Head: New Client Acquisitions, Business Banking Commercial Client Coverage, South Africa

Job Summary

• The Head of NCA provides strategic leadership to a team of Acquisition Bankers (AB) and Ancillary Banking Coordinators (ABC), with a focus on acquiring New-to-Bank (NTB) clients and securing primary banking relationships.

• The role is accountable for the end-to-end performance of the NCA franchise, driving origination excellence, disciplined credit execution, seamless onboarding, and rapid activation to achieve full transactional primacy and sustainable revenue growth.

• The Head of NCA ensures that client acquisition is executed through a structured, primacy-led model, anchoring relationships on core transactional operating accounts, clearing flows, and primary debt facilities, while maximizing wallet share across all product capabilities.

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  Define and execute a national, primacy-led acquisition strategy focused on winning primary banking mandates, displacing incumbents, and capturing dominant wallet share across transactional, liquidity, and trade flows from onboarding.

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  Develop and continuously refine a targeted “hunting strategy” across priority sectors, regions, and client profiles, supported by disciplined prospecting frameworks that drive a high-quality NTB pipeline.

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  Systematically target Commercial-profile NTB clients (≥R50m T/o or Sales), ensuring structured engagement and consistent origination momentum.

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  Differentiate through compelling value propositions and switching strategies that enable effective competitor displacement and sustained client conversion.

• Provide strategic oversight across the full acquisition lifecycle, ensuring seamless progression from origination through execution, implementation, activation, and sustained client utilisation.

• Review all NTB transactions to guide Acquisition Bankers and Coverage Bankers on optimal structuring and solutioning, including direct engagement with clients where required.

• Sponsor and advocate for qualified transactions at Credit Risk forums and relevant governance committees to secure timely approvals.

• Drive accelerated time-to-primacy through strong coordination across ABs, ABCs, Product Houses, Credit, Legal, and Operations, while actively monitoring pipeline velocity, execution quality, and conversion outcomes.

• Lead, coach, and mentor Acquisition Bankers and Ancillary Banking Coordinators to build a high-performance team that delivers consistent results and embeds a strong deal-owning, accountable culture.

• Chair regular deal forums to unblock pipeline constraints, sharpen client strategies, and improve conversion outcomes.

• Co-pilot strategic client engagements at Owner, CEO, and CFO level to secure primary banking mandates.

• Drive continuous capability uplift across credit structuring, pricing, transactional banking, cross-sell, and provide ongoing mentorship across the NCA team and broader colleague network.

• Enhance the NCA franchise brand and profile across the Business Banking franchise by driving strong internal engagement, increasing referrals, and promoting consistent adoption of best practices.

• Increase wallet share across both NTB and existing Commercial clients through close partnership with Coverage teams and targeted client strategies.

• Ensure disciplined linkage between balance sheet deployment and transactional primacy to drive sustainable and accretive revenue growth.

• Promote ecosystem capture across client value chains to deepen relationships and expand revenue opportunities.

• Ensure all origination activity aligns with the Bank’s risk appetite, governance standards, and applicable regulatory requirements (FICA, FAIS, AML, SARB).

• Proactively identify, assess, and manage reputational, credit, and transactional risks, taking appropriate action, and being guided by Compliance to mitigate any adverse impact on transactions.

• Maintain a strong, strategic partnership with Credit Risk to enable efficient, high-quality approvals while preserving robust control discipline.

• Drive superior asset quality through disciplined origination and structuring, minimizing early-stage default risk and safeguarding portfolio integrity.

• Actively engage and align with Regional Heads, Area Sales Managers, and Coverage Bankers to support NTB targets and drive wallet share growth.

• Ensure structured and effective collaboration across NCA, Coverage, Product Houses, Credit, Compliance, and Operations to enable seamless delivery.

• Drive integrated execution through Client Service Teams (CSTs), ensuring coordinated and efficient client onboarding and implementation.

• Enhance resource allocation across sectors and regions while maintaining strong execution discipline throughout onboarding and implementation processes.

• Ensure each Acquisition Banker consistently maintains a minimum of 2 new NTB client engagements per week, excluding transactions already in progress, to sustain origination momentum.

• Maintain a disciplined pipeline standard, with each AB always holding between 8–10 active NTB group opportunities, supported by robust Salesforce hygiene including call reports, pipeline tracking, and evidence of Client Service Team (CST) execution.

• Drive structured origination and pipeline conversion through well-defined frameworks, ensuring strong governance and visibility across the deal lifecycle.

• Ensure proactive project management across all transactions through effective coordination with Credit, Product Houses, and Operations, while enforcing a structured alignment model between ABs and Coverage Bankers across evaluation, facilitation, execution, and implementation stages.

• Enhance the NCA franchise brand and profile through consistent stakeholder engagement, best practice dissemination, and positioning Absa as the primary banker of choice.

• Demonstrate strong leadership behaviours that drive targeted acquisition strategies, enabling consistent NTB wins and supporting Coverage teams in achieving both acquisition and wallet share growth objectives.

• Provide effective oversight in managing reputational and transactional risks in line with Bank policies, while actively sponsoring and advocating for NTB transactions within governance forums.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships across internal and external stakeholders, fostering collaboration and alignment to deliver integrated client outcomes.

• Lead with strong accountability, execution discipline, and delivery excellence, embedding a performance-driven culture with clear ownership and measurable outcomes.

• Uphold the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct, while driving succession planning, mentorship, and continuous capability development across the franchise.

• A Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related discipline is required, with an MBA, CA(SA), CFA, or equivalent qualification considered highly advantageous.

• The role requires a minimum of 10+ years’ experience in Commercial or Corporate Banking, complemented by at least 5+ years of proven leadership experience managing high-performing, target-driven teams across complex environments.

• The successful candidate must demonstrate a strong track record in New-to-Bank (NTB) acquisition, credit structuring, and the origination of primary banking relationships.

• In addition, the role demands a deep understanding of the South African regulatory environment and banking landscape, supported by the ability to lead, develop, and inspire teams to deliver consistent, high-quality performance aligned to strategic objectives.

• Proven strategic leadership capability with extensive experience in managing, coaching, and developing high-performing teams to deliver consistent results and sustainable growth.

• Deep expertise in transactional banking and primacy, combined with strong end-to-end deal lifecycle management capability, enabling effective oversight from origination through to execution and client utilisation.

• Demonstrates advanced credit structuring and financial analysis skills, with the ability to guide teams in delivering complex, risk-adjusted solutions aligned to client needs and bank strategy.

• Strong commercial acumen with a clear focus on risk-adjusted returns, coupled with the ability to influence executive stakeholders and drive cross-functional alignment.

• Upholds high execution discipline and a results-oriented mindset, ensuring delivery excellence, accountability, and achievement of strategic objectives through effective team 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