Senior Manager: Organisation Management

Absa is seeking a seasoned professional to lead the strategic evolution of its organisational management practices across its pan-African operations. This pivotal role, Senior Manager: Organisation Management, will be instrumental in ensuring that Absa's structures, governance, and workforce strategies effectively support the group's overarching ambitions and operational excellence.

The core responsibility of this position is to develop, embed, and continuously refine a sophisticated organisational management framework. This framework must be robust enough to enable strategy execution and ensure the long-term sustainability of the workforce, while simultaneously enhancing the effectiveness of the bank's operating model across various markets. The Senior Manager will be the driving force behind enterprise-wide organisational management capabilities, acting as the crucial link between Absa's strategic vision and its practical implementation through scalable structural designs, clear governance standards, and actionable insights. This role is fundamental to supporting business performance, maintaining regulatory integrity, and fostering a healthy, adaptive organisation.

About the Role

At its heart, this position is about shaping the future structure and capabilities of Absa. The Senior Manager will be tasked with translating strategic imperatives into tangible organisational realities. This involves a deep dive into how the bank operates, identifying opportunities for optimisation, and designing structures that promote efficiency, agility, and robust governance. You will be at the forefront of defining how Absa is organised to win in its diverse operating environments.

Key areas of focus for this role include:

• **Enterprise Organisational Management Practice Development:** Establishing and enhancing the methodologies, standards, and operational practices that underpin organisational management globally within Absa. This includes ensuring consistency and scalability across different business units while allowing for necessary local market adaptations.
• **Strategic Organisational Design and Structural Enablement:** Leading complex projects to redesign organisational structures in response to strategic shifts, evolving operating models, mergers, acquisitions, or major transformation programmes. The aim is to create structures that optimise performance and financial efficiency.
• **Role, Position, and Job Architecture Governance:** Providing oversight and decision-making authority on how roles are designed, positions are structured, and job architectures are aligned, particularly for senior and critical positions. This ensures clarity, differentiation, and clear progression pathways for talent management and succession planning.
• **Workforce Planning Strategy Enablement and Scenario Modelling:** Collaborating with senior leadership to shape workforce strategies by employing advanced scenario modelling and analysing structural options to anticipate future needs and capability requirements.
• **Organisational Data, Insights, and Decision Enablement:** Championing the integrity and strategic application of organisational and workforce data, transforming raw data into forward-looking insights that inform executive decision-making.
• **Governance, Risk, and Regulatory Assurance Leadership:** Designing and enforcing governance frameworks that ensure compliance with regulatory, audit, and risk management requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
• **Senior Stakeholder Advisory and Influence:** Acting as a trusted advisor to executives, Human Capital leaders, and business heads on organisational effectiveness, influencing key decisions and fostering alignment on initiatives with group-wide impact.

What They're Looking For

To excel in this role, Absa is looking for an individual with a strong foundation in organisational design principles and a proven ability to influence at the executive level. A strategic and systems-thinking mindset is essential, coupled with advanced analytical capabilities. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of workforce strategy, job architecture frameworks, and the nuances of operating within a complex, pan-African financial services environment.

The essential qualifications and experience include:

• A Bachelor’s Degree, Advanced Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate, or B.Tech (NQF Level 7) in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Between 5 and 12 years of experience in organisational management, design, workforce strategy, or a closely related discipline.
• A demonstrable track record of at least 3 years in a people management capacity.

Key technical competencies should include expertise in enterprise organisational design frameworks, advanced workforce planning and scenario modelling, job architecture and role evaluation methodologies, HR information systems and organisational analytics, governance and control framework design, and an awareness of Pan-African regulatory landscapes. Strategically interpreting data and generating actionable insights is also critical.

Behaviourally, candidates should exhibit strong strategic thinking, business acumen, critical thinking, influence, leadership, collaboration, creativity, and adaptability. The ability to lead without direct authority across enterprise boundaries and to deliver results in complex, ambiguous environments will be highly valued.

In South Africa, roles at this senior level within large financial institutions typically involve a competitive salary package, reflecting the strategic importance and specialised skillset required. Such positions often serve as significant stepping stones for leadership within Human Capital functions or broader operational leadership roles. Employers will often include major banking groups, large diversified financial services companies, and consulting firms.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 

Education / Qualification 

Bachelor’s Degree, Advanced Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate, or B.Tech (NQF Level 7) in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Business Administration or related field.  

Work Experience 

• 5 – 12 years experience in organisational management, organisational design, workforce strategy or related disciplines, including a track record of 3 years in a people management position. 

COMPETENCIES 

Technical Competencies 

• Enterprise organisational design frameworks 

• Workforce planning and scenario modelling 

• Job architecture and role evaluation methodologies 

• HR information systems and organisational analytics 

• Governance and control framework design 

• Pan‑African regulatory awareness 

• Strategic data interpretation and insight generation 

Behavioural Competencies  

• Strategic Thinking 

• Business Acumen 

• Critical Thinking 

• Influence 

• Leadership 

• Collaboration 

• Creativity and Innovation 

• Adaptability 

Leadership Competencies 

• Business Acumen  

• Communication  

• Influence  

• Leadership   

• Delivering Results  

• Collaboration  

• Decision-Making  

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised