Compliance Specialist

Ninety One; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Ninety One seeks a seasoned compliance professional to join their dedicated Compliance team. In this role, you will provide regulatory expertise, ensuring adherence to compliance laws like FAIS and CISCA, while guiding internal teams and maintaining regulatory relationships.

Qualifications

• 8-10 years’ experience in financial services compliance with a strong focus on asset management.
• Experience advising on and implementing compliance frameworks under FAIS, CISCA, FICA.

Responsibilities

• Provide subject matter expertise on regulatory requirements and support business change initiatives.
• Monitor compliance risks and champion opportunities for improved compliance monitoring.

Skills

Analytical skills

Legislative interpretation

Report drafting

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's in law, Business, or a related field

Regulatory Certifications: RE1, RE3 and RE4

CPrac (SA) designation or equivalent

Job description

About Ninety One:

Ninety One is an independent, active global asset manager dedicated to delivering compelling outcomes for its clients, managing R3.10 trillion in assets (as at 31.03.25).

Established in South Africa in 1991, as Investec Asset Management, the firm started offering domestic investments in an emerging market. In 2020, almost three decades of organic growth later, the firm demerged from Investec Group and became Ninety One. Today the firm offers distinctive active strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives to institutions, advisors and individual investors around the world.

About the team:

The Compliance team provides advice and support to senior management and the business to help ensure that the activities of Ninety One are at all times conducted within the letter and spirit of all applicable rules and regulations.

The Compliance team also performs on-going monitoring of business activities with the aim of identifying early any departures from procedures or any matters that could be deemed as straying from the letter or spirit of the rules and regulations.

The global team consists of 37 persons based in London, Cape Town, Guernsey, Luxembourg, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. The team is diverse and management encourages cross regional participation and collaboration.

In this role you will:

Regulatory Compliance Advisory (FAIS, CISCA and Related Frameworks)

• Provide subject matter expertise on regulatory requirements arising from the FAIS Act, CISCA, FICA, Regulation 28 and applicable Board Notices and subordinate legislation
• Assess and interpret proposed or amended regulation, participate in industry working groups, and provide detailed feedback on business impacts
• Support new product and business change initiatives by evaluating compliance requirements across FSP categories I, II and III and CIS Management Companies
• Provide guidance on internal controls, policies and procedures that reflect regulatory expectations and practical implementation

Compliance Monitoring, Risk Management and Automation

• Provide subject matter expertise and oversight support to the Compliance Monitoring Team and relevant SMEs in the development and maintenance of Compliance Risk Management Plans (CRMPs) and Compliance Monitoring Plans (CMPs)
• Ensure the adequacy, accuracy and regulatory alignment of CRMPs and CMPs through expert input and cross-review, particularly in areas relating to FAIS, CISCA and investment compliance risks
• Collaborate with the Monitoring Team to analyse and interpret breach trends and risk themes emerging from monitoring activities, providing regulatory context and escalation where required
• Champion opportunities for improved compliance monitoring through automation, system enhancements and process refinement

Internal Reporting, Governance and Integration Projects

• Prepare high-quality reports for governance forums including Boards
• Monitor developments impacting licensed entities and ensure reporting frameworks meet all regulatory reporting obligations
• Support regulatory inspections and internal/external audit engagements

Stakeholder engagement

• Engage effectively with Legal, Investment, Product, Risk and Operations Teams, offering practical guidance on complex regulatory queries
• Maintain relationships with external stakeholders including Industry Bodies and Regulators
• Represent Compliance in internal working groups and external industry forums, ensuring alignment with regulatory direction and industry best practice

You should consider applying if you have:

• Bachelor's in law, Business, or a related field
• Regulatory Certifications: RE1, RE3 and RE4
• CPrac (SA) designation or equivalent preferred
• 8-10 years’ experience in financial services compliance with a strong focus on asset management
• Demonstrable experience advising on and implementing compliance frameworks under FAIS, CISCA, FICA and related laws
• Proven background in implementing monitoring frameworks and supporting regulatory engagement
• Advanced analytical, reporting and legislative interpretation skills
• Strong verbal and written communication abilities, including report drafting for executive audiences
• Familiarity with compliance system implementation and data driven compliance reporting
• Ability to build strong cross-functional relationships and support business delivery through sound compliance advice

Some of the attributes we look for in a person:

• The ability to ‘approach and own’ and continuously look for opportunities to develop
• Driven by results
• Intellectual curiosity
• High conviction and be comfortable sharing opinions
• Ability to analyse, interpret and assimilate information