Senior Consultant - Employee Benefits & Prma Consulting

Old Mutual; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Old Mutual seeks a Senior OMCC Consultant to provide high-impact consulting and advisory services within employee benefits and retirement funding. This role demands expertise in client relationship management, effective team leadership, and strategic advisory, aimed at enhancing business profitability and client satisfaction in a competitive market environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Retirement Fund experience.
• 5 years in client-facing consulting or technical leadership role.
• Deep technical expertise across employee benefits and retirement funding.

Responsibilities

• Deliver comprehensive advice on retirement fund strategies and management.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with institutional clients and stakeholders.
• Lead and support new business initiatives and ensure high levels of client retention.

Skills

Employee Benefits Expertise

Fund Governance

Strategic advisory and client engagement

Analytical and Problem Solving

Excellent verbal and written communication

Leadership and Team Management

Commercial and Financial Acumen

Innovation and Digital Readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree (Finance, Economics, Commerce)

Postgraduate qualification (MBA, CFP, CFA, LLB, CA or similar)

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 Senior OMCC Consultant plays a pivotal role in delivering high-impact consulting and advisory services to a portfolio of large and complex institutional clients within the employee benefits and retirement funding landscape. Operating as a subject-matter expert and trusted advisor, the incumbent leverages deep industry knowledge to shape client solutions, influence business outcomes, and contribute to consulting excellence.

This role is positioned at Practice Level within the SST and LoW frameworks, reflecting its strategic and advisory nature. The Senior Consultant is responsible for designing and implementing client strategies, improving business profitability by increasing share of income with existing clients, upselling new solutions that complement the consulting offering, leading and supporting new business initiatives , informing policies and best practices, and driving innovation in service delivery. Through proactive relationship management and insight-led consulting, the role ensures alignment with OMCC’s overall consulting strategy, fosters long-term client retention, and enables the growth of profitable consulting relationships

JOB DESCRIPTION

Consulting and Advisory Services

• Deliver comprehensive advice on strategies to address or manage Post-Retirement Medical Aid obligations.
• Deliver comprehensive advice on fund design, benefit structure (pre & post retirement), and benefit adequacy in line with workforce needs.
• Provide insights into the Thought leadership content which strengthens the business’ capability in the market
• Provide expert guidance on funding strategies, funding levels, and member communication frameworks.
• Evaluate and optimise group risk benefits including but not limited to insured death, disability, healthcare cell captive solutions).
• Support governance structures such as trustee boards and management committees, enabling effective and compliant decision-making.
• Ensure all advice and fund operations align with applicable legislation, fund rules, and industry regulations.
• Facilitate member, insured life and stakeholder education sessions to enhance financial literacy and benefit awareness.

Client Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with employers (C-suite (CFO, CHRO etc)) as transacting party and decision makers.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with boards, trustees and management committees, ensuring alignment and confidence in consulting services.
• Conflict Resolution and Governance Advisory – Intervene in high-risk or conflict scenarios to de-escalate issues and protect client relationships. Offer sound, technically grounded governance advice to client boards and internal stakeholders.
• Act as a trusted advisor to reduce business risk and anticipate evolving client needs.
• Identify and act on opportunities to cross-sell or introduce new services, solutions and products aligned to client strategy.

Business Development and Retention

• Identify opportunites to grow the client base.
• Participate in joint client pitches with product, distribution, or investments teams to grow market presence.
• Ensure high levels of client retention and growth in line with agreed targets and profitability metrics.
• Market and position new and enhanced solutions in the employee benefits space.
• Manage the onboarding of new clients and the smooth exit of discontinued funds, ensuring service continuity and reputational integrity.
• Product and Proposition Development provide structured feedback to OMCC and product teams to support the development or enhancement of consulting tools.

Practice Development and Product Influence

• Represent and drive in internal forums to inform solution design and innovation, this would include engagement with product on the compliance, sustainability and efficient processing of product capability.
• Provide feedback and thought leadership for the enhancement and development of consulting products and services.
• Collaboration and Integration – Work across OMCC disciplines to deliver integrated client solutions. Collaborate with principal consultants, investment professionals, legal teams, and actuarial colleagues to deliver seamless consulting execution.

Risk Management and Conflict Resolution

• Implement agreed requisite risk management initiatives.
• Serve as a point of escalation for complex or high-level client concerns.
• Intervene in and resolve conflict situations requiring strategic judgement and influence.

Team Leadership and Collaboration

• Lead, coach, and manage a team of Consultants, Associate Consultants and Senior Associate Consultants, promoting capability development and service excellence.
• Collaborate with Principal Consultants and Senior Management and peers to support team-wide objectives and delivery standards.
• Support the development of emerging consulting talent within OMCC through mentoring and oversight

Financial Oversight

• Manage and monitor the income and expense budgets of assigned client portfolios.
• Ensure profitability targets are met and financial health is maintained across the consulting base of the assigned portfolio

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS (KPAs) AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

KPAs

• Deliver high-quality employee benefits consulting services to assigned client portfolios.
• Drive client retention and identify opportunities for portfolio growth.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with trustees, management committees, employers, and governance structures.
• Contribute to OMCC practice development and consulting solutions innovation.
• Lead and support team development and performance.
• Manage risk, ensure compliance, and handle escalations professionally.
• Manage the financial performance of the assigned portfolio.
• Collaborate with Remchannel to drive adjacent business growth (Talent Vantage)
• Collaborate with OMC Financial Wellness team to scale solutions where appropriate

KPIs

• Timely delivery of consulting deliverables per SLA (e.g. benefit reviews, client reports, meeting packs).
• Quality rating of advice and presentations from client feedback (≥ 85% satisfaction or NPS).
• Compliance with regulatory and technical standards (zero material breaches).
• Number of strategic initiatives or recommendations implemented per client.
• Client retention rate (target: ≥ 95% annually).
• Revenue growth from upsell/cross-sell opportunities (year-on-year).
• Number of client engagement meetings or touchpoints held per quarter.
• Trustee, Management Committee and Employer satisfaction score (e.g. post-review survey ≥ 85%).
• Number of client strategy meetings or engagements per annum.
• Attendance and active participation in Trustee, Board or Management Committee meetings.
• Thought leadership contributions (e.g. white papers, presentations, industry panels).
• Team performance against shared targets and project deliverables.
• Contribution to onboarding or upskilling of new/junior team members.
• Number of material non-compliance incidents (target: zero).
• Timeous and effective resolutions of client issue escalations.
• Accurate documentation and maintenance of consulting records and advice trails.
• Time logged and billable hours utilization rate – foster a commercial mindset and accountability within teams to reduce bench time ().
• Profitability per client measured against agreed thresholds.
• Achievement of revenue targets per portfolio
• Management of team expenses in line with Budget

MINIMUM WORK EXPERIENCE

• 8+ years of Retirement Fund experience including:
• 5 years in client-facing consulting or technical leadership role
• Deep technical expertise across employee benefits (both pre and post retirement), retirement funding, group risk, and investment advisory.
• Proven ability to manage a portfolio of institutional clients with complex needs.
• Strong understanding of fund governance structures (trustees, management committees, boards).
• History of delivering multi-disciplinary consulting solutions (e.g. fund design, compliance, communication)
• Experience in fiduciary or Trustee services
• Product development or innovation forums
• Cross-functional project experience
• Large multi-employer or umbrella funds experience

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree (Finance, Economics, Commerce)
• FAIS compliance
• RE5 Certification
• Postgraduate qualification (MBA, CFP, CFA, LLB, CA or similar)

SKILLS REQUIRED

Technical and Analytical skills

• Employee Benefits Expertise: Deep understanding of retirement fund structures, group risk benefits, benefit design, and regulatory frameworks.
• Fund Governance: Familiarity with Pension Funds Act, King IV governance principles, and Pension Fund trustee and Management Committee obligations.
• Regulatory and Governance skills

• Pensions Funds Act/PF Circulars
• FSCA guidance
• SARS benefit tax rules
• IFRS/GRAP reporting standards

Strategic advisory and client engagement

• Ability to simplify complex concepts for diverse stakeholders (Boards, sponsors, auditors)
• Ability to engage on actuarial and financial reporting to understand the impact on the client and strategies that can be adopted.
• Skilled in proposal writing, client presentations, and negotiating technical positions
• Excellent proposal writing, presentation, and facilitation skills.

Analytical and Problem Solving

• Proficiency in data analysis, scenario testing, and quantitative reasoning.

Excellent verbal and written communication

• Able to present complex information clearly and to varied audiences (trustees, HR teams, executives).
• Skilled in report writing, including but not limited to board pack development, end user communication, secretarial services.
• Confident facilitator and presenter at client meetings, workshops, and governance forums.

Leadership and Team Management

• Experience in leading and coaching Consultants, Associate Consultants or other junior colleagues.
• Collaborative leadership style - supports and enables others to meet team and OMCC objectives.
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and workstreams simultaneously.

Commercial and Financial Acumen

• Strong understanding of consulting business models, pricing structures, and profitability levers.
• Ability to contribute to financial planning, forecasting, and management consulting practice.

Innovation and Digital Readiness

• Capability to design calculators, simulators, and visual dashboards.
• Comfort with tools to automate reporting, track assumptions, and deliver scalable advisory.

Client Relationship Management

• Proven ability to build and maintain long-term, trust-based client relationships.
• Skilled in negotiating, influencing, and managing expectations of clients, including trustees, boards, and management committees.
• High emotional intelligence in navigating conflict, sensitive issues, and high-stakes discussions.

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

• Highly solution orientated and commercially astute.
• Client centricity.
• Influence and Persuasion, with a business growth mindset.
• Strategic thinking.
• Innovation and continuous improvement.
• Results orientation.
• Collaboration and teamwork.
• Judgement and decision-making.
• Adaptability and resilience.
• Thought leadership.
• Ethical integrity.
• Coaching and development.
• Emotional intelligence.
• Communication and impact.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND/OR EXPERIENCE (PREFERRED)

• Exposure to post-retirement benefit structuring
• Participation in industry bodies or thought leadership initiatives

ADDITIONAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES (PREFERRED)

Contribute to the development of OMCC’s consulting frameworks, methodologies, and best practices.

• Lead or participate in internal communities of practice, helping shape the strategic direction of OMCC’s offerings.
• Promote thought leadership by writing articles, speaking at industry events, or contributing to white papers.
• Represent OMCC in external forums, such as industry conferences, retirement fund roundtables, and regulatory engagements.
• Cultivate networks within the employee benefits ecosystem, including regulators, administrators, insurers, and service providers.
• Ensure knowledge transfer and contribute to internal training initiatives for junior and associate consultants.
• Drive internal change initiatives by helping to implement new tools, systems, or processes within the consulting practice.
• Assist in ensuring that internal consulting processes comply with regulatory requirements, FAIS standards, and Pension Funds Act obligations.
• Champion risk awareness within the team, contributing to early identification of consulting or reputational risks.
• Formally or informally mentor junior consultants and associates, shaping the next generation of OMCC advisors.
• Identify skills gaps and recommend learning interventions for consulting team development.

Reports to the Principal Consultant

• The updated profile better reflects the current and future role of the Senior Consultant within Old Mutual Corporate Consultants (OMCC) and aligns with the strategic imperatives of the organisation.
• The Senior Consultant role operates at Practice Level within the SST (Strategic Segmentation Tool) and LoW (Levels of Work) frameworks, requiring a strategic and advisory focus, rather than purely operational delivery.
• The amendment ensures accurate reflection of thinking complexity, impact horizon, and the ability to shape client strategy over multi-year cycles (2–5 years thinking timeframe). The current environment involves larger, more complex institutional clients, requiring consultants who can:
  • Operate as trusted advisors to corporate executives, boards and trustees
  • Navigate nuanced regulatory, financial, and people-related issues
  • Provide thought leadership on fund strategy, sustainability, and transformation
• The updated profile better reflects the strategic accountability needed to manage these portfolios successfully

Skills

Adaptive Thinking, Change Management, Commercial Acumen, Cultural Awareness, Customer-Focused, Executing Plans, Financial Acumen, Learning and Development (L&D), Negotiation, Negotiation Tactics, Performance Management Design, Policy Development, Professional Presentation, Servant Leadership

Competencies

Balances Stakeholders Being Resilient Builds Effective Teams Business Insight Communicates Effectively Customer Focus Drives Results Ensures Accountability

Education

NQF Level 9 – Masters

Closing Date

19 June 2025 , 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!