Senior Compliance and Risk Manager

Build a successful career with us

We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping  our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.

What will you do?

Senior Compliance and Risk Manager will provide independent oversight and strategic leadership across the Compliance and Risk functions, ensuring the organisation operates within legal, regulatory, and risk appetite parameters, while safeguarding stakeholder value and supporting business objectives.

The role is accountable for embedding a strong compliance culture, enhancing enterprise risk management capabilities, and ensuring robust governance aligned to regulatory and internal standards. 

Key Responsibilities

Compliance Management

• Develop, implement, and maintain the regulatory compliance framework, policies, and procedures
• Maintain and update the regulatory universe and communicate changes to stakeholders
• Monitor compliance with legislation, regulatory obligations, and internal policies
• Develop and oversee Compliance Risk Management Plans (CRMPs)
• Provide proactive regulatory advisory to business units
• Lead regulatory reporting and engagement with regulators (e.g. FSCA, Information Regulator)

Enterprise Risk Management

• Support implementation and enhancement of the ERM framework
• Oversee enterprise-wide risk identification, assessment, and mitigation processes
• Maintain and monitor the risk register, ensuring key risks are tracked and escalated
• Facilitate risk appetite embedding and alignment to business strategy
• Provide regular risk reporting to management, Exco, and Board committees

Monitoring, Assurance and Reporting

• Develop and execute risk-based compliance and risk monitoring plans
• Track compliance breaches, incidents, and remediation actions
• Provide consolidated reports to applicable forums
• Monitor effectiveness of internal controls and governance processes

Governance and Regulatory Engagement

• Support governance forums with insights and reporting
• Ensure adherence to governance standards and regulatory expectations
• Maintain independence while providing advisory input to the business
• Engage proactively with regulators, audits, and inspections
•  Support governance structures that ensure clear separation between risk oversight and business operations

Culture, Training and Capability Development

• Drive a strong compliance and risk culture across the organisation
• Develop and deliver training and awareness programmes
• Provide mentorship and leadership to compliance and risk teams
• Support capability development and maturity of control functions

Strategic Contribution

• Provide input into strategic initiatives, product development, and partnerships
• Identify emerging regulatory and risk trends impacting the business
• Ensure risk and compliance considerations are embedded in business decisions

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications
•    Compulsory: LLB / BCom Law / Bcom Risk 
•    Postgraduate qualification (advantageous, e.g. Risk Management or Compliance)
•    Registered FAIS Compliance Officer Category 

Experience
•    8–10 years’ experience in compliance and/or risk within financial services (insurance preferred)
•    Experience engaging with regulators (e.g. FSCA)
•    Proven track record in leading compliance or risk functions
•    Experience in governance forums and board level reporting

Knowledge and Skills

Personal Attributes

Core Competencies

Turnaround time

The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers. 

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