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Senior Manager: Structured Lending, AI & Strategic Initiatives

External
absa logoAbsa · Johannesburg, South Africa
Full-timeOn-siteToday
Machine Learning
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About the role

Empowering Africa's tomorrow, together...one story at a time. With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group. Job Summary Deliver end-to-end structured lending support solution across credit risk, pricing and credit lending; and enable growth in complex, high-value segments. Enable artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize decision quality, consistency, and efficiency. Provide timely, governed credit & pricing support; and deliver new strategic initiatives on request. Job Description Accountability: Structured Lending Capability Develop and manage end-to-end structured lending credit risk, pricing and credit lending solution. This includes the following actions: - Structure and price complex, high-value home loan deals outside standard processes to deliver tailored client solutions - Assess and manage credit risk within defined guardrails, leveraging delegation of authority and sound judgment on exceptions - Collaborate with stakeholders to drive deal execution, balancing production, profitability (RoE), turnaround time, and portfolio performance. Accountability: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Enablement in Credit Risk & Pricing - Lead the integration of AI into credit risk and pricing decisions to materially improve decision quality, consistency, and efficiency - Develop and deploy advanced machine learning models (including decision trees and gradient boosting techniques) to enhance risk differentiation, optimise pricing precision, and support data-driven deal structuring. Accountability: Business Support & Business as Usual (BAU) Enablement - Enable effective execution of sales and product strategy by providing expert credit risk and pricing support, ensuring front-line teams can confidently structure and close complex lending opportunities - Deliver timely, well-governed credit and pricing decisions that balance speed with control, supporting business momentum while adhering to risk frameworks and approval standards - Drive consistency in policy and strategy interpretation across stakeholders, ensuring aligned decision-making, reduced ambiguity, and improved quality of credit outcomes across the portfolio. Accountability: Special Projects & Transformation - Lead and deliver strategic initiatives and transformation programs that respond to evolving business needs, regulatory requirements, and market dynamics, ensuring alignment to organisational objectives and long-term growth - Drive continuous optimisation of acquisition strategies through data-driven insights, performance analysis, and innovation, improving conversion, risk selection, and overall portfolio profitability - Embed sustainable change through effective execution and stakeholder alignment, ensuring that new processes, frameworks, and enhancements are successfully adopted and deliver measurable business impact. Accountability: Stakeholder Engagement - Liaising with relevant stakeholders, including Sales, IT, Front end & Collections Operations, Strategy & Product, Strategic Alliances, Fraud prevention, Finance and other Risk teams - Presentation of analytical results and proposals to both technical and non-technical audiences, providing commentary as required - Assist New Product Development with assessments related to product refinements. Accountability: Governance - Serve as joint liaison to address operational risk matters and internal, and external point of contact with auditor/assurance teams. Accountability: People Management - Ensure delivery of business goals by aligning Performance Development (PD) Plans of direct reports to the business goals - Develop a high performing team by embedding formal performance development and informal coaching. Encourage frequent knowledge sharing between team members - Instil a performance development culture through directing the PD process and adhering to the PD calendar - Conduct quarterly PD discussions with team members according to PD guidelines - Pro-actively identify development areas of direct reports and compile development plans to address them - Attract and retain talent, with the assistance from the HR Business Partner - Interview and recruit new members of the team, including determining appropriate compensation levels with input from HR - Compile a headcount plan to ensure that current and future business requirements can be met and obtain approval for any additional headcount that might be needed for the team - Identify team capabilities and develop a succession plan, with assistance from the People Partner - Motivate team members and ensure that their efforts are recognised - Approve leave requests for team members and create leave plan to ensure adequate coverage - Initiate disciplinary action process as and when required, with the assistance of the


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