Risk & Compliance Manager

Mentor Talent Acquisition; South Africa; Remote; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Mentor Talent Acquisition is seeking a Risk & Compliance Manager to own risk, compliance, and product standards for our Ireland and UK markets. This fully remote role is based in South Africa and reports to the Head of Legal.

You’ll build and run the risk, compliance and standards engine, ensuring audits, policy translation, and cross‑functional collaboration with Buying and Legal teams across time zones.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years in risk or compliance with a framework you’ve built or owned
• Strong South African regulatory grounding (POPIA, FICA, King IV)
• Experience in product compliance or product safety in multi-category retail/import
• Able to work independently and remotely across time zones

Responsibilities

• Own the risk and compliance framework across Ireland and UK operations – policies, controls, monitoring
• Identify, assess and track business risk and ensure visibility to the right people
• Keep pace with regulatory change (GDPR, UK Companies Act, consumer protection) and translate into internal policy
• Run compliance audits and reviews and close gaps
• Be the liaison between Head of Legal and Ireland/UK operations
• Train local teams to embed ongoing compliance rather than one-off drills
• PRODUCT COMPLIANCE – partner with Buying to apply CE/UKCA, safety, labeling and origin rules across categories
• HEALTH & SAFETY – develop policy framework and rollout across jurisdictions

Skills

Risk management

Compliance oversight

Regulatory knowledge

Stakeholder management

Remote collaboration

Job description

We're a large, multi-category retailer with operations across Ireland and the UK, and we're looking for a Risk & Compliance Manager to own risk, compliance and product compliance standards for that business – fully remote, based in South Africa, reporting to the Head of Legal.

This isn't a watered-down regional role. You'll be responsible for keeping two regulated markets compliant, safe and audit-ready – including the standards behind everything we import across a wide product range – without needing to relocate.

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE DIFFERENT

You don't need to know Irish or UK regulation inside out. What you do need is a sharp, proven compliance and risk mind – built on South African frameworks like POPIA, FICA, King IV and the Companies Act – and the ability to translate that discipline to a new regulatory landscape fast. You'll have legal backing from the Head of Legal and local expertise where needed. Your job is to build and run the risk, compliance and standards engine, not to be a walking statute book on day one.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN

• The risk and compliance framework across Ireland and UK operations – policies, controls, monitoring
• Identifying, assessing and tracking business risk, and making sure it's visible to the people who need to act on it
• Keeping pace with regulatory change (GDPR, UK Companies Act, consumer protection and sector-specific rules) and turning it into practical internal policy
• Running compliance audits and reviews, and closing the gaps they surface
• Being the trusted link between the Head of Legal, SA-based leadership and the Ireland/UK operation
• Training local teams so compliance isn't a once-a-year fire drill

PRODUCT COMPLIANCE – PARTNERING WITH BUYING

We import most of what we sell – textiles, electricals, toys, cosmetics, homeware and more – so the product standards framework sits with this role from day one. Working alongside our Buying team, you'll bring the structure and oversight across CE/UKCA marking, general product safety, labelling and country-of-origin rules, restricted substances, and category-specific standards. You set the framework and define what "compliant" looks like per category; Buying gets it right at the point of sourcing.

HEALTH & SAFETY – GROWING INTO THE ROLE

Over time you'll take on the standard-setting layer for H&S: defining policy, best practice and the framework both jurisdictions need to meet. Same model as product compliance – you set the standard, the teams on the ground execute against it.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 3–5+ years in risk or compliance, with a framework you've built or owned – not just maintained
• Solid South African regulatory grounding (POPIA, FICA, King IV, corporate governance) – and you understand why those frameworks exist, not just the checklist
• Product compliance or product safety experience in multi-category retail or import is a strong advantage – SABS/NRCS experience counts. Breadth across categories matters more than depth in one
• A fast learner who's comfortable stepping into unfamiliar regulatory territory
• Able to work independently and remotely across time zones, with influence without being in the room
• Strong stakeholder management across Legal, Buying and in-country teams

THE SETUP

• Fully remote, based in South Africa
• Reporting to the Head of Legal; working closely with Buying
• Hours overlapping with Ireland/UK as required