Group Head: Stakeholder Relations and Public Affairs

Old Mutual; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 400 000 - 500 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services group in Johannesburg seeks to hire a Senior Manager for Stakeholder Relations. This role involves developing strategic relationships, advising on political and policy developments, and managing reputational risks. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in stakeholder relations within major corporations, coupled with robust political insights and excellent relationship management skills. A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required, and a post-graduate qualification is preferred. A competitive compensation package awaits the successful candidate.

Qualifications

• 10-12 years' experience in stakeholder relations or public affairs.
• Deep understanding of South Africa’s political economy.
• Experience managing senior-level relationships.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute stakeholder relations strategy.
• Monitor and analyse policy developments.
• Manage reputational risks proactively.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Public policy analysis

Relationship management

Strategic communication

Political acumen

Commercial acumen

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Political Science or related field

Post-graduate qualification (advantage)

Job description

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

The central purpose of this role is to lead, develop and sustain strategic relationships with key internal and external stakeholders (Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4) applicable to the relevant portfolios to build Old Mutual Limited’s (OML) social and reputational capital, shape a favourable policy environment and strengthen the company’s reputation as a trusted, responsible financial services group.

The incumbent will serve as a key advisor to the executive team on political, policy and stakeholder relations developments, fostering trusted relationships with decision-makers and strengthening OML’s voice in shaping financial inclusion, sustainability, and economic transformation agendas.

The role reports to the Chief Communications and Reputation Officer.

Key Result Areas

Operational Delivery

• Develop and execute Group Stakeholder Relations and Public Affairs strategy with clear stakeholder mapping to ensure competitive advantage for OML.

• Keep abreast of new developments and best practice in stakeholder relations and public affairs strategy, business planning and execution to ensure ROI for OML.

Policy Advocacy

• Monitor legislative and policy developments across key markets.

• Produce monthly socio‑political and policy briefs, ad‑hoc submissions, and strategic analysis to inform executive decision‑making.

• Advise the CEO and Executive Committee on political, policy, and stakeholder relations trends that could impact the business.

• Build internal capacity and understanding of public policy across the business.

Reputation, Issues and Risk Management

• Anticipate and manage emerging political, policy, and reputational risks.

• Provide strategic counsel during public policy debates, socio‑political crises or regulatory reviews affecting OML.

• Support thought leadership, public advocacy, and executive positioning initiatives.

Stakeholder Management and intelligence sharing

• Proactively develop, manage and maintain good relationships (and favourable brand perception) with internal and external Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 stakeholders in the form of individuals and organisations that have the most influence and interest on company outcomes – targeting government, industry bodies, NGOs and multi‑lateral organisations.

• Develop a framework for OML to establish and implement strategic and value‑creating partnerships with stakeholder to advance business objectives.

• Stay abreast of key stakeholder developments and collaborate with internal Tier 1 stakeholder champions to share stakeholder intelligence.

• Provide Stakeholder Relations strategic advisory services, inclusive of stakeholder thought leadership; external environmental scanning, risk & opportunities guided by stakeholder intelligence, standards, and sound methodology.

• Represent OML at select regional and international meetings and forums (at appropriate levels) to advance the Group partnership strategy and business goals.

• Foster trust‑based working relationships with all stakeholders to facilitate the establishment of stronger working relationships and further opportunities to drive business outcomes.

Thought Leadership and Strategic Positioning

• Position OML as a trusted advisor and thought leader on issues such as financial inclusion, sustainability, and economic transformation.

• Lead the preparation of policy papers, briefing notes, and executive talking points.

• Coordinate OML’s participation in national dialogues, business summits, and multilateral policy initiatives.

OML Chairman, CEO and EXCO stakeholder relations support

• Provide and lead the requisite support to the Chairman, CEO and executive management as required.

• Develop stakeholder briefing notes, messaging and content to enable the Chairman and CEO to execute engagements with stakeholders applicable to their respective portfolios.

Stakeholder Reporting

• Lead and deliver Integrated Report Stakeholder Relations requirements.

• Prepare Board and ex‑co cycle stakeholder reporting.

Develop and oversee the cascading of OML stakeholder relations methodology & framework

• In partnership with Business clusters, formulate the stakeholder relations indicators, metrics and targets supporting the desired OML impact goals.

• Drive the integration of the Stakeholder Relations framework and embed the indicators, metrics and targets across OML business units.

• Oversee monitoring of compliance to Stakeholder Relations framework, house views and standards and assist in dealing with non‑adherence.

• Positively influence and manage change by providing mechanisms and support to implement New Ways of Work, including digital transformation and collaboration with key stakeholders.

People

• Contributes to functional data resource planning and integration.

• Implements the functional resource plan and take corrective action (where required).

• Manages functions KPIs and implement corrective action.

• Provide appropriate leadership, guidance, development and coaching to the Stakeholder Relations and Public Affairs team to achieve business objectives.

Governance

• Ensures that all Stakeholder Relations risk issues across the group are managed and incidents are reported timeously.

• Updates the Stakeholder Relations policy every two years.

• Aligns with compliance regulatory frameworks for all stakeholder activities.

• Partners with Compliance Team to ensure that all stakeholder activities are compliant with regulatory frameworks.

• Liaises with Group Communications on relevant stakeholder developments, and advises on appropriate media and communications responses.

Key Deliverables

• Group Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Strategy (annual).

• Stakeholder engagement scorecard and performance metrics.

• Annual business plan.

• Monthly political and policy risk reports.

• Public policy positions.

• Executive briefings and board reports.

Requirements: Skills, Qualifications, Experience required

• Bachelors degree in Political Science, Public Policy, Development Management, Economics, Law, or International Relations (post graduate qualification would be an advantage).

• 10 - 12 years’ experience in stakeholder relations, public affairs or policy advocacy within a major corporate, financial services institution, or government entity.

• Proven deep understanding of South Africa’s, Africa’s and global political economy, financial sector regulation, and public policy environment.

• Experience in developing and managing long‑term trust‑based relationships through servicing, consulting, advisory or relationship management services.

• Advanced commercial acumen and sales/business development experience.

• Extensive experience in building impactful partnerships that produce win‑win outcomes.

• Minimum 7 years’ experience in senior management and coordination involving senior, high‑profile representatives of corporations, government, and other stakeholder organisations.

• Experience in managing teams.

• Prior financial services industry experience and/or government/ international NGO strongly preferred.

Skills

Accounting, Action Planning, Adaptive Thinking, Budget Management, Campaign Management, Change Management, Commercial Acumen, Executing Plans, Oral Communications, Policies & Procedures, Professional Presentation, Project Schedule Management, Public Relations (PR) Management, Report Review, Servant Leadership.

Competencies

Balances Stakeholders, Builds Effective Teams, Business Insight, Communicates Effectively, Decision Quality, Drives Results, Drives Vision and Purpose, Manages Complexity.

Education

BA (Required), Post‑graduate Diploma (PGDip).

Closing Date

28 January 2026 , 23:59.

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

The Old Mutual Story!

The Old Mutual Story!