Coo

Fnz (Uk) Ltd; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic COO to lead its operations in Johannesburg. This pivotal role involves delivering exceptional asset servicing and investment operations while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. The successful candidate will implement robust operational controls, manage customer interfaces, and drive continuous improvement initiatives. Join a forward-thinking company that is committed to transforming the wealth management landscape and providing unparalleled service to its clients. If you are a strategic leader with a passion for operational excellence and risk management, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Benefits

Health Insurance

Retirement Benefits

Professional Development Opportunities

Flexible Working Hours

Qualifications

• Proven experience in operational management and risk assessment.
• Strong understanding of regulatory compliance in financial services.

Responsibilities

• Manage asset servicing functions and ensure service excellence.
• Oversee business continuity and operational risk frameworks.

Skills

Operational Management

Risk Management

Customer Service Excellence

Financial Controls

Regulatory Compliance

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration or related field

Master's Degree preferred

Tools

Project Management Software

Financial Management Systems

Job description

The COO, ZA, has primary responsibility for these key business services: Asset Servicing / Investment Operations; Service and Support (Production Support, Client Services, Investor Services); Business Readiness Management. This comprises the key business services that FNZ delivers to its customers.

It requires a combination of: Delivery of services in line with contractual terms and to service excellence; Implementation and maintenance of operational controls and robust control frameworks across FNZ ZA to limit the risk of financial crime and mitigate fraud; Effective management of the ZA business continuity plan to minimise disruption and adverse impact for ZA customers, employees and ZA offices; Ensuring that all services are well controlled and monitored in line with regulatory and customer requirements; Compliance with legislation and regulation in relation to asset servicing operations; Identifying and mitigating operating risk; ensuring robust control frameworks and risk aware culture is embedded; Managing the customer and account manager interface; Managing the internal interface with shared group services, particularly technology; Gatekeeper responsibility for change releases to ensure they are fit for purpose and that appropriate due diligence has been carried out prior to launch. The COO ZA role is responsible for ensuring that processes, controls, and operating risk framework in relation to these key business services are standardised globally.

As FNZ's scale increases, it also involves extracting cross-market synergies and other cost efficiencies. FNZ's customers should receive the benefit of a global scale provider of industrial strength operations.

Specific Role Responsibilities

Asset Servicing / Investment Operations

1. Responsibility for FNZ's outsourced asset servicing functions that it provides to all its ZA customers, which includes asset custody, trading & settlement services;
2. Delivery of services at least in line with contractual customer KPIs;
3. Delivery of operations service excellence via measurable continuous improvement programme;
4. Implementation and maintenance of financial and operational controls to reduce errors and mitigate potential for fraud;
5. Compliance with legislation and regulation, including FCA regulations.

Service and Support (Production Support, Client Services, Investor Services)

1. Manage regional operations and regional leadership teams;
2. Implement the following on a standardised basis globally for areas of responsibility: Processes; Control framework;
3. Develop consistent global metrics to assess relative cost efficiency, controls, risk, service quality;
4. Identify and implement improvements in customer service, cost, controls and risk through global collaboration and synergies;
5. Ownership of production support (including operations & technology);
6. Provide world-class production support function in respect of FNZ globally; technology and operations delivery;
7. Includes issue management and resolution (although resolution involving software change will occur within shared solution centres).

System and Task Monitoring

Oversee the Service and Support team that carries out the morning health check of each platform. The health check results are distributed each morning by email to the organization. Daily failed task checks are automated and critical tasks are alerted where necessary; Responsibility for ensuring robust control frameworks are implemented and embedded across FNZ ZA to limit the risk of financial crime.

Business Continuity

Responsible for the effective management of the ZA Business Continuity Plan to minimise disruption and adverse impact for ZA customers, employees and ZA offices.

Pensions Administration

Responsibility for FNZ's outsourced pension administration function; Delivery of services at least in line with contractual customer KPIs; Delivery of service excellence via measurable continuous improvement programme; Implementation and maintenance of financial and operational controls to reduce errors and mitigate potential for fraud; Compliance with relevant legislation and regulation.

The COO will also be responsible for: Customer Interface; Operating Risk; Work with regional ZA CFO and ZA CEO to define annual budget; Manage cost structure within budget; Balance service quality, risk management and control framework with the need to optimise cost structure; Maintain process-driven cost model to accurately forecast cost variation with volume; Define and agree (with ZA CEO) a strategic plan for relevant functions through annual and semi-annual strategic planning process; Input to regional strategy; Provide strong leadership within the ZA COO function to promote and obtain collective buy-in to service excellence, risk management and controls; Collaborate with ZA & global leadership team to deliver group objectives.

Customer Interface

Actively engage and build relationships with all ZA customers; Take ownership with customers for FNZ's service delivery.

Operating Risk and Monitoring

Own the operating risk model that identifies and quantifies key operating risks; Oversight of operational monitoring. FNZ Operational teams carry out day to day tracking of their processes and escalate where appropriate for problems identified. Spearhead the creation of a more robust form of monitoring.

Change Governance

Gatekeeper responsibility for change releases to ensure they are fit for purpose and that appropriate due diligence has been carried out prior to launch. The following are considered change releases: New Platforms or new Propositions; Upgrades, amendments or enhancements to Existing Platforms or material changes to existing Propositions that involve a code release; Emergency Releases; Addition of New Clients onto Existing platforms, e.g. Multi-tenant platforms.

Production Services

Collaborate with regional leadership teams and implement the following on a standardised basis globally for areas of responsibility: Processes; Control framework; Operating risk management framework; Develop consistent global metrics to assess relative cost efficiency, controls, risk, service quality; Identify and implement improvements in customer service, cost, controls and risk through global collaboration and synergies.

Operating Model

Weekly ZA Leadership Team meeting; Weekly meeting with ZA leadership team; Update on key operational performance indicators, sales pipeline delivery, compliance issues, customer issues. Quarterly business review; Day long review of performance over prior quarter including financial performance and "road to value" objectives and plan for next quarter; Includes feedback on ZA CEO quarterly key-customer meetings; Attended by ZA CEO and regional leadership team; Budget is set semi-annually in Q2 and Q4 of each year for following 12-18 months; Multi-day process involving all of regional senior management team; Includes setting of medium term value generation objectives encapsulated in a "road to value" plan.

FNZ ZA Board

Statutory director on the FNZ ZA board; Regular reporting and attendance in respect of operating performance, risks, issues and actions to mitigate.

Group Board Advisory Committee

Periodic presentations at group board advisory committee in respect of ZA business performance and strategic plan.

Technology Shared Services Interface

ZA COO has direct ownership of all resources required to deliver customer servicing except for direct ownership of software delivery and ownership of the underlying technology platform; Software delivery and the technology platform is via the group technology shared services function, which should be managed like an outsourced software function.

Performance Assessment

Performance will be assessed in line with: Achievement of monthly, quarterly and annual financial targets set via budget; Achievement of non-financial objectives (service metrics, control and risk objectives); Quantitative customer KPIs; Qualitative customer feedback provided via quarterly ZA CEO customer meetings and annual board review meetings; Quantitative customer feedback via net promoter score (NPS); Qualitative feedback from direct reports via review process and group-wide staff surveys. Formal feedback will be provided through: Quarterly business review process; Annual performance review.

About FNZ

FNZ is committed to opening up wealth so that everyone, everywhere can invest in their future on their terms. We know the foundation to do that already exists in the wealth management industry, but complexity holds firms back. We created wealth's growth platform to help. We provide a global, end-to-end wealth management platform that integrates modern technology with business and investment operations. All in a regulated financial institution. We partner with over financial institutions and 12, wealth managers, with US$1.5 trillion in assets under administration (AUA). Together with our customers, we help over 20 million people from all wealth segments to invest in their future.