Executive: Strategy - MP

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Job Summary

The Managing Executive: Strategy is a senior strategy professional within the Group Strategy Office, acting as a trusted strategy partner to Business Unit Chief Executives and functional leaders. The role is accountable for leading complex, high-impact strategic engagements end-to-end — from problem framing and analytical design through to solution shaping, stakeholder influence, and implementation support.

Operating as a senior internal consultant, the Managing Executive brings rigorous strategic thinking, objective challenge, and external perspective to strategic decision-making across the Group. The role works closely with the Chief of Staff and the Group CEO to shape corporate strategy, ensure alignment between Group and Business Unit priorities, and strengthen the strategic capability of the organisation.

The Managing Executive leads hypothesis-driven strategic projects, coaches and develops Analysts, and contributes to building a high-performing Strategy Office that is respected for its independence, insight, and delivery excellence.

Job Description

Key Focus:

• Corporate Strategy & Group Alignment – Support the shaping of the Group’s corporate strategy, ambition, and strategic priorities, and ensure coherence and alignment across Business Unit strategies.

• Business Unit Strategy Partnering – Serve as a trusted strategy partner to Business Unit Chief Executives and senior leadership teams, influencing strategic choices and priority setting.

• Strategic Initiatives & Problem Solving – Lead high-impact strategic initiatives addressing the Group’s most complex and material strategic questions.

• External Insight & Strategic Perspective – Bring external market insight, industry perspective, and best-practice thinking to strengthen strategic decision-making and long-term positioning.

• Leadership, Talent & Strategy Office Capability – Provide leadership within the Strategy Office, developing strategy talent, strengthening ways of working, and continuously enhancing the tools, playbooks, and intellectual capital that underpin high-quality strategic delivery across the Group.

Accountabilities:
Corporate Strategy Formulation and Group focus priorities

• Support the shaping of the Group’s corporate strategy by contributing rigorous analysis, external insight, and structured strategic perspectives to inform key strategic choices and priorities.

• Facilitate trade-offs between Business Units to support long-term competitiveness.

• Define and maintain market intelligence, and competitor insights to guide strategic decision-making and identify growth opportunities.

• Articulate well defined objectives, success metrics, and alignment to Group direction and shareholder value creation.

• Engage proactively with strategic stakeholders, industry bodies, and regulators to shape and evolve strategy in response to market dynamics and policy developments.

Alignment of Corporate strategy to Business Unit and Function

• Ensure alignment between Group and Business Unit strategies by influencing, challenging, and refining strategic plans to ensure coherence with Group ambition, priorities, and long-term value creation objectives.

• Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with Business Unit CEs and Function Heads to enable collaborative Strategic agenda.

Strategy advisor to Business Unit Chief Executives and senior leadership teams

• Act as a trusted strategic advisor to Business Unit Chief Executives and senior leadership teams, building strong relationships and providing independent, insight‑driven guidance on strategic priorities and performance.

• Develop a deep understanding of each business unit’s strategic context, operating model, market environment, and competitive landscape to inform high‑quality strategic thinking and recommendations.

• Analyze key performance drivers and organisational dynamics to identify opportunities for growth, efficiency, operational excellence, and long‑term value creation.

• Provide strategic challenge and thought leadership to executive teams, ensuring decisions are well‑informed, forward‑looking, and aligned to Group‑wide objectives.

• Translate complex strategic issues into clear, actionable insights that enable executives to make sound decisions, allocate resources effectively, and strengthen strategic execution.

Lead end-to-end delivery of complex, high-impact strategic initiatives

• Lead the end‑to‑end delivery of complex, high‑impact strategic initiatives, ensuring clarity of purpose, scope, and desired outcomes from the outset.

• Shape and frame strategic problems through rigorous analysis, stakeholder engagement, and a structured approach to understanding root causes and strategic implications.

• Develop and evaluate solution options, synthesizing insights into clear strategic recommendations that balance ambition, feasibility, and organisational alignment.

• Engage effectively with executive stakeholders, facilitating decision‑making through well‑crafted narratives, evidence‑based insights, and strategic challenge where required.

• Drive alignment across cross‑functional teams, ensuring shared accountability, strong collaboration, and timely input throughout the strategic project life cycle.

Build relationships with selected external partners to strengthen strategic choices

• Build and nurture relationships with selected external partners—including industry bodies, market analysts, customers, consultants, and technology providers—to gain deep and timely insights into market trends, customer behaviors, competitor movements, and emerging technologies.

• Leverage external networks to continuously scan the external environment, identifying shifts, opportunities, and risks that inform strategic decision‑making and strengthen organisational foresight.

• Translate external insights into actionable strategic perspectives, ensuring leadership teams are equipped with up‑to‑date market intelligence that sharpens strategic choices and enhances long‑term competitiveness.

Leadership and continuous improvement of the Strategy Office

• Provide leadership within the Strategy Office by coaching, guiding, and developing Strategy Analysts, fostering a high‑performance culture and setting clear expectations for analytical rigor and strategic quality

• Evolve and maintain the Strategy Office’s playbooks, frameworks, templates, and intellectual property to ensure consistent, high‑quality delivery across strategic initiatives and to institutionalize best‑practice ways of working

Education / Qualification:

• Postgraduate qualification preferred (MBA, MSc, CFA).

• Field of Study: Finance, Economics, Strategy, Engineering, Mathematics, or related quantitative or business disciplines.

Work Experience:

• Over 10 years of relevant experience in strategy consulting, corporate finance, private equity consulting, or related roles within complex, large-scale organizations within financial services.

• Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end strategic engagements and acting as a trusted advisor to senior executives.

• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams, with exposure to Board or Executive Committee environments.

• Knowledge, Skills and Attributes: Advanced strategic thinking and structured problem-solving capability (e.g. hypothesis-driven approaches, MECE issue structuring, issue trees, and root-cause diagnostics such as 5 Whys).

Competencies:

• Strategic Thinking: Applies advanced, structured problem-solving to complex and ambiguous strategic questions.

• Business Acumen: Demonstrates strong understanding of financial services business models and value drivers.

• Influence and Executive Presence; Influences senior stakeholders through logic, insight, and professional judgment.

• Analytical & Quantitative Capability: Demonstrates strong analytical and quantitative skills, with proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, Capital IQ (or equivalent) and the ability to synthesize complex data into clear, actionable insights.

• Communication Excellence: Produces and delivers concise, decision-ready executive communications and presentations.

• Delivery Under Pressure: Comfortable managing multiple priorities and delivering high‑quality outputs in fast‑paced, high‑pressure environments.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Builds effective internal relationships and engages stakeholders with confidence and professionalism.

• People Leadership and Capability Building: Develops strategy talent and continuously strengthens Strategy Office ways of working.

Education

Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: 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