Deputy Head: Business Development - North

What will you do?

Job Purpose 

This role will drive the strategic distribution initiatives of Glacier across three key channels - Sanlam Connect Choice, Sanlam Connect Tied, and the Glacier Investment Channel - within the Northern Region. It will support the Regional Head: Business Development North in formulating and successfully implementing strategic and operational plans to achieve inflow targets across all product sets and expanding into strategic markets such as IFA | GEPF & SOE | International | DFM. 

Key Outcomes

• Lead the Glacier brand in the Northern Region by crafting and executing compelling sales and marketing strategies, driving operational excellence, and fostering impactful intermediary engagements to strengthen market presence and business growth.
• Delivering profitable, sustainable solutions to the intermediary market.
• Collaborating with senior leadership across Gauteng North and South Sanlam Connect regions, Corporate and Independent Financial Services businesses.
• Engaging in regional travel to support Business Development Managers, develop panels, and implement strategic sales and distribution drivers. 

Strategic Positioning of the Business Area – Immediate & Future

• Market Positioning: Champion Glacier’s value proposition within South Africa’s retail investment market.
• Internal Alignment: Strategically position Glacier’s full product and solution suite across Sanlam Connect and Glacier Distribution, including sales, marketing, product, and investment support.

Leadership, Implementation & Performance Management

• Sales Leadership: Take the lead in driving sales execution across Glacier’s key focus areas—Glacier Invest, Glacier Local, Glacier International, and Glacier Life—ensuring operational capacity aligns with strategic outcomes.
• Operational Planning: Develop, implement, and monitor operational plans that support the strategic goals of the business area, ensuring alignment with performance targets and continuous improvement.

Collaborate with various stakeholders

• IFA’s and Tied agents. Corporate IFA’s and their management structures.
• Sanlam Multi Managers, Executives, and Portfolio Managers.
• Glacier Compliance as Key Individual on the Glacier Advisory Service license.

Financial Discipline & Performance Management

• Budget Oversight: Manage the budget for the Northern Region, ensuring financial discipline across all initiatives and activities.
• Business Mix Optimization: Drive the team’s business mix to meet Glacier’s financial targets and ensure sustainable profitability.

Strategic Leadership & People Management

• Functional Leadership: Provide clear guidance and strategic direction across Glacier Region North and the broader Glacier senior leadership team, ensuring alignment with business priorities and goals.

Risk, Compliance & Governance

• Risk & Control Management: Identify, mitigate, implement, and manage controls related to risk and compliance across the business area.
• Regulatory Awareness & Key Individual Responsibilities
  Regulatory Vigilance: Stay abreast of all regulatory and industry changes impacting the South African investment platform landscape, including developments in crypto assets, ESG, DeFi, and the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill 1 2.

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in Commerce/Business (MBA or equivalent will be advantageous) 
• Post graduate degree preferably CFP 3 (Honours degree) will be to your advantage 
• 10 years of experience in asset management, DFM, Onshore and Offshore, Personal tax, Investment Advice, and management of professionals at senior level. 

Competencies

• Financial services industry and product knowledge
• Compliance, tax, and labour legislation
• Contracts, licensing, and legal structures (SFP models)
• Sales distribution models and value chains
• Market segmentation, marketing, and sales principles
• Remuneration models, payroll, and commission structures
• Strategy development and business planning
• Entity structures, legal/tax requirements, and risk management
• Business metrics, budgeting, and financial oversight
• Board-level strategic leadership

Attributes

• Results-driven and sales-focused
• Strong relationship builder and collaborator
• Skilled in persuasion, influence, and strategic thinking
• Politically and organizationally savvy
• Confident communicator with resilience and determination
• Proactive dealmaker and business innovator 

What will make you successful in this role?

Qualification and Experience

Knowledge and Skills

Personal Attributes

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.

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. 

Our commitment to transformation