Head of Advice

Date: 21 Oct 2025

Location:

Tygervalley, Western Cape, ZA

Company: Sanlam Group

Who are we?

Sanlam Investment Group:
The Sanlam Investment Group is uniquely equipped and positioned to deliver on its purpose of empowering generations to be financially confident, secure and prosperous. Through our vast in-house expertise and strategic partner networks, we can access all asset classes across the globe, private and public, actively and passively managed, to develop investment solutions that are in our clients’ best interests and have a positive impact on society. Backed by the Sanlam Group’s balance sheet, the Sanlam Investment Group has a true competitive advantage in its ability to invest alongside clients, particularly in private markets where impact investing drives the agenda.
The Sanlam Investment Group is one of the largest, most diversified financial services and investment firms in Southern Africa with assets under management and administration of more than R2 trillion. It is a B-BBEE level 1 contributor and one of the largest black-empowered asset managers on the African continent.

Graviton
Independence. Interdependence. Individuality.
Graviton is a financial advisory network comprised of independent financial advisers. We partner with key players in the financial services industry to elevate our client experience and drive superior financial outcomes. Our unique partnership model empowers financial advisers at every stage of their development, fostering their independence and enhancing their distinctive advisory value proposition.
Through our strategic association with Sanlam, South Africa's trusted investment leader, we have a proven track record of providing accessible and effective financial planning solutions. Our mission is to empower South Africans to secure their financial future through accessible quality advisory services.
For more information, please visit https://www.gravitonwealth.co.za

What will you do?

Is responsible for leading the strategic, operational, and compliance-aligned delivery of financial advice across the organization. This role plays a critical part in practice management, advisor enablement, and regulatory engagement, while leveraging Elite Wealth and driving key IT and operational initiatives. Manage the internal operations in a functional area of a financial institution and lead operational teams. Prepares work schedules and assigns duties to operations personnel to ensure efficient operation of functional area. Compiles reports on operating functions of the functional area. Continuously strives to improve efficiency and ensure conformance to standard procedures and practices.

What will make you successful in this role?

Strategic Leadership

Define and execute the advice strategy in alignment with business objectives.
Lead and develop a high-performing support team to financial advisors and paraplanners.
Collaborate with exco to enhance client engagement and retention.

Practice Management & Operational Oversight

Oversee the day-to-day operations of the practice management function, ensuring efficiency and scalability.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives and practice management enhancements.
Approve commission calculations and ensure accuracy in advisor remuneration.
Manage advisor onboarding processes, ensuring smooth integration and compliance readiness.
Maintain and manage supervision agreements in line with regulatory and internal standards.

Compliance & Risk Engagement

Serve as the primary liaison with the compliance department to ensure all advice processes meet regulatory

standards (FAIS, FICA, etc.).

Proactively manage risk and ensure robust internal controls are in place.
Lead the implementation of compliance-related changes across the advice function.

Technology & Data Stewardship

Champion the use of Elite Wealth to streamline advice delivery and enhance client experience.
Act as a data steward, ensuring data integrity, governance, and reporting accuracy.
Drive IT projects related to advice delivery, CRM optimization, and digital transformation.
Advice tech stack evaluation and development with integration into business systems

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

Act as a senior point of contact for complex client cases and high-net-worth individuals.
Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders, product providers, and regulatory bodies.

Technical and Behavioral Competencies

Deep understanding of financial planning principles and regulatory frameworks.
Strong analytical, communication, and decision-making skills.
Tech-savvy with a passion for digital transformation in financial services.
Exceptional leadership and people management capabilities.

Qualification and Experience

Degree or Diploma with 6 to 8 years related experience.

Knowledge and Skills

Create and execute Operations Management infrastructure including trend analysis for future efficiencies

Office Management

Manages Operations procedures and processes including SLA's

Finance, Compliance and Risk Management/Audits

Leading of employees

Personal Attributes

Optimises work processes - Contributing through others

Plans and aligns - Contributing through others

Interpersonal savvy - Contributing through others

Business insight - Contributing through others

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

Cultivates innovation - Contributing through others

Customer focus - Contributing through others

Drives results - Contributing through others

Collaborates - Contributing through others

Being resilient - Contributing through others

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

The Sanlam Group is committed to achieving transformation and embraces diversity. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace as we believe that these are key components to ensuring a thriving and sustainable business in South Africa. The Group's Employment Equity plan and targets will be considered as part of the selection process.