Senior Data Scientist

Absa Group; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 800,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading African bank in South Africa is looking for a Senior Data Scientist to play a critical role in credit automation and model development. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in data science, strong analytical skills, and proficiency in SAS and SQL. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to innovative financial solutions that enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in applied analytics, predictive modelling, and data science, preferably within credit risk.
• Experience in driving data-led decision making and stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement credit risk and fraud management models.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to identify opportunities for data science solutions.
• Monitor and refine model performance post-deployment.

Skills

Analytical and structured thinking

Building rapport

Verbal and written communication

Proficiency in SAS and SQL

Understanding of supervised learning algorithms

Familiarity with cloud platforms

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Computer Science, Econometrics

Tools

SAS

SQL

Python

R

Job description

time left to apply End Date: August 4, 2025 (4 days left to apply)

job requisition id R-15977996

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

The Business Banking Credit area is undergoing a critical transformation to enable faster credit origination, unlock growth segments, and support automation of manual processes. This role is integral in enabling scored lending and automation, particularly for low-ticket credit applications. The Senior Data Scientist will drive the design, development, and deployment of scalable machine learning and AI solutions that will expedite credit decisions, improve customer turnaround times, and enhance overall credit lifecycle efficiency.

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

The Business Banking Credit area is undergoing a critical transformation to enable faster credit origination, unlock growth segments, and support automation of manual processes. This role is integral in enabling scored lending and automation, particularly for low-ticket credit applications. The Senior Data Scientist will drive the design, development, and deployment of scalable machine learning and AI solutions that will expedite credit decisions, improve customer turnaround times, and enhance overall credit lifecycle efficiency.

Job Description

Accountability: Technical Delivery

• Develop and implement credit risk, fraud, debt collection, and portfolio management models tailored to the Business and Commercial Banking segments.
• Apply advanced statistical and data mining techniques to derive patterns and actionable insights from large volumes of tabular and structured data.
• Own the entire data science pipeline—from data ingestion and transformation to model development and operationalisation—ensuring seamless integration into business processes.
• Monitor, evaluate, and refine model performance post-deployment, ensuring accuracy, fairness, and compliance with internal risk governance and external regulatory standards.
• Leverage new data sources and assess the effectiveness of data gathering techniques to enhance model robustness and coverage.

Accountability: Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate closely with Credit, Risk, Product, Technology, and Business stakeholders to identify high-impact opportunities for data science applications that solve real business problems.
• Drive data-led decision-making by translating complex analytics into clear, actionable recommendations aligned to business strategy and risk appetite.
• Design, execute, and interpret A/B tests to evaluate the effectiveness of credit strategies, scorecard changes, and policy enhancements.
• Present findings through compelling visualisations, dashboards, and storytelling, effectively communicating technical outcomes to both specialist and non-technical audiences.

Accountability: People and Project Collaboration

• Work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams to embed models and analytics into the scored lending platform and overall credit lifecycle.
• Provide subject matter expertise and thought leadership on model development and deployment within the broader Business Banking credit automation programme.
• Support the Head of Scored Lending and Automation in building a scalable scored lending capability, contributing to the establishment of a Data Science Centre of Excellence.
• Foster a culture of curiosity, continuous improvement, and innovation across the team.

Education and experience required

• Bachelor’s degree: Actuarial Science, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Computer Science, Econometrics, or a related quantitative discipline is essential.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in applied analytics, predictive modelling, and data science, preferably within credit risk, fintech, or financial services.

Knowledge and skills: (Maximum of 6)

• Analytical and structured thinking and planning skills.
• Ability to build strong rapport across all levels of management within the group.
• Strong verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
• Expert proficiency in SAS and SQL; experience with Python, R, or similar tools advantageous.
• Solid understanding of supervised learning algorithms and experience applying them in credit risk or fraud contexts.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to derive business value from data.
• Knowledge of credit policy development and scorecard techniques is a strong advantage.

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised

About Us

Absa Group Limited (“Absa Group”) is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups.

Absa Group offers an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and insurance.

Absa Group owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia and has insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. Absa also has representative offices in China, Namibia, Nigeria and the United States, as well as securities entities in the United Kingdom and the United States, along with technology support colleagues in the Czech Republic.