Head of Strategy at Absa Bank Limited

Job Description

Job Summary

Provide complex advice and support in facilitating long term strategy development.

Job Description

Responsible for developing and executing of Absa Kenya’s Strategy aimed at seeing the bank navigate an optimal strategic path. The role holder will engage key stakeholders to develop bank-wide 5-year strategy, support its execution and monitoring.

Key Accountabilities.

Country strategy leadership (50%)

• Develop the banks medium to long-term organic and inorganic corporate strategy.
• Lead strategic planning to ensure the strategy articulation is converted into an execution plan.
• Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders in the strategy making process.
• Track the execution of the Bank’s strategy with key milestones use as a refresh point for the strategy.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and role players and ensure that Absa is well positioned to provide competitive and industry leading services.
• Lead business units in building bottom-up strategies to ensure convergence to the overall bank strategy.
• Proactively manage the working relationship with the business heads who have a vested interest in the optimisation and growth of the business.
• Act as subject matter expertise on country strategic landscape to senior leadership.
• Working closely with the country Chief Financial Officer in developing the financial strategy to ensure the corporate strategy is grounded into an optimized financial plan.

Strategy execution (30%)

Responsible for managing the transformation workstreams, which is the Strategy execution vehicle, to deliver, among others the following strategically important projects:

• Organization agility and culture
• Developing bank-wide payment business
• Deliver the firm through ecosystems.
• Deploy enablers to drive 10X (growing active customer numbers)
• Strengthen liability franchise.
• Repositioning the Islamic banking business to a leading position
• Other future projects as guided by the country leadership.

Strategic change (10%)

• Provide expertise, support and guidance on complex and key strategic change matters, ensuring alignment with business strategy.
• Ensure the design, implementation and maintenance of strategic change frameworks and standards against global best practice standards.
• Oversee strategic change and efficiency programmes as senior specialist and provide guidance and advice where required.

Risk governance and control environment (10%)

• Ensure understanding of Absa group policies and governance processes, driving compliance as appropriate within own business area.
• Ensure operational controls are in place and ensuring a robust Key Risk Assessment (KRA) framework.
• Ensure satisfactory Conformance reviews.
• Remediation of all internal audit reports in the respective area.
• Oversee the fulfilment of all required governance activities, including change tracking and reporting.

Preferred Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics or Business-related fields
• Master’s in business administration or finance
• Accounting qualification (Certified Public Accountant (k), Associated Chartered Certified Accountant and/or ACA)
• Certification, qualification or experience in investment banking and corporate finance is an added advantage.

Preferred experience

• At least 10 years’ experience in strategy, finance, investment banking and/or treasury; comprising a minimum of 5 years senior management level in a large corporate preferably a Bank.
• Experience working in local and international financial markets.
• Credibility with senior leadership as primary customers and ability to balance and achieve on-time delivery against competing demands.
• Excellent relationship, influencing and persuasive skills willing to challenge and be seen as a business player.

Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge of Strategic Management principles and approaches
• Knowledge of Corporate Finance principles and approaches
• Knowledge of Financial Management principles and practices 
• Knowledge of Product Management Principles and Practices
• Understanding the corporate and investment banking business model
• Analytical Skills
• Stakeholder Management Skills