FSSC Risk and Compliance Lead

Purpose of the Job

The Financial Shared Services Risk and Compliance Manager is responsible for designing and executing risk management strategies within the shared services environment. This includes managing credit risk, customer risk, and operational risk, financial crime (money laundering, corruption, bribery, fraud, etc.), association risk and reputation risks to ensure stability, control and adherence to internal policies, statutory requirements, adopted rules, codes and standards, and global governance best practices. The role ensures that financial processes, controls, systems, and service delivery models operate in line with AECI’s standards and regulatory obligations. The role requires proactive identification, assessment, mitigation of risks and overseeing compliance related to customer accounts, credit exposure, and shared services processes, while supporting business growth objectives and ensuring operational excellence across SA and international entities services by FSS.

Roles and Responsibilities

Credit Risk Management

• Develop and maintain credit risk policies and procedures aligned with corporate standards.
• Perform credit assessments for new and existing customers, including financial statement analysis and risk scoring.
• Approve and monitor customer credit limits based on risk appetite and business requirements.
• Track credit exposure and escalate high-risk accounts to senior management.
• Collaborate with collections and commercial teams to minimize bad debt and optimize working capital.

Customer Risk Oversight

• Conduct comprehensive risk assessments on customer portfolios, including payment behaviour and financial health.
• Maintain and update customer risk profiles using data-driven models.
• Partner with sales and finance teams to balance risk and revenue objectives.
• Implement early warning indicators for deteriorating customer risk.

Operational Risk & Compliance

• Identify and mitigate risks within shared services processes (billing, collections, cash application).
• Ensure compliance with internal controls, corporate governance, regulatory requirements and adopted rules, codes and standards.
• Lead risk reviews and audits, providing actionable recommendations for improvement.
• Develop and maintain risk registers for shared services operations.
• Oversee compliance related to Data Protection & Privacy, Financial Crime, Tax regulations, and financial reporting standards.
• Integrate FICA/KYC verification and enhanced due diligence into customer onboarding & credit assessment workflows.
• Flag suspicious or unusual customer credit behaviours for AML review.
• Assess operational, financial, regulatory, compliance, sanctions, political exposure and fraud risks across all FSSC processes.

 Reporting & Analytics

• Prepare monthly and quarterly risk reports for senior leadership, highlighting trends and exposures.
• Develop dashboards and KPIs to monitor credit and customer risk performance.
• Provide insights and recommendations to support strategic decision-making.
• Maintain audit trails, documentation, and evidence repositories for governance assurance.
• Partake in annual reporting cycles to identified regulatory and other authoritative bodies.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as the primary point of contact for risk-related matters within Financial Shared Services.
• Collaborate with internal teams (Finance, Sales, Legal, Compliance and Procurement) and external stakeholders (credit agencies, auditors).
• Deliver training and awareness sessions on risk management practices, governance, compliance and controls.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Risk Management, or related field.
• Professional certification (e.g., CFA, FRM, or similar) preferred.
• Minimum 6 years of experience in credit risk, financial risk management, compliance, and operational risk.
• Experience in a Shares Services environment preferred.
• Advanced Excel and familiarity with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle) and risk management software.
• Knowledge of IFRS, Companies Act, Tax/VAT regulations, POPIA, FICA and other regulatory requirements.
• Experience in financial controls and governance frameworks.
• Exposure to multinational environments and cross-border regulatory compliance advantageous.

Key Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with proficiency in financial analysis tools.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Strategic Thinking – Ability to align risk management with business objectives.
• Ability to evaluate, design and implement internal control frameworks.
• Comprehensive understanding of risk Assessment & Mitigation – Ability to identify, evaluate, and manage risks effectively.
• Financial Analysis – Strong capability to interpret financial statements and credit data.
• Regulatory Compliance – Knowledge of relevant laws and internal control and governance frameworks, and regulatory requirements
• Data analytics and reporting capability.
• Knowledge of compliance requirements including POPIA, FICA, Companies Act, tax legislation.
• Understanding of fraud risk management and forensic investigation protocols
• Collaboration & Influence – Skilled at working across teams and influencing decisions.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication abilities
• High attention to detail, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Resilience, integrity and strong ethical judgement.
• Proactive decision making and solution orientation.

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