National Sales & Workplace Banking Manager

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Job Summary

Lead the end-to-end sales engine and workplace banking proposition to drive profitable customer acquisition, balance growth, and primacy across payroll-linked segments. Own the sales strategy, distribution productivity, corporate partnerships, and the operating cadence that ensures consistent delivery of revenue, deposits, lending, and cross-sell targets—while maintaining impeccable conduct, risk, and customer outcomes.

A. Strategy & Growth

• Develop and execute the national sales strategy for Retail and Workplace Banking across all channels (branches, field, telesales, digital).
• Build and scale workplace banking partnerships with employers to drive payroll acquisition, primary relationship penetration, and ecosystems (credit, insurance, investments, payments).
• Design segment plays and campaigns.
• Own the sales forecast, pipeline coverage, and quarterly/annual delivery against targets.

B. Distribution & Execution

• Drive branch and field sales productivity: call cycles, opportunity management, and conversion.
• Oversee corporate acquisition and onboarding motions (MOUs, data exchange, payroll mandates).
• Embed sales governance: pipeline discipline, cadence (daily huddles, weekly reviews, monthly performance boards), and root-cause problem solving.
• Partner with Digital to grow acquisition and journey conversion.

C. Proposition & Pricing

• Co-own the workplace value proposition (benefits, rate differentials, fee waivers, bundles, rewards).
• Align pricing, offers, and incentives with margin objectives.
• Launch campaigns (new-to-bank payroll, revolving credit activation, Insurance, lending, Digital banking where applicable).

D. Analytics, CRM & Enablement

• Implement CRM standards: lead assignment, SLA adherence, and next-best-action.
• Use advanced analytics to prioritize corporates and employee cohorts with the highest propensity.
• Run a sales enablement engine: playbooks, talk tracks, objection handling, onboarding.

E. Risk, Compliance & Conduct

• Ensure compliance with KYC/AML, Treating Customers Fairly, data privacy, and regulatory directives.
• Maintain sales quality, documentation standards, and control effectiveness (1st line).
• Oversee complaints themes and remediate through process and training.

F. Stakeholder Leadership

• Partner with Corporate/Business Bank for employer origination and cross-sell.
• Work with Marketing, Product, Operations, IT/Digital, Credit Risk, and HR for end-to-end delivery.
• Serve as the management face of Workplace Banking with key employer partners.

KPIs & Metrics

Growth & Acquisition

• New-to-bank salaried customers (monthly/quarterly/yearly)
• Payroll mandates won (# employers onboarded; # employees enrolled; enrolment rate %)
• Balance growth: deposits (current/savings), lending
• Digital acquisition/usage volume and conversion rate

Productivity & Quality

• Lead-to-sale conversion %, cycle time
• Sales per FTE
• Persistency/12‑month retention, primary salary deposit rate, cross-sell per customer

Financial & Risk

• Early delinquencies (30/60 DPD), first-payment default, NPS/complaints rate
• Audit findings closed on time, control effectiveness (RCSA, QA pass rates)

Control and Governance

• Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Absa and Policy Standards. Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the role.
• On a monthly basis review all reported incidents or risk events together with supporting investigating documents. Identify high-risk areas and create mechanisms to address risks in future.
• Ensure that adequate controls are in place and drive a culture of proactive compliance in the function.
• Determine action plans to effectively reduce and manage risk issues related to Absa Internal Audit findings, Management Assurance findings, Compliance issues, SOX requirements and operational risk.
• Ensure that there are zero findings on internal, external, or regulatory audits

Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with the business & support teams for driving the sales driven customer obsession agenda within the Bank
• Proactively develop relationships with key external stakeholders and vendors and key clients and external regulatory bodies
• Build and maintain strong stakeholder relationships by working closely with key internal support and control stakeholders (Branches, Product Teams, Sales Team, Business Intelligence, Marketing, Risk, Compliance and Legal) to communicate the customer voice
• Regularly communicate the sales growth vision & direction to all team (Tele Sales Agents) and other stakeholders

Education

Bachelors Degree and Professional Qualifications: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)