Head of Product Control & Governance

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.

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Job Summary

The role is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the trading balance sheet and ensuring compliance with regulatory reporting requirements. This includes substantiating the balance sheet, overseeing the quality and accuracy of data flowing into downstream systems, and ensuring robust controls within the operating environment. The incumbent will also be accountable for accurate and timely postings to the General Ledger, supporting transparency, compliance, and effective financial reporting.

Job Description

• Expert knowledge of products traded on the treasury desks and their impact on the bank.
• Thorough understanding of the risks and P&L drivers for the products coupled with an understanding of external markets and changes in market key parameters
• Needs to maintain an excellent understanding of processes and procedures to be able to pick up production where necessary.
• Interact with other infrastructure areas, specifically Operations and Financial Control, for issue resolutions
• Ultimate escalation point, including the facilitation of issue resolution.
• Involvement in any Product Control specific initiatives
• Interaction with various areas across the Absa  Group in order to obtain and understanding of the impact these areas have on Product Control as well as providing both formal reporting as well as ad hoc query resolution to these areas. Areas include:  CIB and Finance, including Financial Control, Balance Sheet Control and Financial Decision Support. ABSA Botswana Front Office, including Head of Markets;  CIB Management or Barclays Product Control Accountability:
• People Management - Management of a medium sized team
• Efficiency – looking for continuous improvement in the efficiency by which the desk carries out its work.
• Reporting – looking for continuous improvement in the reporting ability and performance of the desk
• Control -looking for continuous improvement in the ability of the desk to control the business

Education and experience required 

• Essential

·       B degree/similar qualification in a financial/related discipline with 7-10 years relevant experience or CA/ACCA/CIMA with 5-8 years PQE experience

Knowledge And Skills:

Essential

• Extensive management experience (3-5 years)
• Investment banking or Product Control experience preferred
• Product specific knowledge preferred
• Experience in creating and maintaining an effective control environment Knowledge & Skills:
• Strong technical accounting skills
• Good interpersonal and team-working skills and the ability to communicate at all levels
• The ability to work in a pressured and unstructured environment and to cope with the demands of working to tight deadlines
• Performance orientated and client service driven
• Knowledge of financial markets
• Investment banking product knowledge

Education

Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)