absa’s Financial Crime function focused on the ongoing review, assessment and active management of financial crime risk arising from Absa’s existing customer base. The role’s initial operational focus will include industry exposures such as precious metals, diamonds, online gambling and other high‑risk sectors, plus continuous monitoring of risk profiles for identified risks, products, clients and customer cohorts.

Core objectives:

• Provide continuous, risk‑based assurance over the existing customer base
• Reduce reliance on ad‑hoc reviews by embedding standardised processes.
• Improve detection and prioritisation of customer‑level financial crime risk.

 

Core capabilities to create:

• Customer Risk Assessment Framework; standardised scoring and segmentation.
• Industry Exposure Programmes; sector playbooks and typologies.
• Continuous Monitoring Engine; rules, models and alerts tuned to customer risk.
• Data & Analytics Hub; customer‑level data enrichment, link analysis and trend detection.
• Operational Playbooks; escalation, remediation and supervisory reporting.

 

Collaboration, Governance and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Ecosystem fit: The team will sit within Customer Risk Intelligence and Surveillance and work closely with other I&S teams, Business Unit Risk Management & Advisory, Policy, Governance, Data, Legal and Compliance.
• Cross‑functional integration: Establish formal liaison points and SLAs with Business Units to ensure timely information sharing, remediation execution and risk acceptance decisions.
• Governance: Chair a Customer Risk Forum to review heatmaps, escalations and remediation progress; feed outputs into Financial Crime governance committees and regulatory reporting. Change and embedment: Lead training and change programmes to move Risk & Effectiveness activities from ad‑hoc to embedded processes across front line and second line teams.
• External engagement: Represent Absa in industry forums, regulator engagements and where appropriate coordinate with law enforcement and sector partners on industry‑wide typologies

Education and Experience Required:

• 10+ years in financial crime, AML, sanctions, or related risk roles within banking, financial services or law enforcement
• Experience in building and scaling customer risk or surveillance capabilities
• Deep subject matter knowledge of industry exposures (e.g., precious metals, diamonds, online gambling) and associated typologies
• Strong data and analytics literacy; experience working with data scientists and surveillance technology
• Demonstrated stakeholder management and change leadership at senior levels

 

Core competencies:

• Strategic leadership, risk judgement, programme delivery, people development, regulatory acumen, communication and influencing skills
• Qualifications: degree in finance, law, criminology, economics or related field; professional certifications (e.g., CAMS) preferred

 

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

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