Group Compliance and Risk Officer

SUMMARY:

POSITION INFO:
We’re looking for a Group Compliance and Risk Officer who can juggle commercial realities with regulatory perfection, keeping regulators calm, Boards informed, and the business comfortably on the right side of the law (and out of the headlines).

Our client operates in the insurance sector and plays in one of the most tightly regulated sandboxes imaginable. This senior leadership role reports directly to the CEO and exists for one simple but critical reason: to ensure the business does the right thing, the right way, at the right time, not retroactively during a regulatory review.

As the Group Compliance and Risk Officer, you will own the compliance function end‑to‑end, ensuring adherence to South African insurance legislation, regulatory frameworks, and internal governance standards. You’ll serve as a trusted advisor to the Board and Executive team, while embedding a strong, practical compliance culture across the business.

This is not a clipboard-and-checklist role. It’s strategic, visible, and influential, ideal for someone who enjoys turning regulation into enablement, not roadblocks, and who knows that “pragmatic compliance” is not an oxymoron.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and maintain a robust compliance framework aligned to regulatory and governance requirements.
• Ensure compliance with insurance legislation, including FAIS, the Insurance Act, LTIA/STIA, OMNI‑CBR, and related frameworks.
• Oversee the compliance risk management plan and ensure it’s more than a beautifully formatted document gathering digital dust.
• Monitor regulatory changes and proactively advise leadership on business impact.
• Engage confidently with regulators including the FSCA and the Prudential Authority, handling submissions, reporting, and queries without breaking a sweat.
• Conduct compliance risk assessments and implement mitigation strategies that actually work in the real world.
• Ensure complaint‑handling processes are compliant, fair, well‑tracked, and reported to Board Committees without unpleasant surprises.
• Review policies, procedures, and customer communications.
• Maintain compliance registers.
• Drive compliance training and awareness.
• Prepare and present compliance reports to the Board, Audit & Risk Committees, and regulators, confidently and coherently.

• Relevant degree in Law, Compliance, Risk Management, or similar.
• Professional certifications such as CPrac or CProf (advantageous).
• 2-6 years’ compliance experience within insurance or financial services.
• At least 1-2 years in a senior or leadership compliance role.
• Strong knowledge of South African insurance legislation and regulatory frameworks.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, from Boardroom to regulator.
• Analytical mindset with a talent for spotting risks others walk straight past.

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