Job Description

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
10+ years' experience in a specific capability of importance to the bank, including a track record of 5 years in a people management position in a large enterprise. Experience must include developing integrated customer-centric product or service solutions or corporate practice development while working with and managing stakeholders across business and/or functional areas and budget management. Post Graduate Degree: Honours Degree, Post Graduate Diploma and Professional Qualifications [NQF8]

Develop and implement a sustainability strategy for the Retail Bank to drive material change and differentiation in the market. Set the sustainability agenda for financial inclusion, climate, diversity, governance, and social impact. Create a multi-function framework for sustainable growth, integrating regulatory and industry practices. Provide thought leadership on green growth and sustainable services. Influence new practices, support strategy alignment, and evaluate new opportunities.
KEY FOCUS AREASLead the Retail Bank's sustainability strategy by and driving the ESG agenda that creates long-term stakeholder value. Design and deliver the Retail Bank's sustainability agenda through targeted assessments, strategy frameworks, and sectoral transition planning Shape and champion a distinctive sustainability agenda that reflect material impact on inclusive finance, climate resilience, social impact, and responsible business conduct. Build a unified, cross-functional sustainability framework aligned to local and international regulatory and industry standards. Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on sustainability opportunities, risks, and trade-offs across all portfolios. Translate global and local ESG trends into actionable bank-wide priorities and innovative propositions. Integrate sustainability metrics into performance measurement, reporting, and capital allocation frameworks. Lead engagements with regulators, rating agencies, industry bodies, and ESG stakeholders to influence and align expectations. Drive a culture of responsible business through knowledge share, technical training on ESG standards, disclosure readiness, and risk monitoring Support the monetisation of green and sustainable finance opportunities through partnerships and product innovation. Ensure transparency and accountability through robust ESG governance, disclosures, and assurance processes.

ACCOUNTABILITIES
Strategy Formulation and ExecutionDefine the long-term sustainability ambition and roadmap for the Retail Bank in alignment with Group and regulatory strategies. Lead the development of ESG strategic priorities, targets, and implementation plans across all capabilities. Provide input into capital investment decisions, trade-offs, and business cases from a sustainability value perspective. Apply ESG materiality assessments to inform capital investments, trade-offs, and sustainability-linked business cases Translate long-term strategic objectives into aligned business plans, execution roadmaps and key milestone measurements for the business area. Cascade strategic goals and ensure alignment between business unit vision and functional implementation priorities, setting clear short, medium and long-term milestones. Develop effective partnerships to enable business performance and contribute to sector-wide influence aligned with strategic initiatives. Respond to emerging policy and regulatory trends by adapting operational strategy and ensuring compliance alignment. Coordinate Sustainability enablement across reporting systems, governance processes, and functional teams to ensure delivery readiness Track execution progress against key strategic initiatives and intervene to correct course where needed. Lead Sustainability transformation programmes through structured delivery frameworks, change adoption models and Sustainability forums. Advise on integrating ESG principles into operating models, strategy design, and end-to-end value chain alignment. Identify practices and technologies that provide competitive advantage and enable knowledge sharing and integration of best practice. Undertake analysis of management and specialist information and guide reporting tool implementation to improve decision-making quality.

Customer PrimacyEmbed sustainability into customer propositions to strengthen brand trust and attract sustainability-conscious segments. Promote financial inclusion by influencing product design, channel access, and customer education aligned to ESG goals. Interpret market and customer insights to inform strategic trade off decisions and prioritise capability investments. Leverage ESG-related customer data to evolve value propositions, enhance sustainability adoption, and measure ESG-related impact Champion sustainability-led customer decision-making, balancing inclusion, impact, and experience across business units. Coordinate ESG-integrated transformation efforts that align product, service, and channel experience around shared sustainability values. Represent the sustainability-conscious customer voice in executive forums to guide ESG transformation and service design Design and implement services that meet sustainability-conscious customer needs and embed ESG value across touchpoints

Sustainable GrowthLead enterprise-wide initiatives to develop and scale sustainable finance solutions (e.g., green loans, ESG-linked lending). Support value-creation opportunities through partnerships that promote inclusive and climate-resilient economic activity. Shape approaches to long-term value measurement, including environmental and social returns. Develop growth plans that align sustainability imperatives with segment-level priorities and value drivers. Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to define and execute on sustainable growth strategies and initiatives. Mobilise cross -functional teams to deliver growth targets and build accountability through Sustainability performance measures and metrics. Evaluate environmental, social, financial, and customer outcomes of ESG-linked initiatives to ensure sustainable business viability

Customer-Driven Innovation and ChangeIdentify ESG-driven innovation opportunities in products, services, and customer experiences. Champion sustainability transformation by enabling cultural, behavioural, and capability shifts across the organisation. Pilot and scale sustainability-related initiatives, ensuring agility in adapting to emerging risks and opportunities. Monitor competitive landscape and identify opportunities to improve sustainable products, inclusive services and responsible operations. Drive innovation cycles and feedback loops that improve sustainability outcomes for customers and communities Lead operational change, ensuring readiness, engagement, and measured impact across delivery teams. Champion ESG-aligned change adoption by influencing senior stakeholders, enabling strategic communication, and supporting ESG narrative integration

Leading TalentFoster ESG expertise and talent development across the Retail Bank, including business, product, and risk teams. Act as a thought leader and mentor for sustainability professionals and champions across the enterprise. Model inclusive leadership and purpose-driven engagement aligned with sustainability values. Embed people processes and values into business routines, reinforcing a strong leadership culture. Develop workforce capabilities to meet business plan execution requirements and future readiness. Create inclusive team environments that support performance, wellbeing, and growth. Address escalated people issues and ensure application of performance and development processes. Develop future leaders through mentorship, stretch assignments, and tailored development experiences.

Operational EffectivenessEstablish ESG performance tracking and reporting mechanisms embedded in operational reviews. Work with operations and procurement teams to implement sustainable practices in the bank's supply chain and resource use. Embed sustainability KPIs into performance frameworks and management reporting systems. Operationalise strategic goals into functional plans with clear deliverables, timelines, scorecards with team and individual KPIs to enable effective tracking of business and individual performance. Set appropriate financial and other resourcing plans to enable business performance, tracking against budgets and investments for both current and long-term strategic goals. Represent the business area from a sustainability perspective in operational forums and with delivery partners. Leverage data insights to improve sustainability effectiveness and customer outcomes. Provide expert advice on operating model, strategy, value chain formulation, and business controls/governance frameworks as they relate to sustainability.

Digital AdoptionLeverage digital tools and data platforms to enable ESG data tracking, disclosures, and customer engagement. Promote the use of technology in sustainability innovation (e.g., carbon calculators, inclusive digital products). Support tech-enabled reporting and regulatory compliance in alignment with ESG frameworks.

Good Governance, Risk and ComplianceEnsure adherence to ESG-related legislation, codes, and voluntary frameworks (e.g., TCFD, GRI, King IV). Strengthen ESG risk assessment in decision-making and enterprise risk frameworks. Lead sustainability disclosures and engagements with ESG ratings agencies, regulators, and auditors. Promote sustainability risk awareness and lead the response to regulatory changes and emerging issues. Support audit readiness and ensure operational teams adhere to compliance requirements. Define and consolidate the sustainability risk profile for the business unit, manage critical risks, and ensure resolution feedback to stakeholders.

Data MonetisationIdentify and enable the use of ESG data to develop differentiated customer insights, ratings, and value propositions. Collaborate with data teams to build sustainability-related data assets and analytics capabilities. Contribute to sustainable finance scoring models and ESG dashboards to support credit, risk, and product teams Use ESG data insights to inform strategic planning, glidepath development, and sustainability-linked decision-making. Develop controls and mechanisms to ensure ESG data integrity for disclosure, performance tracking, and regulatory compliance. Guide the monetisation of ESG data by translating environmental and social indicators into business opportunities and strategic actions

Stakeholder ManagementLead ESG-related engagements with key internal and external stakeholders including regulators, investors, partners, and customers. Represent the Retail Bank in industry forums, sustainability working groups, and public-private partnerships. Serve as a key interface for ESG strategy alignment across business, finance, HR, compliance, and external affairs. Manage relationships with key stakeholders to support aligned delivery and issue resolution. Ensure stakeholder expectations are managed and engagement is consistent with transformation priorities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Education/ Qualification:Post Graduate Degree: Honours Degree, Post Graduate Diploma and Professional Qualifications [NQF8]

Field of Study:Environmental Science, Sustainability, Economics, Public Policy, Development Finance, or related fields. Postgraduate qualification preferred.

Work Experience:10+ years' experience in a specific capability of importance to the bank, including a track record of 5 years in a people management position in a large enterprise. Experience must include developing integrated customer-centric product or service solutions or corporate practice development while working with and managing stakeholders across business and/or functional areas and budget management. Exposure to digital transformation and data-driven decision-making is preferred. Demonstrated success in leading enterprise-wide sustainability strategy development and execution in financial services or related sectors. Experience in engaging executive stakeholders in integrating ESG into business strategy, risk, and performance management.

COMPETENCIES
Leadership Competencies:Strategic Thinking Business Acumen Communication Influence Leadership Creativity and Innovation Delivering Results Adaptability Collaboration

Knowledge and Skills:ESG frameworks and standards (GRI, SASB, TCFD, UN SDGs) Corporate and sustainability strategy formulation ESG reporting, measurement, and disclosure Sustainable finance and inclusive growth models ESG risk integration and governance Stakeholder engagement and influence Change leadership and cross-functional collaboration Data analysis and ESG insights development

Education
Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: Environmental Science, Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: Finance and Investment ManagementAbsa 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